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Independence Weekend and Sunday Star Fest at Lowell

Plan to visit Lowell Observatory over this 4th of July holiday weekend! We offer guided daytime tours of the Lowell campus. Plus we’ll feature telescope viewing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Our daytime tours include stops at the historic Clark Telescope and the Rotunda Museum. The Observatory is showcasing a new special temporary exhibit, Flagstaff Goes to the Moon in the Rotunda Museum.

On Sunday night join us and celebrate an Independence Star Fest here on Mars Hill. This event features indoor programs and numerous telescopes set up for viewing throughout the Lowell campus. During this evening you will have another chance to fully explore the Flagstaff Goes to the Moon exhibit in the Rotunda. Call anytime, (928) 233-3211, for more information.

Oh, and remember, admission is free to Lowell Observatory — in addition to other great member benefits — when you join the Friends of Lowell.

image: The Firework Nebula, GK Per, in the constellation Pegasus
WIYN Telescope

Posted in Exhibits, Friends of Lowell, General, Lowell outreach, Stargazing | No Comments »

Retired Scientist/Astronaut Trainer Jerry Schaber to Speak During July 1 Flagstaff Night at Lowell

On Wednesday, July 1 at 7 p.m., retired USGS scientist Jerry Schaber will give an indoor presentation, The Important Role of Flagstaff in the Scientific Success of Manned Missions to the Moon. Schaber worked for years as a geologist at the USGS Branch of Astrogeology in Flagstaff. In recent years, he has chronicled Flagstaff’s unique role in preparing to go to the moon.

In addition to this presentation, we will feature numerous telescopes set up to view celestial objects, including the moon. Also explore the Flagstaff Goes to the Moon exhibit in the Rotunda.

In honor of Flagstaff Night (the first Wednesday night of each month), Flagstaff residents (must show valid drivers license or utility bill) pay only half price for entrance into our regular evening programs. All other visitors pay regular admission prices ($6 per adult, $5 per senior, college student, AAA member; $3 per youth, ages 5-17). Reservations are not needed.

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Mapping the Moon for the Apollo Program

One component of our current exhibit, Flagstaff Goes to the Moon, focuses on the creation of lunar maps here at Lowell.

From 1961-1969, the Aeronautical Chart & Information Center (ACIC), a division of the US Air Force, used telescopes at Lowell to produce maps used in planning and carrying out Apollo missions to the moon.

As scientists, engineers and others began planning manned missions to the moon, they realized that accurate lunar maps were needed in order to find safe landing sites for the astronauts. Existing photographs were not good enough, as they tended to be blurry and lacking detail as a result of Earth’s atmosphere: when taking celestial pictures, light from the objects being photographed passes through our atmosphere, which bends the light. This results in varying degrees of blurriness (water has this same effect - have you ever been at the bottom of a swimming pool and looked up at the sky? It looks quite blurry.)

Instead of relying on these less-than-satisfactory pictures, scientists made direct observations of the moon through telescopes. By doing this, the observers could capture brief moments of high clarity and then make notes and sketches based on these observations. Cartographers such as Patricia Bridges (left) then used this information to make highly detailed drawings. Mrs. Bridges developed the technique of airbrush cartography in the early 1960s, and she and other scientific illustrators used this technique here at Lowell to produce the maps.

By the time the moon mapping project at Lowell ended in 1969, ACIC staff completed 44 Lunar Astronomical Charts (LACs), 20 Apollo Intermediate Charts (AICs), the NASA lunar globe, and dozens of maps for unmanned lunar spacecraft. These products significantly advanced our knowledge of the lunar surface, and helped enable the successful manned missions to the moon.

To learn more about Flagstaff’s contributions to the Apollo program, visit Lowell Observatory through the end of July 31 and see the Flagstaff Goes to the Moon exhibit.

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Lowell’s Big Red Car Travels to the Gateway Colorado Auto Museum

Percival Lowell’s Big Red Car, a 1911 Stevens-Duryea Model Y, made the trip from Mars Hill in Flagstaff and arrived on schedule early this afternoon in Gateway, Colorado. In preparation for the journey, Earl Slipher expertly drove Big Red up onto the transport trailer and accompanied the storied, vintage, horseless carriage to its new temporary quarters at the Gateway Colorado Auto Museum.

In the photo at right Earl Slipher motors Big Red in front of the Pluto Telescope Dome just before driving the vehicle up and onto the trailer. In the image below, William Lowell Putnam, the sole Trustee of Lowell Observatory, stands beside Big Red after loading.

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Celebrate Father’s Day with Music and the Stars

Lowell Observatory is pleased to offer a special program of music in celebration of Father’s Day.  On the evening of June 21, internationally acclaimed harpist Megan Metheney will play music written about the moon. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the outdoor harp program will begin at 7:00 PM. Telescope viewing will also be available, and all visitors can explore the Flagstaff Goes to the Moon exhibit in the Rotunda Museum.

Lowell will be open on the evening of the 21st from 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., and all fathers are admitted for free. Regular admission rates apply for all other guests. Reservations are not needed.

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Flagstaff Goes to the Moon exhibit celebrates Flagstaff’s Role in Sending Men to the Moon

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Man first walking on the moon, Lowell is pleased to offer an exciting new exhibit, Flagstaff Goes to the Moon.

This timely exhibit highlights Flagstaff’s role in lunar exploration, including astronaut training, moon mapping, instrument testing, and more. The exhibit is broken up into three main sections: the public fascination with Apollo, featuring memorabilia, magazines and newspapers; astronaut training, documented by newspapers and numerous photographs; and moon mapping, with authentic instruments used in the mapping process and personal stories of some of the individuals involved with the mapping.

Flagstaff Goes to the Moon is displayed in the Rotunda Museum and will be open until July 31, 2009. It may be experienced by visitors during both our daytime and evening public hours of operation. Entry into the exhibit is included in the regular admission price ($6 adult; $3 ages 5-17; $5 AAA, senior citizen, college student; FREE for members of the Friends of Lowell Observatory).

Posted in DCT, Exhibits, General, History, Lowell outreach, Stargazing | No Comments »

High-altitude research balloon observed

A research balloon was spotted over Mars Hill and photographed yesterday evening. Here is the initial heads up staff got from Lowell Observatory research assistant, Brian Skiff:

Another large high-altitude balloon was launched early today
from the Fort Sumner site in New Mexico. It ought to be prominent here in the southwest close to sunset…

…..and more details about the science package is here

Image at right: by Ted Dunham, Lowell Instrument Scientist, Taken with 8″ reflecting telescope around 6:00 or 6:30 PM on June 11

Here are excerpts from Brian Skiff’s follow-up e-mail from later last night:

[The balloon] was widely observed in Arizona Thursday evening …also

Though I was estimating perhaps 200 feet diameter for the balloon,
good estimates of the angular size vs distance suggests 600 feet
might be more nearly correct.

[Lowell outreach] staff got the instrument in a portable telescope, which made
[last night's] public viewing more interesting.

At about 9pm local the Google map showed the balloon at only
41000 feet, so evidently they must bring them down somewhere
in the California desert. You wouldn’t want to throw away a 60-inch
telescope every time you launched one of these, not to mention the
super-colossal balloon!

[Last night] … folks noticed the high clouds streaming in from
the west while the balloon (very much higher) was moving due west.
The evening upper-air balloon sounding from NWS Flagstaff shows that the
wind switched direction above about 20,000 meters (65,000 feet).
At 30,000 meters (the final reading was at 30640 meters = 100,500 feet)
the wind was essentially from due east at about 20 mph. (The balloon
was at 110-120,000 feet around 5pm when the weather balloon would
have been well on its way.)

see also: Percival Lowell on Twitter

Posted in General, Lowell outreach | 7 Comments »

Distinguished Guests help Dedicate Verkamp Meteorite

This past Friday, June 5, Lowell Observatory joined with special guests to dedicate the Verkamp Meteorite as part of a permanent exhibit in the Steele Visitor Center. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Lowell Advisory Board.

The Verkamp Meteorite is a 535-pound fragment of the nickel-iron meteorite that created Meteor Crater approximately 50,000 years ago. A century ago, mining engineer Daniel Moreau Barringer spent much money and time searching for the original impactor. It wasn’t until many years later that scientists better understood the dynamics of impacts and realized that the majority of the original impacting body vaporized, leaving only fragments behind.

Some time in the early Twentieth Century, Grand Canyon curio seller John G. Verkamp acquired the 535-pound meteorite. For the next century, the rock was on display at the Verkamp Store in Grand Canyon Village. Last year, the Verkamps closed the store and, with the help of Drew Barringer, grandson of Daniel Moreau Barringer, found a permanent home for the rock at Lowell.

In addition to Lowell’s advisory board members, local luminaries present at the dedication included Mayor Sara Presler; brothers Steve (former U.S. Magistrate Judge) and John (former state senator) Verkamp, who are also grandchildren of John G.; Drew Barringer; and Carolyn Shoemaker, widow of Gene Shoemaker, who first proved that Meteor Crater was caused by an impact from space.

For more about the meteorite and dedication, see the article in the June 8 edition of the Arizona Daily Sun.

Helping dedicate the Verkamp Meteorite, from left to right: Mayor Sara Presler, Steve Verkamp, Drew Barringer, John Verkamp.

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Mars books find new home at Lowell

This past Saturday Lowell’s science library accepted a significant private collection of books about Mars. Bob Bruner, the gracious donor, has been collecting Mars books for the past 60 years. He recently decided to find a permanent home for his impressive collection, and thought of Lowell and our heritage of Mars research. Our librarian, Antoinette Beiser, was very excited at the prospect of adding these valuable volumes to our library and welcomed the donation.

On Saturday, Bob and his wife Judy brought the books to Lowell from their home in Denver. While here, they saw some of our current library holdings, participated in our evening programs, and arranged a meeting with Trustee Bill Putnam.

In the picture to the right, Bob holds a couple of the rare books from his collection, including Mars and its Canals (green cover).

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Arizona Key and Astronomical Adventures

It was just announced that the June issue of Arizona Key magazine is online and it has some engaging content related to astronomy for visitors to the Grand Canyon State. For example, publisher Tom Ruberto, leads off the issue with his illustrated essay, Astronomical Adventures. There’s also another section called, experience Flagstaff.

Lowell Observatory recently partnered with Arizona Key and the team from there produced some great multimedia content-virtual reality tours of and for Arizona’s Observatory on Mars Hill.

Posted in General, Lowell in the News, Lowell outreach | No Comments »