Telescope Tourist: Kitt Peak & Mont-Mégantic Observatories

Recently I had the chance to visit two observatories in the same week, the first was Kitt Peak National Observatory. As a native and current resident of Tucson, Arizona it's not unusual for me to have the opportunity to visit Kitt Peak. This time was a bit unusual though, as I was there to make an evening presentation on light pollution.

I really love the mosaic at the observatory's visitor center (For some detailed shots of it, have a look here). Nearby there's a second, much smaller mosaic on the building that's also pretty cool. It's located around the corner to the left and it looks like this:

This one depicts the dome of the 4-meter Mayall Telescope sitting on the mountain with a comet above. Speaking of the Mayall, it was a sunset visit to this telescope that made this trip so special.

Here's the view from out in front of the Mayall, looking back at the rest of the mountain. Kitt Peak has one of the largest telescope concentrations on Earth. That's the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at left and the Steward Observatory 90" (2.3 meter) Bok Telescope in the foreground at right.

Heading inside the dome, we arrived just in time to see the last orange rays of sunlight kissing the Mayall.

Soon it was dark enough for its astronomical research mission to begin. We snapped a few photos and were soon ushered out. Seeing big scopes (well these days, with BIG super telescopes just around the corner, 4 and 5 meter telescopes are called small) is always a treat and this was no exception.

The next morning I was off to Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada to attend the Third International Conference on Artificial Light at Night. The conference included a field trip to Observatoire Astronomique du Mont-Mégantic.

In 2008 the International Dark-Sky Association designated Mont-Mégantic as the world's first International Dark Sky Reserve. At the heart of the reserve is a research observatory and their visitor center, the ASTROLab.

The ASTROLab has a wonderful array of astronomical exhibits, a gift shop, a theater and more.

Uphill, and behind a gate from there is their is their 1.6 meter telescope, the largest research telescope in eastern North America. That's its dome above, illuminated by moonlight.

For the telescope geeks, here's the telescope's aluminizing chamber located on the ground floor. Periodically telescope's primary mirror needs a new reflective coating of aluminum, which means the mirror needs to be pulled from the telescope, washed and stripped of its old coating. Then the mirror is carefully lowered through a trap door and placed inside this chamber, where a new coating of aluminum is vacuum-deposited on the mirror.

Located in another dome nearby is their so called "Popular Observatory" (I suppose that means the 1.6 meter is unpopular). I didn't photograph it, but inside the dome of the Popular Observatory is a 0.61 meter (24-inch) telescope and nice theater-style seating, making this telescope perfect for public outreach programs. I guess that's what makes it so popular!

In spite of the total mechanical breakdown of the bus on our field trip (don't ask), it was a wonderful trip and I'm glad to have made the visit to Mont-Mégantic. I very much recommend the trip.

Star Trek: The Menagerie

Star Trek's The Menagerie serves as an excellent example of the pure genius of Gene Roddenberry. The show was expensive to produce and he was sitting on the unusable pilot for the series. So he drafted a compelling story that gave him a valid excuse to show most of what was in the pilot (The Cage) - melding the new material with the old into a Hugo-award winning two part episode. Well done, sir!

In the episode the Enterprise is diverted to Starbase 11 (as seen in Court Martial).

The Starbase looks pretty different this time around, maybe because it is daytime now? I don't know. What I do know is that there is something very familiar in this matte painting that I had never noticed before - Kitt Peak National Observatory's McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope. Can you spot it?

That's the McMath in a photo I took last year, and here it is on the left of this cropped portion of the matte painting used in this episode. The angle is different (sorry about that), but the artwork is clearly based on the real-world telescope. The telescope was dedicated just about four years before this episode was filmed. It is wonderful to see real-life objects inspiring visions of the future.

Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down and are greeted by Miss Piper who tells them that no message was sent by the Starbase asking them to divert there.

Kirk doesn't seem to mind hearing that there was some sort of mix up as to whether they should be there or not, he's too busy enjoying the view.

Inside, Commodore Mendez explains that the message they apparently received from Captain Pike, couldn't possibly have been sent by him. As they leave to go see Pike, they pass a bit of set dressing that is quite awesome.

Hanging on the wall is a drawing of Jupiter made November 1, 1880 by Étienne Léopold Trouvelot. It is simply stunning. Have a closer look:

Unlike what is hanging on the wall, this one is inverted as it would be seen in an astronomical telescope. Trouvelot made this drawing and many others that depict astronomical objects. Check out this gallery of some of them here. They are remarkable. Shown in his rendition of Jupiter is the famous Great Red Spot (GRS). The dark circle on the GRS is the shadow of one of Jupiter's moons. There's another shadow to the left. The two white circles further left are the moons that are casting the shadows on Jupiter's cloud tops. The line of dark circles below are atmospheric features and not shadows. Beautiful, isn't it?

Back to Trek.

Captain Pike was horribly injured through exposure to Delta Rays while trying to save some cadets.

Captain PIke: He's more machine than man. Twisted and evil.

He is described as being totally unable to move. "His wheel chair is constructed to respond to his brain waves... he can turn it, move it forwards, or backwards slightly....With the flashing light, he can say yes or no. His mind is as active as yours and mine, but it's trapped inside a useless vegetating body. He's kept alive mechanically, a battery-driven heart."

As McCoy says later: "We've learned to tie into every human organ in the body except one. The brain. The brain is what life is all about. Now, that man can think any thought that we can, and love, hope, dream as much as we can, but he can't reach out, and no one can reach in."

I can't help but thinking that in real life we are on the verge of major microprocessor-enabled breakthroughs that will transform the lives of people conditions similar to Pike's. There is news on this front all the time and one needs to look no farther than Stephen Hawking to see how computers have enabled him to communicate.

It seems that the 23rd Century isn't all that advanced in this area, so Spock decided to do something for his former captain.

Spock steps into command areas, sends new orders to the Enterprise's computers, kidnaps Pike and effectively steals the starship putting it on a course for Talos IV - the one forbidden world in all the galaxy.

Check out Starfleet Command's Top Secret report on the planet:

"Talos IV is in third quadrant of vernal galaxy." Yeah, it's pretty much gobbledegook. I guess no one envisioned a future where people would grab stills of the show to read this stuff.

Kirk and Commodore Mendez pursue in a shuttlecraft. When Spock determines that they can't catch the Enterprise and can't return to the Starbase that he places himself under arrest. But the ship is still under the control of the computers and Spock has locked out access.

A general court martial is held with Mendez, Kirk, and Pike serving as the command rank officers as Spock is tried for mutiny. 

This provides the excuse for the events of The Cage to play out as we learn what happened to Captain Pike when he brought the Enterprise to Talos IV 13 years earlier. By the way, I am not going through those events here again. If you want to read what I wrote about The Cage, follow the link.

As we later learn the entire trial was a diversion. Commodore Mendez was never even on board. The mental powers of the Talosians created the illusion to keep Kirk from regaining control of the ship.

The reason for it all? Pike's condition and Spock's devotion to his former captain. The Talosians mental powers can give him the illusion of a full life unfettered by his condition.

Pike takes the offer and Spock is off the hook.

Starfleet messages in at the end to say:  "Received images from Talos Four. In view of historic importance of Captain Pike in space exploration, General Order Seven prohibiting contact Talos Four is suspended this occasion. No action contemplated against Spock."

That's a little too neat considering Spock attacked two people at the Starbase and took the Enterprise without orders. Still, it is an episode of Trek (well, two) that are worthy of your time.

Next up, Shore Leave.

Weather domes

I had the chance to go to Kitt Peak National Observatory today to prepare to install a night sky brightness meter. While on the roof of one of the buildings there I took this shot of the dome of the 84-inch (2.1 meter) telescope:

The view reminded me of one of my favorite old Palomar pics:

 I know, my shot doesn't really compare to the vintage one, but that's the best you'll get out of me today.

Kitt Peak National Observatory Under Fire

The October issue of NOAO Currents points to some serious funding projections to astronomy that may lead to the closure of Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO).

Photo by Adam Block, National Optical Astronomy Observatory/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy/National Science Foundation

For those unfamiliar, KPNO is a world-class astronomical research facility. While it is not home to the truly giant telescopes of our era, it is a workhorse of modern astronomy. It has numerous telescopes including the 3.5-meter WIYN and the 4-meter Mayall.  Work done there increases our basic understanding of the universe, supports the education of young astronomers, advances technology and, through its wonderful public outreach programs, helps to inspire and educate our youth.

Closing this important facility would not only be a major blow to astronomy in the United States, but it would also be a huge drain on the economy of Arizona. A 2008 report found that astronomy has an annual $250 million economic impact for Arizona. Closing KPNO and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) headquarters in Tucson would remove many high paying jobs from this clean industry and also draw away important tourism dollars that the observatory and its outreach programs bring to the state.

It is a shame that cutting budgets and lowering taxes seems to be the only priority of our elected officials. They show a profound lack of understanding of how basic scientific research makes America stronger and more competitive on the world stage.

Reflection Nebula NCG 1999 as photographed by the 4-meter Mayall Telescope. Credit: Z. Levay (STScI/AURA/NASA), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (NOAO/AURA/NSF)