[meteorite-list] 'Deep Impact' on Hawaii and the Universe

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Feb 28 01:28:12 2005
Message-ID: <200502280627.j1S6Rt219552_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=6394

'Deep Impact' on Hawaii and the universe
By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS
The Maui News (Hawaii)
February 27, 2005

KAHULUI - Sometime on the Fourth of July, people in Hawaii will be
observing a celestial event as anticipated and spectacular as any burst
of fireworks that will mark America's Independence Day.

But it won't be apparent to the average viewer on Earth since the event
will be occurring 80 million miles away when an 820-pound spacecraft
runs into the Comet Tempel I.

Both professional astronomers and amateur space enthusiasts, including
students on Maui, will be focused on the NASA Deep Impact project that
will study the effects of what is expected to be an explosive encounter
in distant space.

The opportunity to be an observer in the study was one of the reasons
for a workshop Saturday at Maui Community College, at which teachers
were given information on the Deep Impact flight and on the
possibilities for using the Faulkes Telescope on Haleakala.

"I think this is big stuff for Hawaii," said John Pye, who teaches
astronomy and ocean science at MCC.

The new educational observatory on Maui will be one of the best
locations for tracking the comet's progress as its orbit pulls it close
to the Earth on its regular route that brings it into the solar system
every 5.5 years.

The tracking of Comet Tempel 1 and the ability for students to log on to
the Faulkes Telescope is what Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus teachers
Jean Hamai and Len Bloch hope to use when they initiate an astronomy
club on their campus.

Hamai and Bloch were among a handful of educators who attended the
workshop Saturday sponsored by the University of Hawaii at Manoa
Astrobiology Institute at MCC.

The workshop was held in conjunction with an astrobiology exhibit that
has been on display at the MCC Library since Feb. 16. The display, which
will be dismantled Monday, introduces the science of astrobiology (the
combined studies of astronomy and biology) and was made available on
loan from the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

The exhibit featured an interactive display on deep sea vents and their
ecosystems, with graphic panels of scientific illustrations of one such
vent ecosystem, individual organisms and informative text. Certain
elements of the graphic materials, when touched, activated the monitor
to display relevant, engaging and informative video. Active points
include the submersible Alvin, several individual species of the vent
community and a scientist and scientific illustrator who work together
to explore these environments.

Study of the deep sea environment is related to astronomy because
theories on the possibility of life on planets such as Mars involve
examination of how life can occur in hostile environments such as the
acidic, superheated waters around a deep-sea volcanic vent.

But participants in the workshop were more interested in knowing how to
see the stars through the Faulkes Telescope, the 2-meter telescope
installed as a joint venture between the University of Hawaii and the
Dill Faulkes Educational Trust.

The Faulkes Telescope Project, which includes a second sister telescope
to be set up in Siding Spring, Australia, will allow students in Hawaii
and the United Kingdom to conduct research in astronomy, setting up
projects with requests for observation time at specific areas in distant
space.

Observations on the telescopes will all be conducted remotely, over the
Internet, both in real-time - as the observations are being made - and
off-line, when the student in a classroom during the day can call up the
observations made during the night.

While the Faulkes program is still being set up, the telescope is
already making observations and qualified teachers and students can file
requests for observation time on Faulkes.

The problem for Hamai is that she initially couldn't get through the
sign-on system. She said she had a frustrating time attempting to log on
in November. She would reserve time but then the telescope would be
inoperable.

At one point when the telescope was operating, Hamai was able to see
images in space from her computer at home.

"I thought to myself, 'Wow I'm driving the telescope but nobody's here
to see me do it,'" Hamai recalled.

With more instructions on accessing the system, Hamai is aiming to get
her students involved. She said she planned to take what she learned in
the workshop to initiate an astronomy club at Kamehameha Schools.

"At this point it's just about exposure and giving the kids content
knowledge," she said about her purpose in forming an astronomy club and
taking on the Deep Impact event as a project.

When she was able to log on, Hamai said she wasn't able to produce any
of the images she saw on her computer. But after listening Saturday to
tips from the Faulkes telescope systems engineer Bill Giebink, and from
Jim Bedient, an amateur user of the Faulkes telescope, she said she was
more confident of success in the future.

She said she wanted to be sure she could navigate the system herself
before she introduced it to her students.

"I'm very protective of my kids and I didn???t want them to get turned
off," Hamai said.

UH Astrobiology Institute Director Karen Meech, who is with the Deep
Impact Science Team, said amateur space enthusiasts, teachers and
students can help professionals by providing data on their own
observations. Professionals have limited times on telescopes, while
amateurs on the Faulkes Telescope can watch nightly to track the comet.

Meech said the professionals observing Comet Tempel 1 are most
interested in what can be seen in the dust from the comet, its
brightness versus distance and something called jets, which is material
within the comet that could damage a spacecraft upon impact.

Hamai said she believes her high school students would be excited about
the use of the Faulkes Telescope and observing the comet.

"Kids have in them a natural awe for space," she said. "I think this
project is empowering for them and there's a connection there for them."

Pye said currently that many of the jobs in Hawaii that involve
astronomy are filled by non-Hawaii residents because there are not
enough qualified specialists here to do the jobs.

Bloch said he is inviting the professionals operating the Faulkes
Telescope to meet with his students, hoping the experience with the
telescope will lead to interest in careers in astronomy.

"I really would like our kids to be aware of the opportunities they
have," he said.
Received on Mon 28 Feb 2005 01:27:54 AM PST