Message from Lisa Wells:
CFHT Community Outreach Recent Past Events September 22nd, 2011: CFHT hosted some Chinese Media in a tour of the CFH Telescope. October 8th, 2011: This night was designated as International "Observe the Moon" night. CFHT observed the moon this evening so we invited the West Hawaii Astronomy Club (WHAC) to come set up telescopes and observe the moon in the early evening hours. We had a few people from the general public come by and join us. You can help determine the "Observe the Moon" night for 2012 by going to the website below and voting. October 14th, 2011: There was a tour of the telescope for a group of officials from the Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute in Daejeon, Korea. November 17th, 2011: CFHT sent some staff members to participate in the Girls Exploring Science and Math (GEMS) in West Hawaii for girls in fifth grade. The event was held at the Keauhou Outrigger Beach Resort from 8am to 2pm. This year, 280 5th grade girls from private and public schools participated. Click on the pictures below for an enlarged view. 
December 3rd, 2011: CFHT hosted the general public at its Christmas Star Party right after the Christmas Parade in Waimea. We had telescopes set up on the lawn for viewing when the clouds parted, speaking with the observer in the remote observing room, Ask An Astronomer, and other fun activities. Many stopped by to warm up and have some refreshments. Click on the pictures below for an enlarged view. 
Upcoming Events January 28nd, 2012: CFHT will participate in the Ellison Onizuka Science Day at the University of Hawaii, Hilo from 8am to 3:15pm. The registration form is online at the following site. Astronaut Mike Fincke will be hosting a session. Interactive workshops are for students grades 4 - 12. June 5th, 2012: This will be your opportunity to view an event which happens in pairs once every 112 years on average. The last transit of Venus was June 8, 2004, but before that, it occured on December 6th, 1882. CFHT plans to have observational opportunities downtown in Kamuela. The transit begins at 12:10 pm and will go almost until sunset. This will be your last chance until December of 2117. We will update the information as plans develope.
Liz Bryson, CFHT Librarian and creator of Hoku has retired from CFHT and will be moving to the east coast of the mainland. Thanks Liz for your years of dedication and service to CFHT and the astronomy group. You will be missed! The Drake Equation Frank Drake tells how he came up with the Drake Equation. This is a great exercise for critical thinking. I'm sure your students could come up with other questions which can be estimated by developing their own similar equation as well. The Interactive Drake Equation
How High Up Is Space Here is a new classroom activity which will help students understand the Earth's atmosphere and its scale. Song of the Universe Here is a fun site with a great song for remembering many facts about our universe. Its amazing that they got Eric Idle to sing the song! An Astronomer Looks At Astrology Astronomers often are asked questions about astrology which is quite a different topic from true astronomy. Andrew Fraknoi, an astronomer from Foothill College wrote a great paper which dispels the myths about the relationship between astronomy and astrology and I believe it is worth sharing. An Astronomer Looks At Astrology Supernova Sonata From April, 2003 to August 2006, CFHT was used to monitor a large area of sky with the largest digital camera on Earth. During this period, many objects were discovered and this has been set to music. The assignment of notes was done using the distance, brightness, and mass of the host galaxy. This is a very unique way to view and listen to the events occuring in the universe. Comet Grazes the Sun What a surprise that on December 15-16, 2011, Comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) survived its close encounter with the solar atmosphere. Comets travel on elliptical orbits and it is clearly seen in the videos. Accessible on the link below are time lapse movies of the close encounter from the SOHO Satellite which was watching the solar corona at the time of the close encounter. What is puzzling the astronomers is the loss of its tail during the close encounter. The second link below shows pictures taken by astronauts aboard the Space Station after its close encounter. Comet Recovery from Space Station Tools for Educators Here are some tools which may be useful for anyone. These are only suggestions and before spending your money on those things which have a price, you may want to investigate it for yourself before buying. Applied Math and Science Education Repository The Universe at Your Fingertips Upcoming Astronomical Events
All times listed above are HST unless otherwise indicated. The link below contains many calendars and includes a nice section on astronomical events. Check it out!
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