 | Standing in front of the dome that encloses the 12" Meade telescope are graduate student astronomers Dipankar Maitra, Juan Cortes, Bethany Cobb and Hugh Crowl, all of whom lead Yale Astronomy Public Nights. |
In gatherings, students share their zeal for celestial wonders
While rotating the large silver dome of the Yale Student Observatory in order to focus its 12-inch telescope on Saturn, Juan Cortes tells two young visitors what to expect when they see the planet.
"With its rings, Saturn looks something like a fried egg," the graduate student in astronomy says to the youngsters.
The sky is mostly overcast on this crisp April night, but breaks in the clouds allow the visitors a clear view of Saturn and its rings, a look at Jupiter and its satellites, and the chance to observe close-up some of the craters of the Moon.
The Moon's brightness, Cortes informs the visitors, is a reflection of light from the Sun; the moon itself, like the Earth, has no light of its own. The Sun in the Earth's solar system, he adds, is approximately 4.5 billion years old, a fact that surprises the young visitors.
The youngsters have never seen the sky's wonders through a telescope before, and their awe is apparent as they focus in on each new celestial sight.
The two young visitors are among the children and numerous adults who have enjoyed their first glimpse of the night sky via a telescope during one of Yale's Astronomy Public Nights, which are held -- weather permitting -- the first Thursday of every month.
On these nights, which are sponsored by the Department of Astronomy, the public is invited to venture up to the Yale Student Observatory, located atop the Pierson-Sage Parking Garage, and look at astronomical objects through the dome-enclosed Meade telescope or one of the department's smaller Celestron telescopes. The monthly viewings, which last about one-and-a-half hours, are led by graduate students in astronomy, who are sometimes assisted by faculty and undergraduate students in the department.
On this particular Yale Astronomy Public Night, Cortes and fellow graduate student Dipankar Maitra are unable to hide their disappointment that much of the night sky was obscured by clouds.
"We were uncertain right up until the last minute whether to go ahead with the viewing tonight," says Maitra. On some nights, it's a difficult call, he explains, and since the decision is made by approximately 5 p.m., weather conditions can change substantially by the time of the event, which takes place after dark (on this night, at 8 p.m.).
Nevertheless, the two graduate students take turns focusing the telescope on whatever is visible in the overcast sky and enthusiastically speak about the objects being viewed.
While pointing the telescope to Jupiter, Maitra explains that three of the planet's four largest moons are aligned and visible, and he invites the nighttime visitors to take a look. As they climb a small step ladder to look through the optical eyepiece, Maitra tells them that Jupiter is about 11 times the size of the Earth in diameter, and that it takes the fastest of these moons about 42 hours to circle around the planet. In contrast, it takes the Earth's moon 27 days to revolve around the planet.
To give the visitors a sense of the enormity of the universe, Cortes tells his guests that there are millions and millions of galaxies, and that the closest star to the Earth is 4.6 light years away. Because stars are so far away, it can take their light a long time to reach Earth, he explains, so a star that is a million light years away is seen in the sky as it looked a million years ago.
"Hosting the Public Nights is a way of getting people interested in astronomy," says graduate student Hugh Crowl, who has been coordinating the monthly gatherings for the past three years. "Astronomy is one science that a lot of people think is cool, and it's great for us to be able to show people something where they can learn about the universe."
Adds Crowl, "I also believe that scientists have an obligation to show people what they do."
Depending upon the weather, Yale Astronomy Public Nights can draw small groups of less than five to as many as 75 people in one night. Visitors to the observatory sometimes bring lawn chairs and blankets, and indulge in ordinary star gazing while waiting for their chance to look through a telescope. In addition to the Meade telescope beneath the 14.6-foot-high Ash dome, which can rotate 360 degrees, the observatory has a platform that can accommodate up to four Celestron telescopes. A trailer on site is equipped with computers which students can use for research and for storing electronic images taken with the observatory's digital camera. The observatory is also used for undergraduate astronomy classes.
"We have a variety of people who come to the Public Nights," says Crowl. "Some people come never having looked at the sky before and are seeing these objects for the first time, while we also get amateur astronomers, who tend to know a lot more than professional astronomers about the night sky." Yale students from throughout the campus are among the frequent visitors, and occasionally formal groups or organizations, such as Boy and Girl Scout troops, attend.
In addition to planets and the Moon, the student astronomers also show their visitors such well-known constellations as the Big and Little Dippers, Cygnus the Swan, Cassiopeia and Orion, among many others.
"While we do point out the objects that are easily visible in a particular season, we never have any set agenda," says Crowl. "We're more than happy to look at whatever objects our visitors are interested in seeing."
Those new to viewing the sky through a telescope are often amazed by the fact that the objects they see -- usually planets -- look different than the pictures they have seen of them.
"A lot of the images that people are used to seeing have a lot of color enhancement, so Saturn and Jupiter, for example, look a lot redder in their pictures than they actually are," explains Crowl.
For Crowl and the other graduate students who lead the Yale Astronomy Public Nights, the events are a chance to experience the simple pleasure of looking at the sky.
"One of my favorite parts of astronomy is looking through the telescope," says Crowl, adding that while conducting research, most graduate students spend the majority of their time doing calculations and looking at images of astronomical objects on a computer.
"It's great fun to be able to just look at things with a telescope," agrees Maitra, who was an amateur astronomer before deciding to embark on graduate studies in the field. "It makes you fall in love with astronomy again."
Cortes says he enjoys the camaraderie of looking at and pondering the mysteries of the sky with others.
"Now, with digital photography, we can take pictures of objects, and then go home and sit and look at the pictures on a computer. It's changed everything. But it is still nice to be able to get together with other people to look at objects in the universe and talk about what we are seeing."
While the city lights of New Haven make for less-than-perfect viewing, the graduate students say that for most visitors, the experience is still well worth it.
"It's always great fun," says Crowl. He adds that the astronomy department plans to move the Yale Student Observatory to Farnam Memorial Gardens on Prospect Street, where the darker surroundings of the park will improve night-time observations.
Crowl and the other graduate students also relish the chance to answer questions from both experienced sky gazers and initiates of the activity.
One question that visitors will occasionally ask the astronomy students is whether there is life elsewhere in the universe.
"I tell people that the universe is so big that we cannot even begin to fathom how great the distance is between some of the objects in it," says Crowl. "In such a huge universe, it would be hard to imagine that the only life is here on Earth. But I don't think we'll have confirmation of life elsewhere anytime soon."
Yale Astronomy Public Nights are free to all. Those interested in attending a Thursday evening of sky-gazing should confirm the event is still scheduled by checking the website at www.astro.yale.edu/publicnights/ around 5 p.m. on the day of the public viewing. When weather conditions force a cancellation of the Public Night on the first Thursday of the month, the viewing is generally rescheduled for the second Thursday of the month. Because of the observatory's planned relocation, summer public nights are tentative; check the website to confirm the schedule.
-- By Susan Gonzalez
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