Rachel Ross's blog

AstroDay 2012

May 5th saw the 11th annual AstroDay celebration on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Observatories across the state were invited to participate in the event located at Prince Kuhio shopping center in Hilo, including LCOGT. JD Armstrong and Rachel Ross attended along with Heather Kaluna and Marco Micheli, grad students from University of Hawai'i Manoa.

CCC at Sedgwick

The California Conservation Corps spent the weekend camping at Sedgwick doing a number of projects around the reserve, including trail maintenance on the path up the hill to BOS. As a thank you to the group for working on that path, we offered them a star party which was enthusiastically accepted.

First 1-meter installed at McDonald Observatory

The first 1-meter telescope was installed this morning at McDonald Observatory! Crews from both LCOGT and McDonald made sure that the installation went smoothly. Below are some of the first pictures of the 1-meter telescope being (gently) placed in its new home.

Keep watching the News feed for more information as it becomes available.

First Sedgwick Star Party of 2012

March 21 marked the first star party at Sedgwick for the 2012 season. Not only did we have quite an enthusiastic group, the astronomy club from Santa Barbara City College, but we had perfect (but cold) weather with great seeing.

2012 AAS Conference

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) holds two annual meetings, the larger being in January. With attendance of around nearly 3000, there are always lots of exciting announcements in a variety of areas of astronomy, cosmology, technology, education, and more. This year’s winter AAS was held January 7 - 12 in Austin, Texas.

2011 Statistics for FTN and FTS

FTS Statistics for 2011:

2012 KITP Teacher's Conference

This year's KITP teacher's conference was held on January 14. This conference brings over a hundred science teachers at the middle and high school levels from across the country to Santa Barbara for a day of 'what's new' in different areas of physics with world renowned scientists.

Sedgwick Year End 2011

Here is a year end summery of activities involving the BOS telescope at Sedgwick Reserve covering education and outreach, science, and engineering.

Education/Outreach:

New Domes in South Africa and Texas

Despite cold and heavy winds, snow, and freezing temperatures, new domes were constructed in Texas at McDonald Observatory and in South Africa at Sutherland!

Science Night at Adams Elementary School

On December 1, Adams Elementary School in Santa Barbara held their annual science night. Several science and engineering groups from around town were invited to participate including LCOGT. Hands on activities covering a broad range of sciences were present including entomology, marine biology, seismology, marine biology, physics, geology, engineering, astronomy, and more packed into an hour and a half.

Over the weekend, warm weather and clear skies created the perfect night for a star party at Sedgwick. Donated by LCOGT to the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) for their annual benefit, which includes both a live and silent auction. The auction winner was from Mesa Lane Partners, who is an active partner of the EDC.

Update at Chile Site

(This is a quick update to the blog article First Dome Installed in Chile)

Author Bio

Author:
Rachel Ross

(Jedi Master)

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