Reaching for the Stars, and Catching Them

December 7, 2006

Meredith, Sean and Olivia in the 0.9-meter telescope dome at Kitt Peak with Dr. Garmany, NOAO scientist. Photo: John A. Blackwell

Exeter's Grainger Observatory is a state-of-the-art facility, unrivaled at high schools and at many universities. And its quality is reflected in the work of the students who study there.

Last summer, three Exonians, veterans of Astronomy 999, prepared a proposal to study at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Kitt Peak, part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), is one of the nation's premier sky-watching facilities, operating three major nighttime telescopes and hosting additional facilities for independent consortia. The students' project was to study an eclipsing binary star system called U Pegasi, a pair of stars which orbit each other around a common center of gravity. Kitt Peak accepted the proposal, and the students – Olivia, Sean and Meredith, all seniors – spent two full days and nights on location near Tucson, AZ, along with John A. Blackwell, director of Grainger Observatory.

The students wanted access to the tremendous technical facilities at Kitt Peak, and they wanted to work with NOAO astronomers. "The time at Kitt Peak was amazing," says Olivia, a New Yorker who saw the Milky Way with her naked eye for the first time while on Kitt Peak. "I didn't want to leave! Observing the stars through the telescope was phenomenal. The technology was so sophisticated, and the things we were able to do were awesome, stuff that we couldn't do even with our telescopes at Exeter."

During their stint at Kitt Peak, the students had planned to use the 0.9-meter telescope, which was used to discover the first optical pulsar in 1969. However, when the Exeter group arrived on the mountain, staff scientists informed them that a lightning strike had damaged the telescope. The students used another optical system, the Coudé Feed Spectrograph, which allowed them to obtain high-resolution spectra of U Pegasi as it went into and out of eclipse.

The students returned to campus with a tremendous amount of data, which they've been busy analyzing in collaboration with Blackwell and NOAO astronomer, Dr. Katy Garmany, with whom they worked while at Kitt Peak.

"This experience has been fabulous for the students," says Blackwell. "It has allowed them to taste astronomy research at a large telescope facility and to work alongside professional astronomers. The students made the very best of it, spending two nights fully awake and enjoying the telescopes, cool clear nights and a sky full of stars."

Would the students do this project again? You bet. "The main reason I love astronomy is because it's a science that doesn't have definite answers," says Olivia, "and the stars are completely beyond our control. We'll never really be sure of what we think we know, and I like that."

Blackwell, who has taught at Exeter for two years, continues to expand the reach of astronomy at Exeter. Next summer, he is launching a new program, the Exeter Astronomy Conference. This one-week course will bring to Exeter's campus 14 astronomy teachers to share teaching experiences and to build collaborations. "This program is extremely valuable," explains Blackwell. "Now secondary school teachers will be able to gather and share astronomy experiences, knowledge and practices at a research-grade facility that is leading-edge."

Interested in learning more? Check out these links:
Kitt Peak...
National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)...
The Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education Program at Kitt Peak, the program that sponsored the students' research...
Exeter's Grainger Observatory...
Exeter's Science department...
Exeter Astronomy Conference...
Exeter's full set of summer programs for students and secondary school teachers...