News Archives 2011
- December 2, 2011: Starting October 5th, the APO teachers and volunteers began a seven week after school astronomy program at the APO office on Park Street in Tupper Lake. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades from LP Quinn Elementary School signed up to learn about the Solar System. The program was a great success and there were on-average 14 enthusiastic students attending.
- November 18, 2011: The Tupper Lake Planning Board has given approval to the APO to proceed with Phase 1 of our project: the construction of a roll-off roof building to house our telescopes! Once the final permits are acquired, we hope to begin construction in the spring. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise has an article with more details.
- October 16, 2011: The Adirondack Public Observatory has received a draft permit from the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to begin construction of a roll-off roof observatory! Several news articles have appeared recently about our Observatory project:
- Adirondack Daily Enterprise: "Observatory construction may start in spring", September 29, 2011
- Press Republican: "Adirondack Public Observatory gets APA draft permit", October 10, 2011
- Press Republican: "Editorial: Can't wait for observatory", October 14, 2011
- August 1, 2011: The APO again hosted famed comet hunter David Levy, who held a book signing and gave a lecture in the Flammer Theater at The Wild Center, Tupper Lake. Levy, who last visited in 2009, gave a talk was entitled "Comets, Meteors and More". He talked about how he became interested in astronomy in his youth, and related many anecdotes about his life-long quest for comets.
- July 18, 2011: The Adirondack Public Observatory (APO) has recently been accepted as a member of the NASA Night Sky Network. The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology, and inspiration of astronomy and NASA's missions to the general public. The Night Sky Network is supported by NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratories, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
- "We are extremely honored to have been accepted as a member of the Night Sky Network", said Keith Wells, President of the APO. "The Night Sky Network will be a key element for us to further our mission of astronomy education and outreach. Our educational events, held throughout the year, will be complemented by themed astronomy topics from the Night Sky Network providing the APO with a much greater opportunity to advance astronomy in this area."
- The NSN works with its members to provide, among other products and services, teaching materials and guides for astronomy outreach to the public. The APO is especially targeting educational programs for children during the summer season and continuing with after-school programs throughout the school year. The Adirondack Public Observatory is a 501c3 organization located in Tupper Lake and is devoted to the study of astronomy in the dark skies of the Adirondacks. The APO is in the process of developing an astronomical facility in Tupper Lake.
- July 18, 2011: The Adirondack Public Observatory has established a relationship with The Kopernik Observatory and Science Center to work toward increasing the awareness and interest in astronomy in New York. Kopernik Observatory and Science Center mission is to offer hands-on investigations using advanced telescopes, computers and other tools, encouraging the discovery of the wonders of the Universe.
- April 29, 2011: APO board member and St. Lawrence University astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue recently spent a week observing on the 0.9 meter (36 inch) WIYN Telescope. The WIYN consortium (the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory) operates the observatory at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. O'Donoghue observed H-alpha in clusters of galaxies whose properties are under coordinated study by the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team. More photos and details can be found on the SLU physics department web site.
- February 11, 2011: St. Lawrence University astronomers and APO Board members Aileen O'Donoghue and Jeffrey Miller, along with St. Lawrence student Heather Cutler, class of 2012, remotely operated the Arecibo Radio Telescope from campus. The telescope is the largest, single-dish radio telescope in the world, and the research is part of the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey, an on-going blind survey of extragalactic neutral hydrogen (HI). Team St. Lawrence will remotely observe during three nights in February. An interview with the astronomers appeared in the Watertown Daily Times.
- January 30, 2011: Last week, APO board president Keith Wells met with the Tupper Lake Planning Board, and presented them with the plans for construction of our observatory. The construction of the first building with a roll-off roof will commence once the proper permits have been obtained from the Adirondack Park Agency. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise has a story about the planning board meeting.
- January 29, 2011: APO Board member Mark Moeller has been chosen as the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year because "he's involved with nearly everything". As stated in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Mark is a member of the Catholic churches' parish council, the Adirondack Public Observatory, the Tupper Lake youth board, the Franklin County youth board, Family Champions, the regional work force investment board, the Tupper Lake Business Council and the local chapters of Rotary, the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. He is also president and CEO of CBNA Insurance Agency Inc. in Tupper Lake. Congratulations, Mark!
- January 28, 2011: St. Lawrence University astronomers and APO Board members Aileen O'Donoghue and Jeffrey Miller made another trip to the Arecibo Radio Observatory. Student Heather Cutler, SLU class of 2012, accompanied them for the 4th NSF-Sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA Workshop from January 17 - 19. The workshop brings together students and their faculty advisors to present their research, and learn to use the largest, single-dish radio telescope in the world. The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey is an on-going blind survey of extragalactic neutral hydrogen (HI). When the survey is completed, ALFALFA will have detected more than 25,000 extragalactic HI line sources. St. Lawrence is a member of the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team, a consortium of 16 institutions engaged in a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote undergraduate research within the ALFALFA project. More photos and details can be found on the SLU physics department web site.
