Thursday, August 31, 2006 - Mercury Transit Plans

Mercury spins around in its orbit between the Earth and the Sun on Wednesday, November 8, producing a silhouette of itself as it travels across the disk of the sun. This event is called a Transit, and Hawaii is in a prime location to be able to witness it in its entirety (its also a great preview for the 2012 Venus Transit which will also be visible from Hawaii). Our friends on Maui - the Haleakala Amateur Astronomers (HAA) will be on the summit of Haleakala to observe the transit with some school children. They are also planning on imaging the event with CCD cameras through telescopes equipped with filters. We are planning to acquire images of the transit from HAA in Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) and white light wavelengths to post onto our website on a regular basis throughout the duration of the event. The idea is to give a running account of the transit with pictures and narrative of the activities on the mountain. We are also looking at compiling the entire set of images from a camera into a timelapse movie that we hope to post every half hour or so. This will allow folks to visit our site, and watch a fast-motion movie of the planet Mercury as it moves across the face of the sun to within thirty minutes of real-time. Stay tuned to this site for more information!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - Get Over It

So there are a lot of rumbling about the recent redefinition of what constitutes a planet that has many perturbed over the demotion of Pluto from planetary status. There have even been suggestions made to start petitions and letter-writing campaigns to persuade a reversal of the decision. Well guess what? This is not a civics exercise, and although many have sentimental reasons for retaining Pluto as a planet in the solar system, petitions and passionate letters do not form the tenets of science. Scientific ideas are continually held to critical review and revision usually by consensus and sometimes by vote. When additional data becomes available, scientists try to make sense of it by categorizing them theoretically. Well, Pluto never really fit into the scheme of things from the start - an oddball from the other eight. Pluto's orbit is eccentric and inclined from the plane of all the other planets, and crosses over that of Neptune's. Pluto's size is smaller than some asteroids and many other Kuiper Belt Objects. Therefore, the scientific vote of the status of Pluto was driven by better and better measurements of solar system objects and out of necessity to correct old errors on the basis of these new facts. So I don't believe in these rumblings and grumblings about Pluto's reclassification - this is not for the general public to decide by emotion. Instead, lets look at this as an opportunity to help educate those less initiated on the scientific method and how it forces scientists to maintain an open mind about the universe around them. Otherwise, we'd all still be living on a flat earth in the center of the Universe...

Sunday, August 27, 2006 - New Solar System Mnemonic

With the new definition of a Planet in our Solar System established by the International Astronomical Union this past week, the international astronomy outreach community has been thrown into turmoil. Numerous emails, letters and phone calls have been exchanged over the course of the last few days, with varying levels of agreement over the decision. What has become unanimously agreed is a new way to memorize the order of the planets in the solar system. So one proposal is to change the mnemonic from "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptume, Pluto) to "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles". Good thing they didn't agree upon the twelve planet definition!

Thursday, August 24, 2006 - Pluto gets the Boot!

Astronomers at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) have declared today that Pluto is no longer a planet under the new classification that will downsize our solar system to eight planets. The decision that was made at the General Assembly conference in Prague, Czech Republic of 2500 astronomers from 75 countries was a complete turnaround from just a week ago, when a committee had unanimously agreed to propose a classification system that would retain Pluto's planetary status and also make an asteroid and several Kuiper-Belt Objects planets also. The IAU decision defines basic tests that celestial objects must meet before they can be considered for planethood. So currently, membership in the planet club in the solar system will be restricted to the eight classical planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto does not make this elite group under the new definition which states that a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun and has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Because its orbit overlaps that of Neptune, Pluto is automatically disqualified from planethood, but be reclassified as a "dwarf planet". These would be similar to what was termed "minor planets" before the new definition which creates a third class of smaller objects that orbit the sun called "small solar system bodies". Asteroids, comets and natural satellites will fall into this category.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - Haleakala Hussle

Our friends on Maui, the Haleakala Amateur Astronomers (HAA) are busy at work on the summit of Haleakala. The HAA observing location is at the old Baker-Nunn site, and members Rob Ratkowski, Casey Fukuda, Rob Zalesky and John Pye have been using it to set up their equipment for star gazing. Since then, the group has installed piers on the concrete slab, transported an unused dome and fabricated a steel isolation floor for the dome. We are really impressed by the group's dedication and hard work at making incremental improvements on the site, and their intention to use it for educational outreach. The isolation floor was created with box tubing welded into a grid that supports a wooden flooring coated with truck bedlining material. HAA members then transported the frame and flooring up to the summit for installation recently. We wish the best of luck on HAA's future endeavors including a collaboration on the upcoming Mercury transit in November. Stay tuned!

Monday, August 21, 2006 - Mercury Transit Plans

I've been in discussions with Rob Ratkowski of the Haleakala Amateur Astronomers (HAA) on Maui Island with regard to a project they are involved in this coming November involving the transit of Mercury across the face of the sun. HAA club members plan on being on the summit of Haleakala with their telescopes to view the transit along with some students from local Maui schools. When I heard that, I immediately thought of developing an outreach event that shares the images the club acquires with the rest of the world in near real-time. Now, I realize that transits of celestial objects, particularly those of an inferior planet across the face of the sun can be somewhat less than exciting for a remote observer - some may describe it as akin to watching grass grow or molasses pour. But I am hoping that since our friends in HAA will be at the summit of Haleakala with a small group of students anyway, why not try to leverage their efforts by showcasing some of the images they take on the internet while the event is occurring? The idea is to have an internet connection to the club's observing site, where images from a telescope mounted camera can be downloaded periodically. We could even grab a continuous series of images to compile into a time-lapse movie of the event every 30 minutes or so, so that folks could log onto the website and see a quicktime movie of the event to date. We are in the brainstorming phase, and we'll keep you up-to-date with any information as it becomes available.

Friday, August 18, 2006 - Statehood Day

Although this is a state and county holiday, Federal offices and banks are open for business and so am I. There are a few things I am working on with respect to an initiative that we hope to promote throughout Hawaii Island that encompasses good values through a positive message - more info soon. The Hawaii FIRST Lego League (FLL) has made some announcements for their members regarding the upcoming season which starts up in September. The Oahu-based Lego robotics hui will be hosting an FLL Qualifying Event on Saturday, December 2nd. The best of luck to Aaron Dengler, Sara Tamayose and company as this will be a major ramp-up from previous years, when they held an FLL local event. Here on Hawaii Island, we have a number of teams that are forming this school year, many of whom were trained during the Hilo Youth Robotics summer enrichment program. Since we have so many rookie teams in FLL this year, we are wondering about the direction in which we should lead our teams: national franchise program or home-grown Hawaii Lego League? I am inclined to pursue the latter. The reason is that although the franchise offers many advantages including a turnkey operation and an opportunity for national-level competition, I don't really care for franchises. When I am hungry, I don't go to McDonald's for a hamburger - I'll visit a local shop and get a plate lunch. By the same token, I want to see our robotics teams engaged in a Hawaii-centric local program that can directly benefit our participants and community. We've got enough going on on our island to showcase a scientific or cultural theme. Right now I'm torn between what a few individuals want and what our community needs. We'll have to make some tough decisions soon and begin our work for Hawaii Island's next signature event.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - What's a Planet?

So the debate goes on at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague, Capital of the Czech Republic this week and next on what constitutes a planet. Since the discovery of many Kuiper-Belt Objects like UB313 (Xena), which are smaller than planets but larger than most asteroids, some astronomers think that Pluto should be reclassified as a Kuiper-Belt Object and not a planet. Well, an IAU panel has unanimously recommended that Pluto retain its title as a planet. Part of the IAU panel's suggestions, planets will be classified as terrestrial (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), giant (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), and a third class that would include Pluto (Plutons?). And joining Pluto in this new classification would be other minor bodies including UB313. The IAU is the arbiter of planetary and satellite naming since its inception 87 years ago in 1919. The differentiation between planets and all other solar system objects have never been defined and the recent discoveries of new objects in the solar system is making it necessary for this governing body to address the issue. So, the question persists? What's a planet? And how many planets will we have in our solar system? If you make UB313 a planet, then what about large asteroids like Ceres? Would Ceres qualify as a planet as well? Hmmm,...

Monday, August 14, 2006 - Girl Scout Astronomy

I've been working at trying to spur interest by the Girl Scout Council of Hawaii to participate in the upcoming Girl Scout USA Astronomy Camp in September in Tucson, Arizona. My contact with the program is through Dr Don McCarthy, an astronomer at the University of Arizona and Director of the Astronomy Camp. The program's goal is to develop long-term relationships that directly benefits the troops not only in general science education but also specifically in the astronomical/technological concepts relating to the Hubble Space Telescope's successor known as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The program has 2.5 years training a core group of Girl Scouts leaders from the Sahuaro Council in Tucson, who will be helping to train leaders from around the US. Don is also involved in developing instrumentation for the JWST, an infrared camera called NIRCAM. The idea is to bring leaders from all 317 US Councils to the Astronomy Camp by 2013, the proposed launch date of the JWST, and to bring awareness through these leaders, of astronomy and in particular the infrared astronomy of NIRCAM on JWST. We hope to recruit troop leaders from Hawaii Island and the state to participate in this wonderful program. We have been working with the Girl Scouts in the past, most notably during the Deep impact NASA mission with Comet Tempel 1 in July of 2005, when we hosted a group of 30 Girl Scout leaders from around the country to participate in workshops and observing the event through telescopes they built. We hope to establish this relationship with Don McCarthy's group through the Astronomy Camp, and maintain it through interactions with us here on Hawaii Island afterward.

Thursday, August 10, 2006 - Help Wanted

We are short-handed this summer with the departure of our able Community Outreach Assistant Koa Ell on a three month leave of absence. Koa is on the mainland spending time with her fiance. Although it is a well-deserved time off for her, our Office of Science Education and Public Outreach is struggling a bit keeping most of our programs in motion. In order to resolve the situation, we are looking at the possibility of hiring a casual hire or a student worker at half time for a temporary period of time (although if things work out, the possibility does exist for making the position more permanent). We are looking for someone who can deliver astronomy and space science activities and presentations to classrooms around Hawaii Island. This will allow me to spend more time on some projects I really want to pursue this school year. On another note, if we can find someone with some video production background, we might be able to finish up some of our video projects that have been back-burnered for too long now. There are a lot of things that need attention around the office and having some assistance attending to them will enable us to clear our plate to take on more exciting endeavors in the future. So right now, we are working on hashing out the details of a job description and seeing if we can't get someone in here before the start of the fall semester - one can only hope!

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 - Adopt-A-Highway

I've been trying to adopt a highway for a couple of years now. Not just any highway, but a specific one that is used by many Mauna Kea Observatories staff on a daily basis: the Puainako Extension Road in Hilo. This beautiful two-lane highway was recently constructed two years ago (a road that my realtor assured me would never be completed in my lifetime only two years earlier). At that time, I called the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation to see what I needed to do to adopt the highway on behalf of the Institute for Astronomy. At that time, a representative informed me that the road was not turned over to the State from Hawaii County. Subsequent calls to Hawaii County resulted in a representative informing me that the road did not belong to them and that I should check with State. Huh? Wuzzup widdat? Well today I decided to make up my missed Rotary Club of South Hilo lunch yesterday by attending this morning's Rotary Club of Hilo Bay breakfast club. The meeting featured a presentation by State Department of Transportation engineer Brennon Morioka. After the meeting I was able to inquire as to the ownership of the aforementioned roadway, and Brennon said he would look into it. Well, by 4:30 this afternoon, I get a barrage of emails from Brennon and Stanley Tamura (DOT) regarding ownership of the road. The bottom line is that DOT will be giving us that section of road to adopt once the transfer from County has been finalized, which should be very soon. I am so very happy with this outcome because I have been working on adopting this road for two years now. Being able to maintain this highly visible, safe, wide road clean of opala (rubbish) will reflect kindly on the Mauna Kea Observatories, who are actively working with, and supporting the local community.

Tuesday, August 8, 2006 - AstroTalk Lineup

We booked David Malin for an AstroTalk during his visit in November. Janice Harvey of Gemini Observatory called and suggested the idea of featuring David for our public lecture series while he was visiting their facility and we jumped at the opportunity. Along with David in November, we have Peter Ceravolo, whose company pioneered the use of all-sky mosaic of image use in night sky software. In October, Alex Filippenko returns to Hilo to give his third AstroTalk, and we're really excited about bringing him back. We are also looking at ramping up AstroTalk in the very near future - something that will definitely be a shot in the arm for the program and our community to enjoy. We've worked hard at maintaining the excitement of communicating astronomy to the general public for 22 months now, and looking forward to the future with great anticipation. Stay tuned to learn more about the future of AstroTalk ...

Friday, August 4, 2006 - Back in the Swing, ALCon 2006

Well for most schools here, the fall semester has begun and our office has already begun receiving requests for presentations and activities and project ideas from teachers. Things will be a bit busy now without our capable Community Outreach Assistant Koa Ell, who is on Leave of Absence for three months, but we are looking to pick up a student employee in the interim soon. I just received a phone call from the President of the Astronomical League Bob Gent from the University of Texas, Arlington, site of ALCon 2006 - the Astronomical League Convention, which currently got underway today. It was nice hearing Bob's voice, as it has been some time since we saw each other in person at the ALCon 2002. Bob congratulated us on our "Best New Idea" award for AstroDay 2006, and I went on to discuss an opportunity for me to work more closely with the Astronomical League in the future. The League has always been very supportive of our activities and programs and I am intrigued that this international organization would choose to contact me. Although I am not at liberty to discuss matters at this time, I am sure an official determination and announcement will soon be made. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available...

Thursday, August 3, 2006 - Tours 'n Talks

Today, we'll be hosting a group of lawyers on the mountain who had attended the recent American Bar Association National Convention on Oahu. The tour to the Big Island was coordinated by Glenda Chow of the University of Hawaii Outreach College, and we are happy to assist in the facilitation of yesterday's astronomy presentation and today's Mauna Kea Observatory tour. We will take our guests through the summit facilities of the W.M. Keck Observatory and the NASA infrared Telescope Facility. The behind-the-scenes tour of the observatories will complement the overview we gave them yesterday and help them gain an appreciation for the substantive science being conducted on Mauna Kea. We are deploying two capable IfA staff members on this tour: UH88 Telescope Operator Dan Birchall and IfA Postdoctoral Fellow Josh Walawender. They will be escorting the groups from between the two observatories and the mid-level facility, where the group will enjoy a lunch. Meanwhile, I will be flying out to Maui with Connections Charter School Principal John Thatcher and teacher Kurt Jarrett for a joint presentation to a Board of Education meeting on the efficacy of our Hilo Youth Robotics summer camp in building capacity within our schools. I am very proud of the fact that we were able to instruct 65 students from 13 different schools along with 14 teachers from 8 schools, most of whom we hope will initiate after-school programs in robotics at their respective campuses.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - Astronauts and Outreach

We received an email from NASA Astronaut Ed Lu today. Ed is a special friend of the Institute for Astronomy, having been a postdoctoral fellow at our institute from 1992 to 1995. But he's gone on to fly as mission specialist on STS-84 in 1997 and as a mission specialist and payload commander on STS-106 in 2000, flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-2 and as Science Officer on the International Space Station Expedition-7 in 2003. The IfA is hoping to reprise the very successful "Hitchhiker's Guide to the End of Everything" discussion panel in the spring of 2007 with Ed as a special guest. Ed says that his schedule may be open for the latter part of January, so we are hoping that it remains so. We are also hoping that we may be able to bring the panel on the road, similar to the way we toured the "Hitchhiker" show last year. We really hope to bring these kinds of special programming to the neighbor islands as well as to our Manoa campus, and although Ed has stated an interest in visiting Maui and the Big Island, a busy schedule may preclude his participation for these portions.