Message from CFHT Librarian, Liz Bryson
Aloha!! We wish you a very Merry Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka and Joyeux Noël to all of the HOKU readers and their Ohana!We are grateful for your feedback and support of our venture. email.
Contents:
- CFHT Outreach Reaches Out to the Big Island Community
- Waimea Festival 2004
- Parker School Students Community Work at CFHT
- Christmas Star Gazing Party 2004
- CFHT Wall Calendar 2005
- Star of Bethlehem
- Christmas Science
- Santa Claus in Space
- Buying a Telescope for the Holidays
- Upcoming Astronomical Events
CFHT Outreach Reaches Out to the Big Island Community
Activity Highlights of the Past Few Months:
Waimea Festival 2004 August 29th.
Parker School Students Community Work at CFHT October 15th.
On the left, Krystal McAllister and Madalyn Vause assist CFHT's Finance Manager, Jane Rodgers, with filing. On the right, Micah Thrasher helps Remi Cabanac with an infrared sky management database.
Christmas Star Gazing Party, December 4, 2004
Approximately 200 people attended the 2nd annual CFHT Star Gazing Party held on the front lawn of Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Headquarters. Small telescopes were set on the front lawn in order to observe stars, planets, and other deep-sky objects.
This year, for the first time, CFHT opened the remote control room to the public and people were able to watch how scientific observations are carried out in real time at the summit.
Click on the images above to get an enlargement. On the left, Billy Mahoney assists visitors looking through the telescope. On the right Pierre Martin explains how a night of observing might be done from downtown.
CFHT Wall Calendar 2005
These calendars make great presents. You may order them online at our website or visit our office in Kamuela.
Star of Bethlehem
Watch this fine presentation created by Griffith Observatory and presented on the MSNBC Mysteries of the Universe series.
Christmas Science
Students will learn how different crystals are formed at the following site:Crystals, *Christmas*, and *Science*
Santa Claus in Space - Christmas on Other Planets
Just a few years ago, the folks at Science@NASA had a chance to interview the big, himself, Santa. Here's that interview, which was conducted Christmas Eve, 1998. In an exclusive interview, Science@NASA visited Santa Claus at his secret North Pole workshop. He took a break from final preparations to talk about how he'll maintain his legendary delivery system as humankind inhabits other worlds.
Buying a Telescope for the *Holidays*
Got the Astronomy Bug? Hoping to get a Telescope for Christmas so you can jumpstart your career as a Sky Observer? This is an important step and you don't want to be disappointed, so take your time and research the telescopes available. Don't just walk into a department store and buy something under $200 which promises 250 to 600 power, you would probably be disappointed. Check out this site first!
Upcoming Astronomical Events
- Winter Solstice - The winter solstice occurs at 2:42am on December 21st this year. I'm sure there will be a nice welcome to the sun that morning at the summit of Mauna Kea.
- Planets - On December 28 at 7pm, Mercury will be 1.2 degrees north of Venus. The next evening at 11 pm, Mercury will be at its greatest elongation W of the sun. Look for extra high tides around Jan 10th, the moon will be at its closest perigee distance from earth. At 356,570 kilometers (221562.3 miles), this is the closest the moon will be until 2008.
- Meteor Showers - Don't forget to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower on the morning of January 3rd. Best viewing time is Midnight to Sunrise with the peak occuring at 2am on the 3rd. Predictions are 100 meteors per hour. The shower will be visible for several mornings either side of this date also. Remember the radiant for this shower is in Bootes. It is best to bring along a sky chart to identify the constellation. See the August 2001 issue of Hoku in the archive to learn more about watching meteor showers.
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.
