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FY 2004 January 1 – March 31, 2004

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FY 2004 January 1 – March 31, 2004 NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY Quarterly Report (2) FY 2004 January 1 – March 31, 2004 A student and her father test their skill as Constellation Detectives. The challenge is to find the constellation, pictured in the box, amid the numerous stars on the map. The actual constellation might be oriented differently on the map and requires patience to locate. Submitted to the National Science Foundation Pursuant to Scientific Program Order No. 1, Article 5-C Cooperative Agreement No. AST-0132798, Article VI Also published on the NOAO Web site: http://www.noao.edu NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY NOAO Quarterly Report (2) FY 2004 January 1 – March 31, 2004 Submitted to the National Science Foundation Under Cooperative Agreement No. AST-0132798, Article VI May 12, 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Public Affairs and Educational Outreach (PAEO) Media and Public Information...................................................................................................1 Public Outreach.........................................................................................................................2 Educational Outreach ................................................................................................................3 Site Safety Reports Tucson and Kitt Peak ................................................................................................................6 NOAO South and AURA Observatory.............................................................................................9 Observing Programs (Semester 2004-A) NOAO Gemini Science Center ...............................................................................................12 Kitt Peak National Observatory ..............................................................................................18 Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory..............................................................................25 Hobby-Eberly Telescope.........................................................................................................29 Multiple Mirror Telescope ......................................................................................................30 W.M. Keck Observatory .........................................................................................................30 i NOAO QUARTERLY REPORT (2) FY 2004 1 PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH (PAEO) Media and Public Information Results from NOAO and the Gemini telescopes received very strong media coverage at the January 2004 AAS meeting in Atlanta. The opening Monday press briefing of the meeting focused on the initial results from the Gemini Deep-Deep Survey, the first time that Gemini science has been the sole focus of an AAS press event. This briefing led to coverage in the New York Times, USA Today, The Australian newspaper and every major Hawaiian newspaper, among others. The second day of the meeting featured a well-presented multi-wavelength story of galaxy destruction by gas ram pressure stripping, including data from Kitt Peak and Gemini, that was subsequently reported by Reuters, the Associated Press (reprinted across the nation), United Press International, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Astronomy.com and Sky&Telescope.com. The story later appeared as the cover story for the February 21 issue of Science News. Finally, a Wednesday press briefing on a huge galaxy string in the early universe using observations from Cerro Tololo was cited in the New York Times, the AIP Physics News Bulletin and Sky&Telescope.com. Other NOAO-related news releases were covered actively by space and astronomy news Web sites. KOLD CBS-TV in Tucson aired their weather reports live from Kitt Peak for their 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. broadcasts on Friday, March 5. In addition to scenic panoramas of both ends of Kitt Peak, the segments included interviews with NOAO PAEO Manager D. Isbell by weathercaster Chuck George on new activities at the Visitor Center and the importance of dark skies, plus many graphical slides of positive Kitt Peak factoids that ran before commercial breaks. The event was topped by the first-ever live TV views of Saturn, the Moon, and Jupiter from the 20-inch telescope at the Visitor Center Observatory in the 10 p.m. broadcast. Media and Public Information Summary of Server Hits An NOAO press release on a joint U.S.-Chinese discovery of a nd Young Stellar Object in the Rosette Nebula, including a 2 Qtr 2004 strikingly beautiful newly reprocessed image of the nebula by Image Gallery Web hits 43,356 co-author T. Rector, led to a variety of news coverage across the world. This coverage included Chinese Central Television, a Education Web hits 78,290 color image in the Dallas Morning News, the cover of the NOAO Outreach Web hits 505,599 March 2004 issue of the Astronomical League’s magazine, and Non-PAEO Web hits 696,880 the French magazine Ciel et Espace. The publicity around this research helped it be selected as #4 in the “Top Ten” major Total Web hits 1,324,125 science and technology advances of the National Astronomical Observatory of China in 2003. NOAO imagery and information filled the March 2004 issue of Sky&Telescope, including a lead News Note on the first Spitzer Space Telescope infrared images that uses an NOAO (N. Sharp) image of M81 as the optical comparison, a two-page showcase color image of the Pelican Nebula (J. Bally/U. of Colorado) released by NOAO last fall, color images of NGC 6822 by the Local Group Galaxies Survey and M51 (T. Rector and M. Ramirez) to illustrate a book review in the magazine, and a Kitt Peak Advanced Observing Program image of planetary nebula NGC 2438 (A. Block and public visitors) to illustrate a story on objects to see that month in the constellation Puppis. NOAO QUARTERLY REPORT (2) FY 2004 2 The NOAO home page image was updated seven times. NOAO images were featured six times as the “Astronomy Picture of the Day” and four times at the Space.com daily image. NOAO Press Release Titles for the Quarter: Fitful Young Star Sputters to Maturity in the Rosette Nebula Majority of Planetary Nebulae May Arise from Binary Systems Guide to the Best Spanish Language Astronomy Education Materials Debuts at NOAO Web Site Public Outreach Kitt Peak was featured as a central part of the text and supporting pictures in a Sunday, January 25, New York Times Travel Section article on the best attractions to see in Tucson and Southern Arizona. NOAO Public Outreach Manager R. Fedele gave a panel presentation to the Safford Chamber of Commerce on January 29 on how to improve tourism marketing collaborations in Arizona. The event was attended by more than 100 people from across the state. Forty graduate students attending a conference on astrobiology at the University of Arizona toured the Mayall telescope prior to attending the Nightly Observing Program on January 10. Thirty adult students in a community education class conducted by Jeff Hester at Arizona State University toured the Mayall, watched the sunset, and observed with the Visitor Center 20-inch telescope on February 29. Kitt Peak Visitor Center Summary of Visitors Two large school groups toured Kitt Peak on March 8 and 2nd quarter 2004 10. The former came from Sierra Middle School, under the supervision of a participant in the Teacher Intern Group/Program Visitors Program, funded by a grant from the National Science General public tours 7,091 Foundation. Eighty students toured the 2.1-meter telescope, the McMath-Pierce solar telescope, and the School groups K-12 202 Visitor Center 16-inch telescope, where they were able to Special tours 70 observe the sun in H-alpha. Sixty-seven students and adults from St. Anthony’s Catholic School later Nightly Obs. Program 1,943 participated in a similar tour. Adv. Obs. Program 66 PAEO staff visited Cienegas High School in Vail on Total Visitors 9,372 February 18-19 and made Star Lab presentations on the night sky and its changing constellations to 180 students. NOAO PAEO hosted a booth at the Math, Science, and Technology Fun Fest at the Tucson Convention Center during the mornings of March 17-19. The lively event featured about 70 exhibits and more than 7,400 student attendees. NOAO’s booth featured numerous activities from NOAO QUARTERLY REPORT (2) FY 2004 3 Family and Project ASTRO, as well at the Star Lab portable planetarium; several student participants said it was one of the most fun booths at the fest. Educational Outreach Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education (TLRBSE) The distance learning class for the 2004 cadre of TLRBSE began on January 14. Course materials include topics in leadership and mentoring, research pedagogy and practice, and astronomy content relevant to the research projects the cadre will work on in the summer workshop. Progress so far in the class has been excellent, and the instructors agree that the quality of the responses of this year’s group exceed even those of last year’s outstanding group. As indicated by an external mid-course evaluation, our efforts at streamlining the class—principally to reduce teacher workload and increase student-student interaction— appear to have been successful. (Two of the original 22 participants have dropped out for personal reasons.) Public Outreach staff (Robert Wilson) explains to a group of eager students and teachers that the Reason for February 23–26 marked the debut or introduction of a
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