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TAO Public Stargaze

Program: Enjoying the Skies with a Telescope

November 7, 2009

Where? See our map on the right!

The public is invited to enjoy the first Tamke-Allan Observatory Public Stargaze of the month on November 7at 7:00 PM. The program will be compliments of Lee Ericson and David Fields and will discuss important features of the night's sky and a perspective on radio telescope networks.

This will be an excellent evening to visit and enjoy astronomy. The observatory sponsors public Stargazes on the first and third Saturday evenings of each month. Amateur astronomers bring telescopes and binoculars and offer views of astronomical objects, while visitors are invited to bring their telescopes, questions and cookies to share with the astronomers.

The observatory is located just off Caney Creek Road between Midtown and Rockwood. Please check the observatory web site at www.roanestate.edu/obs for driving instructions and a map. TAO is wheelchair-accessible.

TAO is a part of Roane State Community College, and supports light conservation and energy conservation. Poorly directed light is wasted and causes glare - a hazard on our highways.. Directing light downward where it is needed conserves energy and gives us a safer, more secure community. It also keeps our observatory open for education and research. When was the last time that you could see our beautiful milky way? We are losing our Roane County heritage to the glare of unshielded lights.

Did you visit us on Aug. 1, 2009?

SRSS Bad Light Shootout

N4TAO Special Event Station

"TAO Lighthouse, Collecting Starlight under Dark Skies"

Roane County citizens enjoyed the first SRSS Bad Light Shootout on August 1, when Tamke-Allan Observatory operated N4TAO as a Special Event Amateur Radio Station. The Bad Light Shootout was sponsored by Save Roane Starry Skies, and participants will shot at targets picturing inefficient and poorly-designed light fixtures using water balloons. Help stamp out "bad" lights, old-fashioned street lights that shine out and up, wasting energy and money, causing dangerous glare, and blotting out the night sky.

Local hams from the Roane County Amateur Radio Club operated our radio transmit/receive station, as we celebrated the two-year anniversary of our site radio license. The observatory is also active in optical and radio astronomy. Refreshments were be available. This Special Event Amateur Radio Station will coordinated activities with other stations operated from lighthouses around the world. We were “TAO Lighthouse, Collecting Starlight under Dark Skies” and we expect to be the only observatory participating in the radio net.

The Public Stargazes begin at 7:00 PM and the public will be treated to astronomy lectures, views of the night sky, and participation in ham radio activities. This will be an excellent evening to visit and enjoy some astronomy. The observatory sponsors public Stargazes on the first and third Saturday evenings of each month. Amateur astronomers bring telescopes and binoculars and offer views of astronomical objects, while visitors are invited to bring their questions and food to share with the astronomers.

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From Saturday May 2, 2009:

From April 18, 2009:

Tamke-Allan Observatory hosted Radio Astronomy Society President on April 18

Our guest astronomer from Chiefland Astronomy Village, Tom Crowley, gave two excellent talks on Saturday. We had a full crowd for both. The first presentation, “Advances in Amateur Radio Astronomy” covered recent advances in radio astronomy that permit amateur astronomers to contribute actively to astronomy research. Current observations showing changes in solar output were discussed. After this excellent talk, part of the afternoon (geeky) crowd went to Gondolier and we had a great meal. Here's part of the afternoon crowd.

The night crowd was bigger.

Tom's second presentation, “Searching for Super Novas,” started at 7:30 PM. Tom is a member of the Puckett Observatory Super Nova Search Team and they have discovered over 170 super novas. This presentation covered different classifications of super novas; described how the amateur astronomer hunts them, and what procedures need to be followed to report their discovery. Besides super nova hunting with his homebuilt 24” telescope, Tom does visual observing, CCD imaging and radio astronomy. Most of their photos are made using Jack Newton's scope for remote photos. The night talk was packed, but outside skies were cloudy -- not even sucker holes.

Roy Morrow has a western home near Jack Newton's and was over there last week. Roy, Heather, and the rest of you who asked if someone could video tape Tom's presentations -- we had 2 video cameras going (thanks to Dick Castle and Bill Seymour, both of Chattanooga) so I think that we'll be able to get a copy. Thanks to both of you!

Come to think of it, we had more Chattanooga people there than SMAS people (yes, that's even including the fact that I'm a paid-up SMAS member). That's not the first time that this has happened. Chattanooga is an active place! I was there a few weeks ago, when they had my friend Chuck Higgins speaking about observing Jupiter. Here we are admiring the historic telescope on the UTC campus.

We meet irrespective of weather conditions. The observatory sponsors public Stargazes on the first and third Saturday evenings of each month. Amateur astronomers bring telescopes and binoculars and offer views of astronomical objects, while visitors are invited to bring their questions and food to share with the astronomers.

Too much light causes glare – a hazard on our highways. Directing light downward where it is needed conserves energy and gives us a safer, more secure community. It also keeps our observatory open for education and research. When was the last time that you could see our beautiful milky way? We are losing our Roane County Heritage in the glare of unshielded lights.

TAO is located just off Caney Creek Road between Midtown and Rockwood. Please check the observatory web site at www.roanestate.edu/obs for driving instructions and a map. The site is wheelchair-accessible.

Please leave the driveway up to the sidewalk clear except for setup, as we'll likely have a couple of handicapped persons tonight.

Bring your telescopes and binoculars, red flashlights, and snacks to share. This Public Stargaze should be an excellent evening for citizens of Roane County to visit and enjoy astronomy.

Astronomers and visitors have many difficulties lately from local lights that shine upward and threaten the ability to see anything beyond the brightest astronomical objects.

The Light Conservation citizen's group has a new website.

Our Meade LX-200 telescope is now mounted in the POD, compliments of DR, Roy and David. The telescope was a generous gift from Roy, while the POD is borrowed from DR. Thanks, Guys! Here's our first astrophoto from the LX-200 in the POD, after additional help from Larry and Katie:

Fortunately the ORION nebula shown here was well above the horizon. The depressing light pollution news continues -- we have had another temporary setback in trying to bring dark and starry skies back to our community and preserve our Tennessee Heritage of beautiful skies.

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Here's Larry Robinson's gazing ball image from 5/19. Note the heavy light pollution along the horizon and illumination of the classroom by the light trespass (click for full size image). This is a 11 PM photo and the light pollution prevents viewing around the horizon.

Tamke-Allan Observatory of Rockwood is a treasure of Roane County. It hosts free Public Stargazes on the first and third Saturday evenings of each month. These stargazes have opened the night skies, free of charge to everyone, for the past 10 years. Amateur astronomers bring telescopes and binoculars and offer views of astronomical objects, while visitors are invited to bring their questions and cameras and meet the astronomers. Kids are especially welcome.

Too much light causes glare – a hazard on our highways. Directing light downward where it is needed conserves energy and gives us a safer, more secure community. It also keeps our observatory open for education and research. When was the last time that you could see our beautiful milky way? We are losing our Roane County Heritage in the glare of unshielded lights.

Star Party Etiquette

* Bring a red flashlight and avoid using any white light after dark.
* Get to know the lighting controls for your vehicle and ensure as little white light as possible shines from your vehicle. If you cannot control the lights, choose to park as far away from the telescopes as practical.
* Carefully enter the observing location. Speeding into a parking area full of telescopes and observers is a recipe for an accident.

Astronomers from the Oak Ridge Isochronous Observation Network (ORION) and the Smokey Mountain Astronomical Society (SMAS) groups participate in most TAO events. TAO serves as the center for astronomy classes, optical astronomy and radio astronomy observing as well as and public stargazes on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

TAO Academic Associates are Colleges and Universities that have both faculty and students that share research and scientific goals. The emphasis is not just scientific -- this is a humanistic endeavor that encourages both cultural exchange and critical thinking.

Our Associate Groups: