Monday, March 30, 2009
Happy Birthday Bernhard Schmidt
Today is Bernhard Schmidt's birthday. There is no better way to celebrate than by reading this post over at Today in Astronomy.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Earth Hour from Palomar Mountain
Earth Hour 2009 from Palomar Mountain:
As my family and I were checking out the stars above (that's Orion above the tree and Taurus to the right) we were also looking for any signs of dimming in the lights below Palomar Mountain.
As you can see their wasn't much sign of people turning their lights out on any large scale in San Diego, Escondido, Vista, San Marcos, Oceanside, or just about anywhere in San Diego County.
That is a lot of light. A lot of wasted energy. A lot of sky glow. Thankfully the observatory is not located in the middle of all of that.
There was one major source of light, located near the base of Palomar Mountain, that did dim their lights during last night's Earth Hour event. Harrah's Rincon Casino. (It seems they even participated in Vegas.)
Have a look:
That is Harrah's near the lower right of the image above and below. Their 21-story hotel stands tall above the surrounding buildings. The shot above was taken during Earth Hour. The very bright "Harrah's" signs on top of the hotel and at the entrance are turned off.
In the shot below, after the end of Earth Hour, the lights have returned to their normal status. You may need to click and enlarge the images to notice much of a difference.
You can also see Valley View Casino in these shots too. It is the bright, but mostly astronomy-friendly low-pressure sodium lights, group of lights to the top right of the dead tree. They clearly did not change their lighting.
There are several other casinos in the Palomar area, that I could not see from my vantage point. I wonder if they participated in Earth Hour?
It is my hope that events like Earth Hour will gradually take hold and show people that there are many unneeded lights that are on all the time (many are even on during the day!). Turning them off will save energy and show people that life at night can be safely maintained without excessive illumination. If that comes to pass people will be able to enjoy the night sky in all its glory from where ever they live. Personally, that's why I support organizations such as the International Dark-Sky Association.
As my family and I were checking out the stars above (that's Orion above the tree and Taurus to the right) we were also looking for any signs of dimming in the lights below Palomar Mountain.As you can see their wasn't much sign of people turning their lights out on any large scale in San Diego, Escondido, Vista, San Marcos, Oceanside, or just about anywhere in San Diego County.
That is a lot of light. A lot of wasted energy. A lot of sky glow. Thankfully the observatory is not located in the middle of all of that.There was one major source of light, located near the base of Palomar Mountain, that did dim their lights during last night's Earth Hour event. Harrah's Rincon Casino. (It seems they even participated in Vegas.)
Have a look:
That is Harrah's near the lower right of the image above and below. Their 21-story hotel stands tall above the surrounding buildings. The shot above was taken during Earth Hour. The very bright "Harrah's" signs on top of the hotel and at the entrance are turned off.In the shot below, after the end of Earth Hour, the lights have returned to their normal status. You may need to click and enlarge the images to notice much of a difference.
You can also see Valley View Casino in these shots too. It is the bright, but mostly astronomy-friendly low-pressure sodium lights, group of lights to the top right of the dead tree. They clearly did not change their lighting.There are several other casinos in the Palomar area, that I could not see from my vantage point. I wonder if they participated in Earth Hour?
It is my hope that events like Earth Hour will gradually take hold and show people that there are many unneeded lights that are on all the time (many are even on during the day!). Turning them off will save energy and show people that life at night can be safely maintained without excessive illumination. If that comes to pass people will be able to enjoy the night sky in all its glory from where ever they live. Personally, that's why I support organizations such as the International Dark-Sky Association.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tour the Hale
Our weekend tours of the Hale Telescope begin again in one week.
Taking one of these tours gives you an inside look at 200-inch telescope. The tours take about an hour and explain how the telescope was built, how works, who uses it & more. This is your chance to see the Big Eye in person.
These tours are held on Saturdays & Sundays during the months of April through October. Tour tickets are sold in the observatory gift shop the day of the tour on a first-come, first-served basis. No prior reservations are taken. Tour times are 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tour tickets are $5.00. The tour is not recommended for children under six years of age.
Remember that the dome is kept at nighttime temperatures. It is best to bring a warm layer or two, especially in early spring.
Many of these tours are led by our volunteer docents. We are always in the market for more people who want to help tell Palomar's incredible stories. Are you interested in joining the team?
Earth Hour is Tonght!
Don't forget that Earth Hour is tonight (Actually it is already "tonight" in time zones well east of the Pacific - so it has already begun). To participate just dim or extinguish your necessary lights from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. It is that easy.
You can follow Earth Hour on Twitter as the event moves around the globe.
Tonight is also the last night to make observations for Globe at Night.
You can follow Earth Hour on Twitter as the event moves around the globe.
Tonight is also the last night to make observations for Globe at Night.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Surveys, Novae and more
I haven't talked much about actual research news in a while. . . . . I'll be giving much more info on that side of the observatory from time to time.
Last December I mentioned that Mosiac, the new camera in the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope, had achieved first light. It was installed for the new Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) observing program. Their initial shakedown of the camera, data transfer, etc. is nearly complete and their first results are coming in.
Expect to hear a lot more about PTF here soon.
In other news, the Palomar 60-inch telescope is being used for a program called Palomar 60-inch Fast Transients In Nearby Galaxies (P60-FasTING). They just discovered a nova in spiral galaxy NGC 2403.
To give you some eye candy, here's a near-infrared shot of NGC 2403 taken with the 200" a few years ago.
Finally, former Caltech astronomer Avishay Gal-Yam (now with Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel - a PTF partner) was able to use old images from the Hubble Space Telescope to identify the location of a star before it blew up. The supernova, known as SN 2005gl, seems to have been too young to blow up in that fashion. Findings like this one, where observation and theory do not agree may seem like just what astronomers do not want to find. Actually, they are great, because the new observations pose a mystery that needs to be solved. Anytime you get unexpected results you always end up learning something. That's the point.
Last December I mentioned that Mosiac, the new camera in the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope, had achieved first light. It was installed for the new Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) observing program. Their initial shakedown of the camera, data transfer, etc. is nearly complete and their first results are coming in.
Expect to hear a lot more about PTF here soon.
In other news, the Palomar 60-inch telescope is being used for a program called Palomar 60-inch Fast Transients In Nearby Galaxies (P60-FasTING). They just discovered a nova in spiral galaxy NGC 2403.
To give you some eye candy, here's a near-infrared shot of NGC 2403 taken with the 200" a few years ago.
Finally, former Caltech astronomer Avishay Gal-Yam (now with Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel - a PTF partner) was able to use old images from the Hubble Space Telescope to identify the location of a star before it blew up. The supernova, known as SN 2005gl, seems to have been too young to blow up in that fashion. Findings like this one, where observation and theory do not agree may seem like just what astronomers do not want to find. Actually, they are great, because the new observations pose a mystery that needs to be solved. Anytime you get unexpected results you always end up learning something. That's the point.
Around the World in 80 Telescopes: 1 Week Away
We are just under one week away from the Around the World in 80 Telescopes event. You should be able to watch the webcast on the 100 Hours of Astronomy website, or on their channel on Ustream.tv. You can also keep up with the event on twitter.
If you have a question you want answered during Palomar's segment, you can leave it here in the comments to this post or email me wsk@astro.caltech.edu
The National Science Foundation has a story on the event that gives Palomar a nice mention and has some good photos too.
If you have a question you want answered during Palomar's segment, you can leave it here in the comments to this post or email me wsk@astro.caltech.edu
The National Science Foundation has a story on the event that gives Palomar a nice mention and has some good photos too.
Adaptive Optics Podcast
My podcast on adaptive optics is now available over at the 365 Days of Astronomy website. Of course you can get it on iTunes too.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Anti-Pluto
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is of the Kuiper Belt Object known as Orcus. Orcus was discovered using Palomar's 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope in 2004 by Mike Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini) and David Rabinowitz (Yale).
Mike Brown recently posted on his blog, Mike Brown's Planets, that he is looking for suggestions for a name for the moon of Orcus which is currently officially known only by its catalog number: S/1 90482 (2005). Follow the links to see what it is all about and why Orcus is being called the Anti-Pluto.
Mike Brown recently posted on his blog, Mike Brown's Planets, that he is looking for suggestions for a name for the moon of Orcus which is currently officially known only by its catalog number: S/1 90482 (2005). Follow the links to see what it is all about and why Orcus is being called the Anti-Pluto.
75 Years Ago Today
75 years ago today, the first 200-inch mirror blank was cast at the Corning Glass Works in Corning, NY. The casting was unsuccessful as the ceramic cores on the underside of the mold broke loose and floated to the surface. I posted about this last year, but today I have some wonderful things to share.
Word got out prior to the casting and a great many spectators came to see the crew handle the molten glass to as they worked to fill the mold. Have a look at the photo and you can see just how close the crowd was to the crew.
Time Magazine's on-line archives has the story, Pouring Day, as it appeared in their April 2, 1934 issue. Be sure to check it out.
Here is the Corning Evening Leader from March 26, 1934. Be sure to click on it to enlarge and read the articles.
It is interesting to me that one of the sub headlines reads "Glass Works Officials Believe Efforts Have Been Successful" yet next to it is an article "Plan To Cast New Disc If Necessary". Of course the casting was not successful and the officials, namely Dr. George McCauley who was in charge of the project, knew that they would need to try again.
They went ahead and gave the big disc a rapid annealing. When it came out of the annealing oven it looked like this:
Not a pretty site, is it? While the disc was still molten the workers attempted to remove the ceramic cores that had floated to the surface. With plans underway for a second pouring, it was decided to re-melt the first pouring in an attempt to salvage it. Alas, during that process the disc was cracked.
So what do you do with a 20-ton failure? Put it on display and hope people come to see it. It became the first center piece of what is now the Corning Museum of Glass.
Last November I had the opportunity to visit, spend some time in the Corning Incorporated research archives and to finally touch the first 200-inch disc.
Of course Corning triumphed in the end. The second pouring, attempted 8 1/2 months later, was successful. That disc is still in use nightly at Palomar.
The failed disc is an impressive display at the Museum of Glass. Here are a few more shots to round out the post.
The front side of the disc:
The front side as viewed from below:
The back side of the disc:
Special thanks to Kris in the Corning archives for all the help she gave to me during my visit and for answering my many questions over the years. The old photos and the newspaper are a small part of the vast collection in the Corning archives.
Word got out prior to the casting and a great many spectators came to see the crew handle the molten glass to as they worked to fill the mold. Have a look at the photo and you can see just how close the crowd was to the crew.
Time Magazine's on-line archives has the story, Pouring Day, as it appeared in their April 2, 1934 issue. Be sure to check it out.Here is the Corning Evening Leader from March 26, 1934. Be sure to click on it to enlarge and read the articles.
It is interesting to me that one of the sub headlines reads "Glass Works Officials Believe Efforts Have Been Successful" yet next to it is an article "Plan To Cast New Disc If Necessary". Of course the casting was not successful and the officials, namely Dr. George McCauley who was in charge of the project, knew that they would need to try again.They went ahead and gave the big disc a rapid annealing. When it came out of the annealing oven it looked like this:
Not a pretty site, is it? While the disc was still molten the workers attempted to remove the ceramic cores that had floated to the surface. With plans underway for a second pouring, it was decided to re-melt the first pouring in an attempt to salvage it. Alas, during that process the disc was cracked.So what do you do with a 20-ton failure? Put it on display and hope people come to see it. It became the first center piece of what is now the Corning Museum of Glass.
Last November I had the opportunity to visit, spend some time in the Corning Incorporated research archives and to finally touch the first 200-inch disc.
Of course Corning triumphed in the end. The second pouring, attempted 8 1/2 months later, was successful. That disc is still in use nightly at Palomar.
The failed disc is an impressive display at the Museum of Glass. Here are a few more shots to round out the post.
The front side of the disc:
The front side as viewed from below:
The back side of the disc:Special thanks to Kris in the Corning archives for all the help she gave to me during my visit and for answering my many questions over the years. The old photos and the newspaper are a small part of the vast collection in the Corning archives.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Eyes on the Skies
In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy the European Southern Observatory has produced a movie and book known as Eyes on the Skies. Follow the link and you can watch the whole thing in HD.
It explores the many facets of the telescope — the historical development, the scientific importance, the technological breakthroughs, and also the people behind this ground-breaking invention, their triumphs and failures. It is presented by Dr. J, aka Dr. Joe Liske, a professional astronomer from the European Southern Observatory and host of the Hubblecast video podcast. The DVD runs for 60 minutes and contains subtitles in several languages.
The second episode, Bigger is Better, is embedded below. It follows some of the story of George Ellery Hale, the development of Yerkes Observatory (note to narrator: Yerkes is pronounced "yer keys") Mt. Wilson and Palomar.
The show is freely available for TV broadcasters and for public events carried out by educators, science centers, planetariums, amateur astronomers etc.
Update: I had posted a link to the video via YouTube, but it is no longer available. In addition to the link above, you can also, find the video here on Hulu.
It explores the many facets of the telescope — the historical development, the scientific importance, the technological breakthroughs, and also the people behind this ground-breaking invention, their triumphs and failures. It is presented by Dr. J, aka Dr. Joe Liske, a professional astronomer from the European Southern Observatory and host of the Hubblecast video podcast. The DVD runs for 60 minutes and contains subtitles in several languages.
The second episode, Bigger is Better, is embedded below. It follows some of the story of George Ellery Hale, the development of Yerkes Observatory (note to narrator: Yerkes is pronounced "yer keys") Mt. Wilson and Palomar.
The show is freely available for TV broadcasters and for public events carried out by educators, science centers, planetariums, amateur astronomers etc.
Update: I had posted a link to the video via YouTube, but it is no longer available. In addition to the link above, you can also, find the video here on Hulu.
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