further advancements of the pari optical ridge telescopes for education and public outreach m. w....

Further Advancements of the PARI Optical Ridge

Telescopes for Education and Public Outreach

M. W. Castelaz, J. D. Cline Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

www.pari.eduAAS 203rd Meeting. 8 January 2004.

Session 118.04 Reaching Out: EPO

A Not-For-Profit Public Foundation

IntroductionPisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) is a not-for-profit public foundation dedicated to providing research and educational access to radio and optical astronomy for a broad cross-section of users.

PARI is located on 200 acres in the Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina

The PARI campus is relatively free of light and radio interference.

N

PARI Optical Ridge

• Location: Optical observatories are 500 m from the PARI Main Campus and runs East-West with sharp N-S drop-offs

• Altitude 910 m, Latitude 35O 11.8’ N, Longitude 82O 52.3’ W

• Horizon: Lowest point is 0.25O and highest point is 5O

• Skies: Average of three nights per week for spectroscopy, differential photometry, astrometry

• Ideal for long-term and survey work

8. Polaris (PARI)

PARI Optical Observatories

6. Low Mass Binary Star Survey (UNC-Chapel Hill)

N1. Optical Afterglow Gamma Ray Burst (UNC-Chapel Hill)

2. Stellar (PARI)

5. SPACE (PARI Supporters)

3,4. Atmosphere, Solar & Lunar

7. Webcams (PARI)

9. Wide Field 1.1 m Telescope (Future)

Latitude 35O 11.8’ N, Longitude 82O 52.3’ W, Altitude 910 m

10. University 0.5 m Telescope (Future)

1. Near-Infrared Afterglow Gamma Ray Burst

Principal Investigators: Melissa Nysewonger and Dan Reichart (UNC-Chapel Hill)

Telescope: 0.30 m, f/10, 68.7 arcsec/mm

Camera: Cooled Indigo Systems Alpha NIR InGaAs CCD Mode of Operation: Robotic/Remote

Education:

Observatory for use by high school teachers and students. In collaboration with Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill. Also, doctoral candidate thesis research.

Research:

Investigate infrared wavelengths of GRBs to find emission from dark bursts, called "dark" because they have no detectable optical afterglow

Near-Infrared Afterglow Gamma Ray Burst

CCD Camera:Near-IR, 0.9-1.7 um320 x 256 pixels30 um square pixels12-bit A/D

FOV:10.3 arcmin x 8.8 arcmin2.0 arcsec/pix

2. Stellar Observatory

Principal Investigators: D. Cline & M. Castelaz (PARI)


Camera: SBIG ST10XME + BVRI, SBIG Self-Guiding Spectrometer with 600 g/mm gratings

Mode of Operation: Remote

Education:

Undergraduate research experiences observing and modeling of Mira variable spectra.

Research:

Five year observation campaign measuring optical low resolution spectra (120 Å/mm) and photometry covering complete light curves of four Mira variables.

Stellar Observatory

CCD Camera:2184 x 1472 pixels6.8 um square pixels16-bit, 9 e- rms


3. Atmosphere

Principal Investigators: Cline (PARI)

Telescope: 12.7 cm, f/10, 162 arcsec/mm

Camera: SBIG STV

Mode of Operation: Robotic

Education:

Environmental studies students have access to atmospheric conditions. The conditions are published to the internet.

Research:

Continuously monitor seeing and atmospheric transparency in the Pisgah National Forest.

4. Solar & Lunar

Principal Investigators: Cline & Castelaz

Telescope: 12.7 cm, f/3.3 with focal reducer, 535 arcsec/mm

Camera: SBIG STV


Education:

General public and K-12 science studies from live images of the Sun and Moon

Research:

Record sunspots

Atmosphere and Solar/Lunar Telescopes

Solar/Lunar

AtmosphereEach CCD Camera:656 x 480 pixels7.4 um square pixels16-bit

FOV:15.8 arcmin x 9.6 arcmin 1.2 arcsec/pix

FOV with f/3.3 focal reducer:52.1 arcmin x 31.7 arcmin4 arcsec/pix

5. Supporters of the PARI Astronomy Center for Education (SPACE Observatory)

Principal Investigators: Joe Phillips


Camera: SBIG ST7XME


Education:

Supporters of PARI and amateur astronomers use this telescope remotely, on a subscription basis.

Research:

PARI has access for target-of-opportunity events such as gamma ray bursts.

CCD Camera:756 x 510 pixels9 um square pixels16-bit, 15 e- rms

SPACE Observatory


6. Low Mass Binary Star Survey

Principal Investigators: Mercedes Lopez-Morales, Chris Clemens (UNC-Chapel Hill)

Telescope: 0.24 m, f/10, 103 arcsec/mm

Camera: Apogee Ap-10 + VRI filters


Education:

Doctoral candidate thesis research.

Research:

Three-year optical survey to find detached low mass eclipsing binaries and use them to make direct measurements of masses and radii.

Low Mass Binary Star Survey

CCD Camera:2048 x 2048 pixels14 um square pixels14-bit, 15 e- rms

FOV:47 arcmin x 31 arcmin1.4 arcsec/pix

7. Webcams

Principal Investigators: PARI Staff

Telescope: Telescopes are video lenses

Camera: Each position is a CCD video camera


Education:

Eight Webcams show the PARI campus and observatories and sky conditions live at www.pari.edu.

Research:

These cameras are for education/public outreach.

8. Polaris (PARI)

Principal Investigators: Cline & Castelaz

Telescope: 0.25 m, f/6.3, 130.9 arcsec/mm

Camera: SBIG STV + BVRI filters


Education:

Undergraduate research experiences observing the light curve of Polaris.

Research:

Dedicated to multi-year, continuous phase coverage photometry of Polaris, a Cepheid with variations in period and minimum & maximum amplitude.

Polaris Observatory

CCD Camera:656 x 480 pixels7.4 um square pixels16-bit


9. Wide Field 1.1 m Telescope

Principal Investigators: PLANNED: PARI

Telescope: 1.1 m f/4.4 prime focus

Camera: TBD … telescope has 150mm dia. flat field


Education:

1. All data to be published on Internet for education/public outreach.

2. Also, undergraduate and graduate research.

Research:

1. Near-Earth Asteroid Monitoring

2. Supernova Survey

3. Gamma-Ray burst follow-up

4. Spectrographic measurements

10. University Remote

Principal Investigators: PLANNED: Consortium

Telescope: 0.50 m

Camera: TBD


Education:

1. Undergraduate research

2. Classroom use

Research:

Dedicated to use by universities that invest in the observatory for their astronomy students and faculty.

further advancements of the pari optical ridge telescopes for education and public outreach m. w....

Documents