Found an old telescope! (UPEI’s first telescope?)

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What happens when the laboratory technicians are assessing the equipment in the physics storeroom and notice a long wooden box on the top shelf? 003

They open up the box and find a telescope.

002It may seem strange to not know that we had this telescope, but a combination of changing astronomy instructors with a departmental move (that causes equipment to end up in new unknown locations) can result in an item getting forgotten.

This telescope is a 6-inch Newtonian reflector. I’m not sure how old it is – it sort of has a ’70s look to me. Perhaps this was the first telescope that UPEI Physics had in the 1970s, when observations took place on the roof of the Duffy building. It does have homemade replacement dust covers, which would fit with the story of how the original dust covers blew off the roof during a windy observation session.

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The telescope was made by Anchor Optical Co. which now seems to exist as Anchor Optics (a division of Edmund Optics) that makes specialized lenses for research and educational applications.

 

Given the telescope’s size, it should be great for field work. We have material to build a solar filter, so this will probably also become our solar telescope.

 

 

When will the sky be clear?

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The weather in PEI can change quickly and frequently involves clouds, all of which can make it tricky to see the stars. A quick look at our list of past Public Viewings shows that we end up cancelling about half of the time because of uncooperative weather.

Forecasts offered by weather services can be pretty brief so it can be difficult to figure out at what time on what night the sky may be clear enough for some astronomy.

Fortunately, there is an astronomer’s forecast provided free by Clear Dark Sky. This forecast interprets local Environment Canada data through an astronomy perspective. The forecast for Charlottetown is shown below.

There is detailed information on the forecast website about how to interpret all the information provided in the above forecast, but lets just go over the basics.

The day of the week and time of day (to be read vertically in a 24-hour format) are provided above all the coloured squares. A thick red line separates one day from another.CDStime

The “Cloud Cover” line is the most important for naked-eye sky viewing. You won’t be able to see the sky if there’s clouds in the way! A white square for a particular hour indicates cloud cover whereas a dark blue square indicates no clouds. Colours in-between represent partial cloud cover.CDScloudcover

The “Darkness” line tells you when it will be dark enough for viewing (with no accounting for local light pollution). Darkest sky will be represented by black squares. On moonlit nights, you will see light blue to deep blue squares, depending on the fullness of the Moon.CDSdarkness

So now, at a glance, you can tell what’s the best time of night to head out to do some star or planet gazing.

Total Lunar Eclipse on April 15

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What is a total lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth. When the Moon is completely covered by the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow (called the umbra), then the eclipse is said to be total. Lunar eclipses only ever occur at the full Moon, as the Earth must be between the Sun and Moon to cast a shadow on the Moon.

What will it look like?

Lunar eclipse in 2008 as viewed from the USA. Photographed by John Buonomo, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

The first parts of the eclipse when the Moon is in the lighter part of Earth’s shadow (called the penumbra) are very hard to see. In this partial eclipse phase, if you’re in a very dark location and looking carefully, you may notice a  darkening of parts of the Moon’s surface.

The real interesting viewing starts when the total eclipse phase begins. At this time, the only light reaching the Moon from the Sun is light that passes just around the edges of Earth through its atmosphere. The blue colours of the sunlight get scattered away and only the redder colours reach the surface of the Moon to be reflected back for us to see. The Moon will be darker than usual and probably tinted red/orange. Exactly how much it’s tinted depends on atmospheric conditions at the time of the eclipse.

When you can I see it?

The total eclipse will begin Tuesday morning (April 15) at 4:07 am in local time for PEI. The total eclipse stage, when the Moon will look darkest and possibly reddish-orange, will last until 5:25 am. Some of the most interesting moments to watch can be just as totality is beginning (start viewing by 4:00am) or just as totality ends (start viewing by 5:20am).

Watching the entire eclipse can be kinda long and boring, but if you set your alarm clock for an appropriate time in the early morning, you can get up, watch the eclipse for however many minutes you feel like, and then probably still get back to bed for an extra hour or more of sleep before starting your day.

What if it’s cloudy?

If the weather doesn’t cooperate with viewing the eclipse in PEI (i.e. the Moon is blocked by clouds), you can watch the eclipse online in a broadcast by NASA or by Slooh Observatory.

April 12th Public Viewing: A Full House! (Updated)

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Moon1024x640_Andrew_Clark_2007

A view of the Moon through the UPEI telescope on an evening several years ago.

After several cancelled viewings due to poor weather, we finally got a successful viewing in this Saturday, April 12 – in terms of weather and attendance! The sky cleared up before the viewing and the clouds rolled back in just as it was ending.  About 25 people came out and were treated to views through our telescope and astronomy instruction. Our telescope operator for the night, Mark (a volunteer from RASC) showed guests Jupiter and its moons followed up by Earth’s own Moon.

StellariumScreenshot

Stellarium is a computer program that shows the positions and motions of stars in our sky.

While guests waited for their opportunity to go up to the telescope, fellow RASC volunteer Brian discussed the viewing objects, gave a tour of the night sky using Stellarium, and answered general astronomy questions.

It was an enjoyable night of astronomy for all involved and we hope to see just as many people at our next viewing. The time for the next public viewing is not yet set, but will likely be the second Saturday in May. Details will be posted here when available.

Public viewings are co-hosted by the UPEI Physics Department and the Charlottetown Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC).