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OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY
with Professor William
Herbst
January 12–16, 2009
This
one-week immersion course on the Island of Hawaii will focus
on the observational aspects of the science of astronomy,
including its history, current state, and future. We will
focus on the tools that astronomers use—telescopes,
spectrographs, and cameras—and the challenges they face, from
engineering to weather, as they seek to explore the universe.
Because it is so remote, the Island of Hawaii hosts 13 of the
world’s largest and most advanced telescopes on the summit of
Mauna Kea—one of the darkest and clearest places on earth.
Staff at the Keck Observatory (whose director is a Wesleyan
alumnus) will give us a tour of the observatory on the summit
of Mauna Kea. There, we will view stars and watch astronomers
conduct research. We will learn about the observable universe
by stargazing through a telescope and with binoculars at the
9200 foot elevation, where the visitors’ center is located. We
will also tour the headquarters and telescope control
facilities of the Keck Observatory in Waimea. The basics of
small telescope design and use, binocular astronomy and naked
eye astronomy will all be covered. Students will also complete
a project in digital or film-based astrophotography.
Topics to be covered include:
- the night sky—constellations and planets
-
astronomical coordinate systems and time
- naked eye astronomy; binocular astronomy
-
the nature and properties of light; telescopes—history, types,
examples
-
the earth’s atmosphere and its effect on observing;
space-based observatories
-
modern ground-based observatories
-
techniques for improving the quality of images
-
the future of observational astronomy from ground and space
-
choosing and operating your own small telescope
-
astrophotography for amateur astronomers.
William
Herbst
(B.A.
Princeton University; M.Sc. University Toronto, Ph.D. University
Toronto) is John Monroe Van Vleck Professor and chair of
Astronomy and director of the Van Vleck Observatory. He and his
team of students discovered a sun-like star that is eclipsed in
a way never before seen—not by another star, planet or moon, but
by dust grains, rocks and possibly asteroids orbiting it in a
clumpy, circumstellar disk. Astronomers consider this discovery
a pathway to new studies of the origins and evolution of
planets. Herbst is primary or contributing author of more than
200 publications in the astronomical literature.
Itinerary
The course will meet at the
Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii, north of
Kona, Monday through Friday, January 12–16, 2009. Students are
encouraged to arrive on Saturday, in order to spend Sunday
recovering from the very long flight. The schedule for the five
days of the course will be announced later, but will involve
both day time and evening time commitments. The Mauna Kea
Observatory is at an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet and one must
be in reasonably good health to go to the summit. In addition to
the time in Hawaii, students will be expected to attend three
night-time sessions at the Van Vleck Observatory on the Wesleyan
campus, two in early January and one later in the spring. These
will provide a basic preparation to improve one's appreciation
of the Hawaiian field trips and a summary and review session at
the end. All students will be expected to complete an
observational project involving either visual observations or
astrophotography.
Accommodations
About the Hilton Waikoloa Village
The Hilton
Waikoloa Village hotel will serve as our base station during the
course. The GLSP has secured a block of rooms for registered
students with the following rates:
-
Garden
view room: $199 per night
-
Partial
ocean view room: $249 per night
-
Room tax
is 11.4%
-
An
optional $4.50 daily resort fee, which includes an in-room
coffee maker, daily fitness club access for two, a daily
credit of $25 toward “lagoon beach toys,” and one hour of
court time at the tennis garden.
- You may
extend your stay for three nights before and after the course,
at the same room rate.
To reserve a
room, call 1-800-HILTONS and refer to Wesleyan University
Astronomy or group code WUA. You may also book online
at www.HiltonWaikoloaVillage.com and refer to WUA in the
Group/Convention Code field.
The Hilton
Waikoloa Village is a grand resort on 62 acres of oceanfront
coastline. It has magnificent, park-like grounds with extensive
walking paths, a collection of historic Asian sculptures placed
along all the walkways (the original hotel owner was an art
collector), an ocean-fed lagoon where you can swim and see reef
fish and green sea turtles without worrying about the undertow,
and an amazing swimming pool with waterfalls. The hotel is just
north of Kona, in the driest part of the island; the probability
of clear skies makes it a good place to study astronomy. The
hotel also has a dolphin center where you can sign up to learn
about and swim with dolphins. Or you can sit by the poolside and
relish a tropical drink as you watch them play.
For more
information about the hotel, visit
www.HiltonWaikoloaVillage.com.
Academic Information
The syllabus for this course will be available by October 1,
2008. All readings for the course must be
completed prior to the one week of class meetings. The
final paper will be due shortly after the one week of class
meetings. All GLSP courses confer three units of credit.
Costs
| Registration fee: |
$ 100 |
| Tuition: |
$1926 |
| Additional course
fee:
|
$ 600 |
| Total paid to
Wesleyan: |
$2,626 |
The
additional course fee of $600 includes transportation for
course excursions. Students are responsible for making their own
arrangements and paying the costs of transportation to Hawaii,
to and from the airport to the hotel, for all meals, and for all
accommodations. Those with high blood pressure, heart
conditions, respiratory difficulties, pregnant women, those in
poor health, those with a body mass index of 30 or higher, and
anyone who has gone scuba or snuba diving within 24 hours may
not ascend the summit of Mauna Kea, due to its low oxygen
levels.
How to Register
Registration is now open!
To register, complete the form below and submit it, with
a deposit of
$600, to the GLSP office at 284 High Street, Middletown, CT 06437.
Enrollment is limited to a maximum of 14 students. If you have questions, please contact
Jolene Drechsler
at 860-685-3352.
New Students
Students who have not taken any previous courses through
Wesleyan University's GLSP must also submit (1) a
New
Student Application Form and (2) official undergraduate
transcripts (sent directly to the GLSP from the degree-granting
institution). The usual requirement of compliance with the
State of Connecticut's immunization requirements is waived for
this travel course. |
