Message from CFHT Librarian, Liz Bryson
Aloha!! This issue is dedicated to Mark and the "Make A Wish" Foundation for allowing a young boy to visit Hale Pohaku and the Mauna Kea Visitors Center for an evening of observing and learning about Mauna Kea's Natual History and Astronomy. Click on the images below to view enlargement.
On Monday, July 26th, our Service Observer, Mary Beth Laychak, attended a "Make a Wish" evening at Hale Pohaku. The make a wish child, Mark, was accompained by his parents and his younger brother Brian. They went on a nature walk with Keyan from the Visitor Center, ate dinner, and had a brief presentation about IR cameras from the outreach head at Gemini. The observatories represented were Gemini, CFHT, CSO and IfA. Mary Beth presented him with a long sleeve CFHT t-shirt, a cd of summit photos, some bookmarks and stickers, 2003 and 2004 calendars and a three posters. He was very, very excited and absolutely loved it all. All in all, Mark and his family had a great time. He's the little boy with the glasses in all the pictures. After the presentations, the family went stargazing at the visitor's center.
The Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee is working on their website: Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee .
Their Mission Statement from their top page states: As a cultural, natural and scientific Treasure, Mauna Kea's value to the people of Hawai`i and the world is unparalleled. The Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee coordinates observatory support for the Visitor Information Station (VIS) at the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. This partnership provides education resources for the children, residents and visitors on the island of Hawai`i through programs and outreach activities. The VIS serves as a focal point to instill a sense of wonder of the exploration of the Universe, and responsibility for the care of Mauna Kea to all who visit and value it.
We are grateful for your feedback and support of our venture. email.
Contents:
- Make A Wish Visit
- Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee
- California Institute of Technology: Cool Cosmos
- Birth Cry of the Cosmos Heard
- Free Videos from NASA
- Cosmic Distance Scale
- Big Bang Was Big Hum
- Upcoming Astronomical Events
California Institute of Technology: Cool Cosmos
This great educational site from Cal Tech offers all sorts of resources to assist in learning about the universe. Using the fun, gear-like menu on the left of the screen, visitors can pick from site areas such as the Cosmic Classroom (which offers classroom activities, lessons, reference info and an Ask an Astronomer option), Cosmic Kids (where kids can learn about what's in space through stories and resources like the Infrared Zoo), the Video and Image Galleries, and lots more. The site should be a great resource for teachers introducing students to the study of the universe or those visitors who are simply interested in getting lost in space for a while.
Birth Cry of the Cosmos Heard
Reports on sounds of the early universe, which have been recaptured by an astronomy professor. Features sound files resulting from analysis of the "so-called background radiation that was born 400,000 years after the Big Bang." Includes related links. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Free Videos from NASA
"NASA has a great source of free education videos (not just science). If you send them a blank video tape, they will record it for you and send it back for....... free of charge!" Topics are broad, everything from history of aviation to polynomials. There are also a few interactive CDs available for sale. This website is a pdf catalog of what is available.
Cosmic Distance Scale
This NASA site was developed by Maggie Masetti to demonstrate astronomical distances and help users grasp the size of our universe. Starting at Earth, users simply select the Zoom Out link to see continuously larger areas of our universe until they reach The Farthest Visible Reaches of Space. At each stop, visitors can click on the Tell Me About link to receive information about the particular object such as its importance, its distance, and the time it would take to travel to the object. Teachers and students will find this site both incredibly easy to navigate and very educational.
Big Bang Was Big Hum
Physicist John Cramer has produced an audio track of the Big Bang. Prompted by an 11-year-old who wanted to know what the Big Bang sounded like, Cramer went to work to find out. The 100-second-long .WAV file uses sound frequencies modified to let human hearing detect them. The end result sounds something like a turbo-charged helicopter passing by. New Scientist has a brief article and a link to the sound file.
Upcoming Astronomical Events
- Meteor Showers - Don't forget to watch the Perseid meteor shower on the morning of August 12nd. Best viewing time is Midnight to Sunrise with the peak occuring at 1am on the 12nd. Predictions are 90 meteors per hour. It is best to bring along a sky chart to identify the constellations in this case Perseid in the N and then look in their direction. See the August 2001 issue of Hoku in the archive to learn more about watching meteor showers.
- Eclipses - There will be a partial solar eclipse during the day of October 13th. It will start at 5:14 pm and end at 6:06pm. This is unfortunately not quite as spectacular as a total solar eclipse. About 50% of the sun will be covered and it will set before the end of the event. A total lunar eclipse will occur on October 27th at the moonrise that evening. The moon will rise with a dark red color and shortly after, the moon will pass into the penumbra and begin brightening. If you are traveling in the eastern part of the mainland, the entire eclipse will be visible.
- Planets - Venus and Saturn will be very close on the morning of August 31st. They will be within several degrees of each other. Mercury will be at its greatest elongation in the evening sky September 19th.
- Zodiacal Light - Look for the zodiacal light for several weeks beginning September 13th in the morning just before twilight begins.
- Equinox - The Autumnal equinox occurs on the morning of September 22 at 6:30am.
All times listed above are HST. The link below contains many calendars and includes a nice section on astronomical events. Check it out!!
We gratefully acknowledge the following online sources: Yahoo's Search Engine, The Scout Report, Blue Web'N, and the Librarian's Index to the Internet.This page is compiled by Liz Bryson, CFHT Librarian
This page was designed by Lisa Wells, CFHT Observing Assistant
We appreciate your comments and questions.
