THE Observer

Summer 2005 LOWELL Issue 67

The quarterly newsletter of Lowell Observatory.

A for By David Schleicher

Fireworks are a long-time tradition when celebrating Independence Day, the 4th of July. But in addition to the standard Earth-based displays, a truly celestial version will take place this year. Near the start of July 4th, an 820 pound (370 kg) copper bullet is scheduled to hit a three-mile wide target more than 83 million miles from Earth at a speed of 23,000 miles/hr or 6.3 miles/second (10.3km/sec). The participants in this cosmic fireworks will be the unsuspecting comet 9P/Tempel 1 and NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft. The coma of Comet Tempel 1. This comet’s designation arises because it was the ninth comet whose orbit was computed and used to successfully predict a week-long interval in 1994, whose explosion “splashes” created when it would repeatedly return to the vicinity of Earth, and it temporary splotches in Jupiter’s atmosphere nearly as large as the was the first of these discovered by Wilhelm Tempel. planet Earth (even though each impacting fragment was less than a The name of the Deep Impact spacecraft simply comes from mile in diameter)! what it is intended to do to the comet. So why is NASA “attacking” Comet Tempel 1, and what is Comets have been involved in impacts before, but expected to happen? In the past 20 years, several spacecraft have always as the projectile rather than as the target. The craters conducted flybys of comets and some have obtained images of the and basins on the moon were caused by and comets, comet’s core or nucleus – composed of ice and dirt – and to obtain mostly during the first 800 million years after the moon’s detailed measurements of the composition of the gases in a comet’s formation. And an or comet hit the Yucatan Peninsula coma – gases which result from vaporized ice from the surface of near the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago, causing the the nucleus due to heating from the Sun. As the most pristine demise of dinosaurs and many other species. The most recent objects remaining from the time our solar system formed, which collision of a comet with another body occurred when pieces are also accessible to detailed investigations, comets permit us to of the fragmented Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter during probe the chemical composition and physical conditions that existed at that time. The physical structure of comets is important from the point of view of self preservation (ours, not the comet’s). If a comet were Highlights detected on a collision course with Earth, how might we protect ourselves without making the situation worse? Nuclear bombs are A Deep Impact for Comet Temple 1 often suggested, but if “nucs” were used to breakup the body, would we simply be hit by lots of pieces in several locations on Stellar System Formation and Young Binaries Earth? But detailed studies of the structure and composition of the nucleus itself are very difficult unless one soft-lands on the nucleus, The History of the Perkins and it will likely be many years before such a mission is attempted. As was learned in the case of Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter, Arizona Governor Bestows Honor on Lowell however, much can be learned about a target’s properties by seeing

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ih eanntcal rgtrfrafwngt,but asmall might remainnoticeablybrighterforafew nights, ma cr reflected fromtheplumeofdustandgas ejectedduringthe fr fi than asecondindur of theexplosion toreach Earth.) A very of light(less briefflash but itwilltake 7minutesforthelight occur 7minutesearlier, (Theimpactwillactually our normal4thofJulycelebration. MST July3in NotethatthisistheeveningArizona). scheduled totake placeat1:52a.m.EDTJuly4(10:52p.m. ho amount oficeexposed tosunlight. probably duetoadecrease inthe much lower in2005than1983, comet's closestapproach totheSun(perihelion).Notethat thepatternis of Comet T r he lo om a

ea The e of about400,000miles. while ontherightislightemittedbycyanogen gasmoleculesinthenear-ultraviolet. Each image showsafieldofview in thecomet’s coma, Recent images ofComet Tempel 1obtainedwiththe42-inch HalltelescopeonMay15.Ontheleftisanimage oflightreflected bydustparticles w itreactstoanexplosive releaseofenergy. eilwl aeu osvrldy odses,sothecomet terial willtake uptoseveral daystodisperse, ball, tion ofthecr

o epl1adDe mat theencounteriscurrently For Tempel 1andDeepImpact, Lowell g ar bout 9thma f ithm ofther Tempel 1'snucleusisplottedasafunctionof time priortothe ollo w ed b a ter y aslo ate atwhich off watericeisvaporizing ofthesurface gnitude toperha . Simulationspredictthatthisplumeof ation) isexpected from theexplosion’s w brighteningofthecoma’s interior ps 6thor7th, as lightis prior to 2 ef mountain-sized iceberg would notbeexpected tohave much point itsinstrumentsbacktowards thecometasitmoves away. hitting then will ha andso reaches thecometabout15minutesafterimpactor, andacommunication antenna. This componentwillslow down enoughsothatit instruments, numerous thrusters, maneuvering andincludes part isthemainflybyspacecraft, andweighsabout820lbs. the sizeofarefrigerator The other the n toview andacamera composed ofacopper“crateringmass” into two components.Onepartistheimpactoritself, primary thespacecraftwillsplit nucleus. About adaypriortoimpact, intothecomet’sDeep Impactspacecraftwillactuallycrash telescope willstilllikely beneededtodetect Tempel 1. on-going basis. While thefirst ofthesescientificobjectives surf to sunlightsotha hope thatthecrateritselfwill have sufficient icenewly exposed r and compositionoftheplume ofma crater isformed. The secondgoal is toexamine thestructure andthiswillbedeterminedbyseeinghow large a nucleus, is todeter the impactsite dependingonthedensityandstructureof as afootballstadium, r the pr vaporizing both explosion equivalent toabout5tonsof TNT, energy willbenearlyinstantaneouslyreleasedwithan tremendous kineticenergy. Predictions arethatthiskinetic andsohas morethan6milesevery second, traveling very fast, eleased fr esulting cr fect ontheiceberg. Butthekey thiscopperbullet isthat is ace uc biul,hvn ml rfieao”simplyrunintoa having“refrigerator” asmall Obviously, T ojectile andapor o obtainac earn-iesa.As,b lwn on itwillavoid byslowing down, ve aring-sideseat. Also, , leus r slo om then a mine theph wing vaporizing andreleasing gas anddustonan ter mightbeassmallahouseornear cesisl n,atrfligb h ulu,will afterflyingbythenucleus, ucleus itselfand, gtu otetm fipc,andisaboutone-half ight uptothetimeofimpact, . Inf t itbecomesane loseup vie uc c,theprimarygoalofentiremission act, leus fr tion ofthen ysical mak om thee fteeet onlypartofthe w oftheevent, eup andstr atv ein onthe w “active region” poin ial,thereis xplosion. Finally, uc leus. The sizeofthe ter ial e xca ength ofthe Observer vated and l y aslar g e

using thenew MIMIRinstrument(see imageswiththe72-inchPerkins Marc Buiewillobtaininfrared Lowell astronomerDr. planetary observe withthreetelescopes: surrounding theimpact.HereatLowell Observatory weintendto Telescope willbeusedtoobserve Tempel 1atandinthedays Space astheHubble well as globe the telescopes around the Earth. be ad thesecondandthirdgoalswill cameras ontheflybyspacecraft, withthe (imaging theresultingcrater)canonlybeattained http://www http://dee http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact gotooneormoreofthe following Web sites: mission, T very interestingobjecteven beforethefireworks begin. been detectedbef suc but explain why muchofthesurfaces ofcometnucleiareinert, r tha e itwould bestrong trend ofadecreaseinactivity continues, amount ofsunlighteachorbitisthesame.Ifthisnewly detected orbittosimplybecausethe of anucleususuallyrepeatsfrom is v coma aswas thecorresponding measuredat timesin1983. This lessthanone-halfasmuchgas iscurrentlyinthe techniques, Obser months ar a needed f while a CCDcameraisusedtoobtaintheimages phototube, filters withanold-fashioned photometerwithalight-detecting to mapouttheirspatialdistribution. The formerprojectusesthe and determine theabundances ofthesegases inacomet’s coma, isolate thelightemittedbyseveral different molecularspecies to (W I’ve mentionedinprevious reportsinthe monthl efforts have yielded arotationperiodofabout42hours.Myown how fast rotates.Resultsfromhisandseveral thenucleus others’ 1 o MarcBuiehasbeenmonitoringthebrightnessof Tempel mode, long many have astronomers beenobserving Tempel 1foramuch the31-inch.But acquiring visibleimageswithaCCDcameraat (NAU?) studentswillassistin 42-inch Halltelescope.Inaddition, the amountofnew gas anddustreleasedinto thecomawith I willbeattemptingtomeasurethebrightnessoffireballand while page5)tostudythedustreleasedfromexplosion, #61, eac vidence tha b o f

undances ofeac The t thesurf inter 2003andSpr ver thepastfew ofacollaborationtodetermine yearsas part h alar ery unusual as the rate at which icevaporizesery unusualastherateatwhich onthesurface hing theice ollo rtm.Frisac,usingthe31-inchtelescopeinrobotic er time.For instance, dressed bothbythespacecraftandtelescopesonnear smgtb xetdfrti aeeet numerous As mightbeexpected event, forthisrare A sur Lowell vatory when Tempel 1was lastobserved usingthesame y observingrunsatthe42-inchbegan inearlyMarch. As w theaction, or thema pimpact.jpl..g e comparedtosimilarmeasurementsobtainedatLowell g .dee e andrapidreductioninvaporization rateshasnever rsn euthsaraycm olgt whenthe cometolight: prising resulthasalready ace iscr t thesurface eitherisexhausting itssupplyoficeor pimpact.umd . Bothpossibilitiesha or pping h oftheg e usting o . T n 04ise) Iuseasetoffilters to ing 2004issues), and formoredetailsoftheDeepImpact u,Tempel proved 1has already tobea hus, . o as speciesmeasur v .edu v er andpreventing thesunlightfrom Lowell Observer v e beensug ed inthepastthr Lowell Observer g ested to issue ee 3 for example, astronomers have astronomers aprettygoodideaofhow for example, disks ar system. Butmostofwhatwe know proto-planetary about with diameterssimilartothe extent ofourown planetary show resolved disksofgas anddust millimeter andinfrared, f wealth ofdataonyoungstars atvarious stagesinthe astronomerstodayhave accumulateda and X-raylight, visib from wavelengths, planets form.Observingatmultiple certainlyhadtherightideaabouthow and stars nature, inspir light y millionsof systemsof billionsofstars, actually vast galaxies, nebulae. We know now thatMessier’s fuzzyobjectsare ima advanced tosuchalevel thatwearenow abletotake detailed pr but fromsome intheprocessofformation like ourown, these fuzzyobjectsinfact otherstarandplanetsystems were whomadeanintuitive leap.Hethoughtthatperhaps Kant, these objectslooked sufficiently disk-like soastoinspire of dust. With thetelescopicresolutionavailable atthetime, lanes anddark luminouscloudsofgas, bright massive stars, g but like our exterior toourMilky Way, spiral galaxies, systems ing ofsolar surmised afundamentaltruthabouttheformation objects andalthoughhisinter orbital plane system orbittheSuninsamedir common kno aswas andknew, inastronomy, if somewhat moreabstract, was ofMessier’s. acontemporary Healsotookaninterest, disappointing interlopers. The philosopherImmanuelKant his non-cometarydiscoveries soastonotre-observe these fastidiously searchingforcomets.Hecarefullydocumented profound andmultifaceted one. simple quer possibility oftheoriginotheruniverses. Sotheseemingly andthe understand theoriginofentireUniverse, humansseekto the originofdistantgalaxies. Indeed, andofothersuns, Sun, even ofourentireMilky Way galaxy aswell faraway stars, moon, oftheEarth, organisms, ofsingle-celled understand theoriginsofourspecies, from evolutionary biologytocosmology. Humansseekto that itfuelsavast arrayofresearchfieldsandspecialties, issocompelling comefrom?” The question“Wheredidwe By LisaPrato and Young Binaries Stellar SystemFormation rainpoes Sm fteedt,particularlyinthe process.Someofthesedata, ormation alaxy imor g le lighttoinfr es ofy In thelastdecadeastronomicalinstrumentationhas More than 200 years ago, Charles Messierwas Charles More than200yearsago, ed b , asaa rmoronMlyWy Ee o Kant, ears away fromourown Milky Way. Even so, dial disk. ound y beautifull y theseg oung starsandtheirsurroundingproto-planetary y, where did we come from, is actually a isactually where didwecomefrom, y, . Kantbecameinter ener wledg oung stars we infer from indirectobservations;oung starsweinferfrom al. Man y delineated by spiral arms braided with y delineatedbyspiralarmsbraided e intheirda ar alaxies y d ilmtr andeven toultraviolet millimeter, ed, y ofMessier’ et withoutkno y , that theplanetsofoursolar rtto a ae,he pretation was flawed, ested inMessier’ ection inarelatively flat s objectsareactually wing theirtrue Observer s r ejected

r because e spectroscopic binaries. inthiswayThese systemsaredescribed specialty ismeasur of thew to know themassratioof two plus eitherthetotalmass stars o br the lightrestrictionsfavorable toastronomy. Even thevast, w of star The airisvery (notunlike dry Northern soabsorption Arizona) r Seeing is oneofthepr thismountaintop lifeless landscapeofvolcanic rockandcinder, seemingly lush imagesweassociatewithHawaii! A barren, isnothinglike the however, Hawaiian chain.MaunaKea’s peak, Mauna K onthe14,000footsummitof one ofthetwin10-meterKecks, w f the ne dif pr andotherunique separation, If welookatthefrequency, fundamental stellarproperty (1)How canweaccuratelymeasurethemost detail below: I’ll thefirstofwhich discussinmore me, problems thatinterest mostly inthe Taurus andOphiuchusregions. There areseveral disco just asinglecentr systems. This isquitedistinctfromourown solarsystemwith about two-thirds oflocalfieldstarsresideinbinary Therefore, y theones abouthalfofthestarsinoursolarneighborhood, fact, their commoncenterofmass, systemswithtwoare multiple ormorestarsorbitingaround almostallofthem thing aboutthenewly starsin formed Taurus: 500 lightyears. agowelearnedasurprising About 10years about Earth: yetallofthemareatasimilardistancefrom sky, andAquila. These starformingregions indifferent arelocated partsofthe Lupus, Chameleon, CoronaAustralis, Ophiuchus, forming fromcoolcloudsofmoleculargas in are Taurus, atleastseveral astronomicalunitsinradius. disk, evidence forthepresenceofatleastasmallplanet-forming excessinfrared andhydrogen emissionlinesaregoodindirect Bothan inaprocesscalledaccretion. onto thecentralstar, weinferthatmaterialinthecircumstellardiskisspiraling gas, spectrum ofthestarshows narrow emissionlinesofhydrogen tha that isalikely sign If thereisexcess lightinthenear-infrared, much lighttoexpect astartoproduceatdifferent wavelengths. esolv ela inacircumstellardiskofdustand gas if alaKant, ormation, v usewt h ae y nadr ih,areactually doubles. ou seewiththenaked eye onadarknight, onderfull e have notonestarbut two ormorestars? ight sprawling glow ofLos Angeles doesn’t make it thatfar oper The er theP ferences in star formation andevolutionferences instarformation fromoneregion to t thereiswarm dustlocatednotfar fromthestar. Ifthe ti v v To measurethemasses ofstarsinabinarysystemIneed I observe attheworld’s largest optical-infrared telescope, Since large binarystarswere numbersofyoung The nearestregions wherevery youngstarsarestill Lowell e themintotw el rdi h al 90,Ihave beenstudyingthem, ered intheearly1990s, xt? (3) ties ofbinar , light b y g the jitterofturb hole system, ven thebiggest telescopeshave sofar beenunableto a adormantvolcano onthebiggestislandin ea, acifi y dar ood o y w c Ocean! W k ha e an e,sostellar imagesaresharp. ver MaunaKea, al star. – ater vapor isminimal. And theskiesare emier sitesf t ha the to y star o pointsoflight ing massr or elsetheinc ppens toournicescenar ulent airintheEar wns ontheBigIslandar s, – what canwelearnaboutthe a pointinbetweenthestars.In mass or astronomicalobservations. a tios ofm – lination oftheorbit.My – using binarystars?(2) onl y onepointof light, th’ topee is s atmosphere, ultiples called io ofplanet e small, and 4 f comparing different regions. starforming They arealso they areexcellent systemstousefor binaries very accurately, mass r lines tother measur member weknow actuallytwo thatthereare starsthere, Therefore, becauseoftheDopplereffect.spectrum shiftsbackandforth spectra ofthetwo blendtogetheraseachstar’s stars individual change fromonehourtothenext. thewayThis resultsfrom the bepossibleto see spectra itmay periods asshort2days), ho to thenext Dependingon thespectrum changescompletely! hundr binarysystem ayoungstarspectroscopic this pointoflight, light g get shiftertoshorterandlongerwavelengths injusttheway a through Flagstaff orelsewhere asafast standbythetraintracks freightgoes you doubtthis, Dopplershiftedtolongerwavelengthslines aretherefore (if anditsspectral always onoppositesidesofthecentermass), companion starismoving away us(asthetwo from starsare its will beDopplershiftedtoshorterwavelengths. Meanwhile, itsspectrallines center ofmass. us, As onestarapproaches separation isvery smallasthey orbitaroundtheircommon temperature andthecompositionoftraceelements. Their whichdependsonthestellar each withauniquespectrum, also containhydrogen emissionlines).Sowe have two stars, thisspectrumcould with accretionfromacircumstellardisk, forastar thestellarabsorptionspectrum(andrecall, creating and moleculesabsorbthewhitelightatcertainwavelengths, the coolerstellara White lightfromthehotinteriorofastarpassesoutthrough isobservable. Then how doweknow itisabinary?! one star, telescope time r identify aspectroscopicbinaryandthentomeasureitsmass to orboth!Unfortunately, a bigdiskencirclingthetwo stars, or some casesthesesystemshave eachstar, smalldisksaround this w T suited forLowell Observatory’s futureDiscovery Channel a medium-siz or withmor veryobserving timeisunfortunately limitedandcompetitive, obser ascinating objects in which to study circumstellar disks ascinating objectsinwhichtostudycircumstellar a pproaches andlower becausethesoundwaves asitrecedes elescope. I’mlookingforward totheopportunitycontinue tio requiresmany repeatobservations w c Because w o when Keck Iusethegiant telescopetotake of spectra So, v d flgtyasaa,whatdoIsee?Fromonemonth eds oflightyearsaway, or lose the stars are (there are somesystemswithorbital lose thestarsare(there atio? It'stheinverse ofthevelocity ratio! ets shifted). a e thevelocities ofboth starsbycomparingtheshifted tions a k ther s ofaspectr e n est w ed telescope e inaf t abigf . umer e canmeasurethemassratiosofspectroscopic T a his caneitherbeaccomplishedwithaf v tmosphere where trace amountsofatoms tmosphere wheretrace ous observations andlongerintegrations at elengths ofthesespectr oscopic binar wyas time! ew years’ acility lik . Pr ojects lik – the pitchishigherastrain e theK y , n utemr,wecan and furthermore, e thiswillbev c eecp,where eck telescope, – al lines. it tak es alotof Observer And the ery well – e in w

smiles sincew withextra big now partoftheLowell areObservatory fleet!Pictured bike commuters, pictured). andKim Westcott (otherLowell bike commutersnot Bev Welling, Rusty Tweed, r w f Biking.org and Absolute Bikes special thankstoFla to w emplo the Flagstaff outfit (over 25 this ne andtheObservatory won force, bike cameoutin commuters intheassociated workplace challenge.Lowell Week” participated in“Bike to Work T Observatory-Discovery Channel F on aBike To Mars(Hill) ight: or pr rawe nmdMy Lowell or aweekinmidMay, elescope projectstaff or The Best wishesKar arrangementsofbitsandpiecesdestinedfortherecycle aswellartistic bin. storage, andparts shelves, clever solutionstoeveryday problemslike doorstops, control units, willbeapparentformanymark ontheinterferometer intheformofsundrymodular years k w or

omoting Flagstaff’s bike to Lowell yees) withthehighestbike Ric w Br eek, k par lvr yo mt,MraaDKc,Jf al iaPao Tom Bida, LisaPrato, Jeff Hall, MarianaDeKock, ByronSmith, h Oliver, eez and f ticipation. A big, ticipation. A lohdMr ilt oqe uigorbk omts fromleft to e alsohadMarsHilltoconquer duringourbike commutes, er bik or thene l! e f or being w bike, gstaf f ht:Steele Wotkyns forLowellObservatory Photo: the interferometerteam.His andvaluable memberof friendly, conscientious, has beenaloyal, Karl andmetalworker, shooter, trouble artist, electronics designer, poet, NPOI.A project, Navy/Lowell interferometer 11 yearsofservicetothe retiredMay13after Karl Isbrecht NPOI Retires from Karl Isbrecht 5 Dir dtr TheLowellObserver Editor, r F mail [email protected]. eceive the newsletter asabenefit eceive Friends ofLowell Observatory 98 7-38 ext. 211ore- (928) 774-3358, comments onmember or information onpublictours or information The LowellObserver o nomto,questions, For information, esetr contactCynthia newsletter, ector Cynthia WebsterKanner at [email protected]. 1400 West1400 HillRoad Mars Memberships startat$35. contact Fla F is pub drs hne,please address changes, b http://www or commentsa The Lowell Observer Contents cop call (928)774-2096. y Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory saf AZ86001-4499 gstaff, ISSN 1054-0059. Inter , of membership. Robert Millis lished quar Lo Jacqita Bailey About net address: well Observatory .lo well.edu/ yr el by: terly bout the ighted ship or Observer at

Pr classroomsthroughouttheschoolyear. middleschool teachers’ Lowell astronomersmake visitsto Under thisprogram, bring theexcitement toNavajo ofastronomy andHopischools. astronomers DeidreHunterand Amanda Boshasaway to theprogram was startedin1996byLowell season, of supportforthisprogram.Now initsninthsuccessful markingHoneywell’s fifthyear in the2005/2006schoolyear, help supporttheNavaho-Hopi Astronomy OutreachProgram Honeywell Hometown offered Solutionshasgenerously to Outreach Program Education and Honeywell Supports P,andthe Tuba CityRegional CommunityFoundation. EPO, NASA/SST- Bankof America, Forest HighlandsFoundation, Amer for fouryearswithtwo moreyearsofsupportpledged, whichhassupportedtheprogram W.E. Edwards Foundation, 2004/2005 and2005/2006sc thanks otherimportantsponsorsofthisuniqueprogramforthe page11.) abouttheGovernor’s(See relatedstory visit, tr Arizonawhilethey were immersion schoolinFt.Defiance, Napolitano joinedfifthandsixthgradestudentsfromaNavajo interest inparticipatingtheprogramfirsthand.Governor from Arizona Governor expressed JanetNapolitanowho participating school. e hands-onscience thevarious starpartiesat schools, telescopes, anight ofobservingusingtheObservatory’s research Center, xper ea The o g ted to a “Cosmic Cart” presentation inour presentation Visitor Center. ted toa“CosmicCart” Observatory the whichhassupported since 1999. We arevery appreciative ofthe currentandprevious support ofthesefoundations. andtheSouthwesternFoundation, whichhassupportedthe Observatory since1981, Foundation, TheRaymond LaurenDemuth.$1,000eachhas beenawarded bylong-timeObservatory supporter, for Libraryintern, BrighterPlanets.” and“The The PhotographicStory” “Mars: Mar withaspecialfocusontheplanet Slipher began asaplanetaryastronomeratLowell hislife-longcareer Observatory in1906, C.Slipherhas begun. and manuscriptsofEarl working papers, thepreservation ofthecorrespondence, Historical Preservation, AntoinetteBeiser. Librarian, task ofpreservingtheseitemsisimmense.Ourpreservation efforts arelargely coordinatedbytheefforts oftheObservatory’s andthe therearemany importanthistoricalartifacts attheObservatory, As theFriendsofLowell Observatory know, already r nadto ospotfo oewl,theObservatory In additiontosupportfromHoneywell, T iments, am acti

ica Lowell his y s. Hew ud ilb sdt ucaeesnilpeevto aeil,sc sai-rebxsadppr inadditiontosupport asacid-freeboxes such andpaper, Funds willbeusedtopurchase essentialpreservation materials, Thanks tograntsfromtheRaymondEducationalFoundation andtheSouthwestern Foundation forEducationand etArie,Flagstaff CommunityFoundation, West Airlines, a,theObservatory was honoredtohostavisit ear, vities typicall and classroom visits by astronomers toeach and classroomvisitsbyastronomers sepcal elkonfrhspoorpi mgso h lnt,many publishedintwo ofwhichwere books: as especiallywellknown for his photographicimagesoftheplanets, Foundation GrantsHelpPreserve thePast F y includeafieldtriptoour Visitor F hool y RIENDS RIENDS ear ,includingO.P. and s, OF OF 6 of planetar usedtodemonstratethelaws foreground isthe“gravity well” highlighting objectsintheInnerSolarSystem.In Wells Fargo Bank.Inthebackgroundarenew panels Observatory BobMillis, De Observatory Director, Bank, of BradyBrogni Wells Fargo exhibition. Fromlefttoright: $25,000 towards thedevelopment andinstallationofthenew soon becomplete. The Wells Fargo Foundation provided the InnerSolarSystemExhibitioninour Visitor Centerwill Thanks toagenerousgiftfromthe Wells Fargo Foundation, eomn aae,RsyTed and Veronica Rusty Tweed, Brogniof velopment Manager, Thank You Wells Fargo! L L y motion. OWELL OWELL Observer

tour orprogramtobegin. youwon’t have towait longfora arrive, No matterwhattimeyou thisprogramrunsevery halfhourthroughoutthe day. 16 minutes, multimedia presentationthathighlightsLowell Lasting research. Jeff Hallcreatedastunning offered hourly. Inplace ofthelecture, isnow stops attheClarkandPlutodomesaswellRotunda, no andthetotaltourtimeis format. The portionwas lecture dropped, we’ve changedthesetourstoamoreuser-friendly feedback, as anew looktothedaytimetours.Inresponsevisitorandstaff you’ll like thechanges! comeandcheckusout. We think haven’t visitedLowell lately, questions orsug youtocontactme([email protected])encourage withany accessible whileincreasingthequalityofLowell experience. I community memberstovisitLowell regularly. more admitted foronlyhalfprice. We hopethiswillencourageour withallFlagstaff residents every“Flagstaff monthis Night,” Obser and new offered presentationsnotnormally onothernights. T we willbeopenevery nightbetweenChristmasandNew Year’s. dur expanding ourholidayhours toaccommodateincreasedattendance c educa wewillcontinueourpursuitofoffering aquality your help, have allofwhich strengthenedourprogram. With instruments, and programs, donations have exhibits, helpedfundnumerous success ofthePublicProgramthroughyears. Your kind outreach efforts. interaction withyouinmynew asthemanagerofLowell’s role andlookforward tomore Lowell, you throughoutmyyearsat Hello fromthePublicProgramDepartment.Ihave metmany of By Kevin Schindler Public Program Changes ags otyrltn ohuso prto. isl,weare relatingtohoursofoperation.Firstly, mostly hanges, hese specialSunda The 5mnts ahrta 0mnts hssotrtu,with ratherthan90minutes. This shortertour, w 45minutes, ing those times. For example, during theChristmasholidays, during ing thosetimes.For example, F The resultofthesechangesismoreflexibility forourvisitors. such you’ll seealotofchanges, On yournext visittoLowell, We hopethesechangeswillmake Lowell even more wenow “Flagstaff feature Lowell Nightat Finally, wewillnow month. beopena Sundaynighteach Secondly, You areanimportantpartofLowell andhave beenvitaltothe

tional experience atLowell. Lowell aoy. trigti atJn,thefirst Wednesday nightof vatory”. StartingthispastJune, or nighttimepr gestions youhave thePublicProgram.Ifyou about y e o g vening starparties programswillfeature r ams wehave alsomadeanumberof P P UBLIC UBLIC P P 7 ROGRAMS ROGRAMS mentioned a [email protected]) orvisittheStarparty Web site K F paymen at: P sign upan method. thisisthepreferred You can Internet access, Clar unobstructed. other horizonsare and cone known as A-1 Mountainsitstothenorthwest, asmallcinder Francisco Peaksarevisibletothenorth, exciting new pr Telescope, through the24-inchClark viewing Mars observing site, anewyear wewillfeature September 29-October3. This Lowell StarParty from Join usforthe Third Annual registering. when andmaybeordered available only$15, for observing safaris areonly$95each. while registration isonly$40, Lowell Observatory, your registration For fee. membersofFriends anadditional$125willbeaddedto when youregister, attend atnocharge. Ifyouchooseanobservingsafari accompanied byoneormoreregistered parentsmay r a telescope. opportunity toseeMarsthroughPercival Lowell’s own 25 throughOctober2. These safaris offer agreat 90 minutesandareoffered every nightfromSeptember of campus. This siteisatanelevation of7,500feetand Obser Visit http://kraken.lowell.edu/lsp3/index.html egistration is$30.) Youth 17andunderwhoare ttendees 18yearsofageorolder(singleday LOWELL ST or mor a e f snain,andmore. esentations, SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 2 yP er vin Sc k r s spectacularvie al accountisa The popularobservingsafaris utilizethe24-inch T Re Commemorative StarParty t-shirtsarealso Registration fortheStar Party is$60forall v he ne efr a g tor e inf ister actor y n hindler (phone: y Mesa, http://kraken.lowell.edu/lsp3/index.html. bo w obser ing f or me faut n isa ne anda umber ofadultsandkidsatonce, . These private viewing sessionslastfor ve. ma or theStarP inaotteSa at,contact tion abouttheStarparty, about fourmileswestofLowell’s v ving siteisontheedg aila ws anddarkskies. The San AR P l o ay secureonline ble foreasy, 928-233-3210, ar ty iseasy AR . Ifyouhave TY III Observer e-mail: e of

Remainder Unitrust Beneficial Interest-Charitable Pr Collection Item(Stevens Duryea) restricted Investments, unrestricted Investments, T T P Temporarily restricted Unrestricted Net Total current liabilities Def Accrued liabilities Accounts payable Current Liabilities Lia T Contr Total Current Assets In Contribution Receivables Research GrantsReceivable ofDeposit Certificate Cash andEquivalents Assets 2004(UN-AUDITED) DECEMBER 31, STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION LOWELL OBSERVATORY er otal netassets otal assets otal lia

ventory andother Assets The oper manentl bilities andNet erred researchgrantrevenue Assets Lowell ib ty tosRcial,long term utions Receivable, , bilities &netassets: plant andequipment y r estr icted Assets F F INANCIAL INANCIAL $59,785,217 $58,806,608 $59,785,217 40,610,538 10,601,383 $7,594,687 38,077,290 8,253,940 3,354,008 6,869,834 2,468,340 $978,609 $608,967 $703,589 135,639 234,003 361,805 400,000 172,835 957,280 234,263 400,373 9 Sour Total expenses Resear Expenses b T Miscellaneous income Investment income Public programrevenue Gr Contributions Re Management andGeneral Operations Fundraising Public Programs Expenses otal suppor ant andcontractRevenue v EEBR3,2004(UN-AUDITED) DECEMBER 31, ACTIVITY INFORMATION LOWELL OBSERVATORY en ces ofRe ue andothersuppor c R R h 9% Pub 4% Fundraising 55% Investment income y Ca EPORT EPORT t andr v general operations 25% Mana en lic pr te ue g e or v o en g y r ue ams gement and t 1% -Miscellaneousincome 62% Research 12% Contributions contract revenue 27% Grantand program revenue 5% Pub $10,127,279 $1,199,831 $5,017,282 $3,121,232 5,613,654 2,691,451 1,252,262 Observer lic 141,557 480,786 205,916 437,872

colla the w long car installed andthePerkins Telescope began ChapterOneof its 1931thefinishedmirror was of arcwelding.OnDecember 14, replaced witha69-inchdiameter tubeusingthenew technique inch diametermirror. The 60-inchtelescope tubewas original theblankwas large a69- enoughtoproduce attempts. Infact, 3,300 poundglassblankdidnotcracklike theprevious the temperature inninemonths.Uponopeningthecoolingtank, required coolingtheglassslowly from2,400Fto room which successful. They hadmasteredtheannealingprocess, for establishingsuchU.S.-basedindustry. agreed toproduceamirrorblankasencouragement Standards, undertheauspices oftheNationalBureau government, theUnitedStates college mentornearly40yearslater), observatory’s first(andtheauthor’s director the persuasion ofDr. Clifford Crump, destroyed thefactories. Through the had beenproducedinEuropebut war had inches indiameter. Glassofthisdimension pr therewas nosourcenor the springof1925, all sciences…” pub Ci selling hogstotheUnion Army duringthe wise investments gained usingprofits from college observatory. A fortunebasedon frugal. They sharedadreamtobuild a childlessandveryhis wifeCarolinewere Perkins was a shy andmodestman.He retiringin1907. professor ofmathematics, ma was Hiram hiredasa Upon graduating, be admittedtoOhio Wesleyan in1853. the birthofPercival Lowell. Heeducatedhimselfsufficiently to twenty-five yearsbefore was bornonanOhiohogfarm in1830, currentlyLowell Observatory’s largest telescope. Telescope, wereviewappropriate that thehistoryofvenerable Perkins of constructiontheDiscovery Channel Telescope. Itis Lowell willcelebrateagroundbreakingofitsown withthestart nearthetown ofDelaware. This July, Ohio, north ofColumbus, ground breakingceremony. The locationwas about20miles 93, attheageof ProfessorPerkins, 82yearsago, 1923, On May23, By Nat White The HistoryofthePerkins 1906, in hewrote career-long goal.“Myobject,”

ospects f The vil thematics tutorandeventually becamea lic inoneofthenob turned thefirstshovel thePerkins ofdirtat Telescope bor At thetime fe eea re,thefifthattempt atcastingamirrorwas After several tries, After completionofthetelescopein Professor At sixfeetfourinchestall, benefactor ofthePerkinstelescope, Hiram M.Perkins,

or Lowell W “fi dwt oa oto 3000 nMy1,13,a 1935, ld withatotal costof$300,000.OnMay 16, ar enabledthecoupletofinancea eer inr a ti r st istointer ve agreement was signedbetweenOhio Wesleyan or man esear , the P ufacturing a mirror 60 c h andeduca er est andeduca lest andgrandestof kins w as thethir tion. te the d lar The 72-inch (1.8-meter)Perkins telescope. g est telescopein 10 Telescope ceremony the4.3meter(169inches)Discovery for Channel his dr thePerkins Telescope would continue tofulfill ground breaking, Perkins couldnever have afterthe imaginedthat82years Mar the telescopefromOhio Wesleyan University. A monthlaterin ar finenew stateoftheartinstruments Through thiscollaboration, signed providing sharedaccesstothePerkins telescope. current locationon Anderson Mesa. andOSUtomove thePerkins Telescope toits OWU, Lowell, anagreementwas forged between Dr. JohnS.Hall, director, T research potentialofthislarge telescopeandthusbegan Chapter ho thecostofoperation.Itwascapability andshare obvious, (OSU) inordertomake fulluseofitsextraordinary research University (OWU) andthemuchlarger University OhioState mirror, the Perkins telescopehassuffered thePerkins several identitycrises. mirror, be moved toFlagstaff thisyear...” would largest thefifth intheUnitedStates, reflecting telescope, Perkins 1960that“Thehuge69-inch reported onJanuary7, 82 yearslaterin2087? – o atelescopeonthemove. wo, is plannedf e beingcommissionedonthisseeminglyagelesstelescope. wever, that Ohio weather andlow thatOhioweather elevation the restricted wever, c h, hte rnttefia hpe scoea ad Professor Whether ornotthefinalchapteriscloseathand, Under theleadershipofLowell Observatory’s fifth If atelescopecanbeidentifiedbythesizeofitsprimary eam ofeduca a collaborative agreementwithBostonUniversity was – the fifthlargest bycoincidence intheUnitesStates rJl 2 2005. What willbeitslegacy andstatus or July12, instruments anddetectors. outfitting thetelescopewithmodern now BostonUniversity have collaboratedin motors thesizeofacanbeans.OSUand telescope iscontrolledbyacomputerand the drives andlarge electricmotors, new driven technologies.Originally byclock a improvements tothetelescopeand beginning Chapter Three. e tak modification. The new mirrorwas needed to diameter thatcouldfitwithoutextensive tube thelargest fitted witha72-inchmirror, andcurrentlyis became a69-inchbychance, The telescopewas plannedasa60-inch, A ne superior tothequalityof69-inchmirror. quality on OSU was dissolved andLowell purchased the a ttac xpansion glasswas installedin1965, tion andresearch. A groundbreaking e fullad hed instr g w mir r eement betw hpe orbgni 98 when Chapter Four began in1998, During thelastfortyyears, Ander r or systemusingmoder v uments have kept pacewith anta son Mesa, g The DailySun Arizona e oftheastr e oel W,and OWU, een Lowell, w hich proved far Observer onomical n lo w

tr f Hall werehere intheGiclasLecture Arizona in Ft.Defiance, school as well.Studentsfromthe Tsehootsooi DineBi’olta’ Observatory’s Navajo-Hopi Program Astronomy Outreach 66, planet Pluto’s 75thbirthday(seethe commemoratingtheanniversaryproclamation of celebration shehadissuedaspecial Observatory. InFebruary, of heractive supportofandcommunicationwiththe recent years earlier. pastvisitsfrom memories torecallacoupleofinformal long-time Observatory staff far hadtoreach backintheir and sitting GrandCanyon stateGovernor hadvisitedLowell, program.sincea Astronomy Outreach Ithadbeenyears partoftheObservatory’s Navajo-Hopi student fieldtrip, Arizona’s FirstLadyparticipatedina and Lowell staff, KathrynPutnam, introductions with Trustee BillPutnam, Virginia Turner.Northern after Immediately Office, Arizona includingtheDirector ofher Mars Hillwithseveral aides, welcome surpriseuphersleeve. The Governor arrived on Observatory on 19thofthisyearandshehada April GovernorArizona JanetNapolitanovisitedLowell accomplishments Lowell astronomershave madeover the J mostmemorableactionunfolded. Billand where thereal, exhibit intheRotunda. a storyboarddescribingthe new firstLowell telescope history ofthefoundingLowell Observatory whilereading Governor Napolitanospent several soakinginthe minutes and while theGovernor peered atthePlutodiscovery plates, comparator usedbyClyde Tombaugh todiscover Pluto but afew standout.Jeff Halladjustedtheblink time, tour Building RotundaandtheClark Telescope. Duringthemini- Jeff Hall. The two stopsonthistourweretheSlipher BillPutnamand Associate Director, Observatory Trustee, Governor andherstaff were given aguidedtourbyLowell GovtoLowell.html). http://www the Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreachprogram, Web siteforthepressreleaseaboutGovernor’s visitand all infr with studentspar Rodr or aspecial eff gave alively descriptionof research highlightsand ip, The Spring 2005). , there were many there were magicmomentspacked intoashort , a componentoftheeduca iquez gave ananimated andinformative presentation This official visitwas amilestoneforLowell certainly Go u,it was duringthe touroftheClark Telescope But, the After theastronomyoutreachpresentation, Lowell om herfrontrow storyandvisitour seat(seerelated vernor Napolitano’s April visitmarked ahighpoint .lowell.edu/press_room/releases/recent_releases/ Designates Lowell Observatory an“ArizonaTreasure.” “Cosmic Car ticipating asGovernor Napolitanotookit Governor JanetNapolitanoVisits MarsHill, t” pr esenta tional pr tion aspar Lowell Observer o gram. Lowell’s Tim t oftheirfi issue eld By Steele Wotkyns Observatory. ontheprogramplusadescriptionandlinkforLowellinformation Web site:http://www.arizonatreasures.gov/go/flagstaff/ hasmore For seeGovernor moreinformation Napolitano’s Arizona Treasures destinations. Lowell Observatory toaselectlistofspecial isadded Arizona dec formally Governor NapolitanopresentedthemtoBillandJeff, min wasn’t asothersinsidetheClarkDomewhenashortfew assurprised I Iwas stunned.But, Lowell Observatory an Arizona Treasure.” she’s goingtodeclare “You know, pulledmeasideandsaid, visit, whowas covering theGovernor’s Mitch Teich, Radio News Director, KNAU-Arizona Public nearthevery endofthetour, position. Then, Napolitano asshepushedthehugeClarktelescopeintoanew years usingtheClarkRefractor. Billencouraged Governor 11 laring theObservatory an Arizona Treasure. With thisdesignation, utes laterherstaff pulledoutspeciallymade T-shirts and “ 2005 anddeclared theObservatory an Observatory on April 19, through theClark24-inch telescope–visitedLowell historic GovernorArizona Janet Napolitano –pictured here peering Ar iz ona T r easur e . ” Observer