Monsoon Madness!

Get 20% OFF Imaging Credits and Starbase Image Set Subscriptions on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector (ATEO-1)!

Offer valid from June 1, 2020, Thru August 31, 2020.

Now that the summer months are arriving in the southwest, US, they may bring us fewer clear nights. However, when the nights are clear, the deep-sky gems in the summer Milky Way are there for the taking.

Insight Observatory has decided to celebrate the "rainy season" with a summer discount of 20% OFF imaging credits and Starbase image set subscriptions on our fast and wide field of view 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector remote telescope located at nearly 7,800' in the dark skies of New Mexico.

Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) remote telescope is housed in Gamma Observatory at SkyPi Remote Observatory located at nearly 7,800' in Bortle 1 dark skies of New Mexico.

ATEO-1 Discounted Imaging Rates:

• Standard: $48.00 USD per imaging hour - Savings of $12.00 per imaging hour
• Education: $39.00 USD per imaging hour - Savings of $10.80 per imaging hour

ATEO-1 Starbase Image Set Subscriptions:

• Standard: $0.08 cents per minute of image set exposure time
• Education: $0.06 cents per minute of image set exposure time

Get quality image data acquired from ATEO-1 to process images like these...

M13 - The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, M16 - The Eagle Nebula, and M63 - The Sunflower Galaxy all imaged on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.7 Dream astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) remote telescope. M13 and M63 images were processed by Utkarsh Mishra and M16 images were processed by Bubba Daniels.

If you have any questions regarding our "Monsoon Madness" summer discount, please Contact Us.

Sign-up or log in to access your ATEO Portal account to take advantage of this special offer.

Enjoy and Clear Skies!
The Insight Observatory Team

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Elementary Students Research Deep Space Images

Insight Observatory was excited to offer elementary school students the chance to access their online remote robotic telescope, the Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO), to acquire their deep space images. The students used the Educational Image Request (EIR) to submit their deep-space image requests. They were then able to choose to image with either the 16" reflector (ATEO-1) or the 5" refractor (ATEO-2A) telescopes. Manomet Elementary School Teacher, Nancy Cavicchi describes the class assignment...

"This past January and February, the student’s from my 5th-grade science classes from Plymouth, Massachusetts had the unique opportunity to work collaboratively with Insight Observatory.

5th-grade students submitting their image requests on Insight Observatory's 
Educational Image Request (EIR) form. Photo by Mrs. Cavicchi.

Students were paired up to work together to research different celestial bodies. Their assignment was to become “class experts” and to share their knowledge with each other. Students spent time researching their choice of a galaxy or a nebula. They gathered information, created a Google slide presentation, and then presented it to their classmates.

M42 - The Orion Nebula imaged on ATEO-2A by Kasey G. and Haylee L., NGC 2903 - Spiral Galaxy imaged on ATEO-2A by Julianna S. and Lily H. and M44 - The Beehive Open Cluster imaged on ATEO-1 by Faith N. and Oliver E. from Mrs. Cavicchi's 5th-grade science classes.

All their hard work paid off when the remote telescopes in New Mexico captured images of each student’s celestial body. Their excitement was beyond anything we could have imagined. When we started this project they had a very basic knowledge of space and did not have a clear understanding of how vast space really is. While researching, the children’s curiosity grew tremendously to discover the depth of space exploration."

M81 - Bode's Galaxy imaged on ATEO-1 by Madison M. and Bianca B. and M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy imaged ATEO-1 by Makenna S. and Odybray F. from Mrs. Cavicchi's 5th-grade science classes.

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Astronomy April at Whitin Observatory

On Monday, April 23, 2018, I had the chance to share my passion for astronomy with the subscribers of Facebook Education as part of their Astronomy April month. Facebook Education's Monica Ares conducted a Facebook Live session with Abigail Harrison (known as Astronaut Abby) and I at Whitin Observatory located on the campus of Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Abby has the dream of becoming an astronaut and the first person to walk on Mars. She is also recognized as an International STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) and space ambassador and is the founder and leader of an international nonprofit with more than 1.1 million followers called The Mars Generation. After hearing her inspiring interview on Facebook Live, I truly believe with her passion and drive to be the first person to set foot on Mars... It will become a reality!

Facebook Education Live - Astronomy April Promo Card.

I arrived an hour early to make sure I found my way to the observatory where the interview was scheduled to take place. After I arrived I browsed through classic astronomy texts in the observatory's library inserted between the domes. Monica and her sister, Cristina, (who amazingly operated the camera) arrived shortly thereafter. We were then greeted by Dr. Kim Katris McLeod, an astronomer and professor at the college, who gave us a brief tour of the telescopes housed under the three domes. As Monica and her sister were prepping for the live event, Dr. McLeod shared with me some of the research projects that were undertaken utilizing the 24" Sawyer telescope.

The Facebook Live interview started promptly at 1:00 pm EDT in the dome that houses the college's 12" Fitz Clark refractor telescope. Astronaut Abby was interviewed first describing how the 12" telescope operates and what its main function is at the observatory. Abby then gave a tour of the computer room that displayed meteorites and various antiquated research instruments such as a spectrometer and compasses. She then shared with the Facebook Education community the foundation she founded and leads.

Dr. Kim Katris McLeod explains how the 6" Alvin Clark refractor is used at Wellesley College (left) and Facebook Education's Monica Ares, Abigail Harrison (Astronaut Abby), and Insight Observatory
Managing Member / Project Developer Michael Petrasko (right)

The Mars Generation is an international nonprofit operating in the United States as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the support of an advisory board of astronauts, engineers, scientists, and hundreds of thousands of online supporters. The nonprofit has reached over 25 million people in its first two years of operation and works to educate and excite kids and adults about space exploration and STEM education. The Mars Generation has 3 core programs: The future of Space Outreach Program, the Student Space Ambassador Leadership Program, and the Space Camp Scholarship Program.

Whitin Observatory domes that house the 12" Fitz/Clark refractor (left) and the 6" Clark refractor (middle)
and the 24" Sawyer reflector telescope (far right).

Then it was my turn... I waited in the dome that hosted the 6" refractor manufactured by Alvin Clark and Sons back in 1890. Monica proceeded to ask me to explain a little about the 6" telescope and how it differs from the imaging telescope we have at Insight Observatory. I explained to Monica how our 16" remote imaging telescope, designated the Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO), is accessible to the education community via the internet bringing the universe to the classroom. I also explained the different types of research projects that can be done with the ATEO such as extragalactic supernova search, asteroid hunting, studying variable stars or simply imaging detailed colored images of galaxies and nebulae.

24" Sawyer Reflector telescope used for student research at Wellesley College.

We all then proceeded to the dome that houses the 24" Sawyer reflector telescope. Astronaut Abby explained how the telescope is constantly used for research using CCD imaging equipment very much like the ATEO. Monica then ended the live segment by asking Abby and me a few questions posted by students. This event was an honor to be part of and I would like to thank Monica Ares from Facebook Education, Whiting Observatory, and Astronaut Abby for inviting Insight Observatory to be part of it!

See the full Facebook Live event for Astronomy April Here!

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Educational Image Request Form for Classrooms

Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request form for the Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO) is now available for use with classroom teachers and students.

The staff at Insight Observatory would like to thank the Plymouth Public School District located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for allowing a few of their classes to participate in a trial program utilizing the ATEO remote robotic imaging telescope integrated with the Educational Image Request form (EIR) for their astronomy research projects.

Secure login for access to the  Insight Observatory ATEO Educational Image Request Form.

The process begins with an account created by the teacher for their class. Once the account is created, credentials are created for the EIR form that each student in the class would use to access the form. When the students log into the EIR form, they are then prompted to enter their name followed by requesting a deep-sky astronomical object to image with the requested exposure parameters. 

There is a drop-down set of user instructions for completing the form. When a deep-sky object is chosen, a message will appear confirming that the object is visible that night for imaging. Once the EIR form is submitted by the student, the class instructor receives a receipt of the student's request and the image request is then submitted into the ATEO remote imaging telescopes queue.

Screenshot of the Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request (EIR) Forms for the ATEO telescope network.

A couple of examples of classes using the EIR form with the Astronomical Telescope for Education were 5th-grade students at Plymouth South Elementary School, MA and earth science students at Plymouth North High School, MA, and senior astronomy students at Barnstable High School, MA.

M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy imaged on the Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach, ATEO-2A (upper right) by students from Middletown Public Schools, Connecticut.

If you are an educator interested in using the ATEO Educational Image Request form for your classroom projects, please Contact Us for a FREE consultation and 15-min online training on the EIR application.

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Remote Robotic Telescope Lab Notes - Part 1

This will be an ongoing series of articles focusing on the testing of our telescope and all the components that make up the entire imaging system. The goal of these exercises is to thoroughly test every component and the entire system together prior to installation at SkyPi in 2017. We want to hit the ground running when the scope is installed; fixing problems after the final installation would not be impossible, but due to the remote location it would be time-consuming and potentially more expensive than if we identify all problems beforehand.

The Lab...

We recently acquired a second-hand Finger Lakes Instruments ProLine 16803 camera: this large 16-megapixel camera will image wide-field views through our fast 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph. The goal for this exercise is to simply test out the camera for basic functionality; as a second-hand camera, we need to be sure it still functions properly.

The first test was to install the FLI Software Installation Kit (with apps, drivers, etc) on a Windows machine (specifically Windows 10), connect the USB cable from the camera to the computer, and then attach the power supply to the camera. With the camera powered up the FLI software successfully connected to the camera. So far so good!

Our next test was to connect to the camera from TheSkyX Professional (again on Windows 10) and grab a test image...once again no problems.

Test on Windows 10, Success!

Now things got interesting: for our next test, we wanted to connect to the camera from TheSkyX on Linux (Ubuntu). We wanted to test this scenario because we plan to use a Raspberry Pi device to run TheSkyX and drive the mount/camera at the observatory, and since I did not have a Raspberry Pi device immediately available, trying on Linux was the next best thing. After a few false starts and failure to connect issues, I got this to work by installing the FLI SDK and compiling an FLI module that could be loaded into the Linux kernel. Once this was done, we connected successfully and grabbed a test image.

Finally, we wanted to try connecting from Linux using INDI (KStars & Ekos: http://www.indilib.org/about/ekos.html... We are not sure if we will use these tools or not in our final environment but it would be nice to know if it did work. The good news is we had no problems connecting to the camera with Ekos and capturing a test image. Hurrah!

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Type Ia Supernovae, Recurrent Novae and Classical Novae

A Possible Symbiotic Relationship Between Type Ia Supernovae, Recurrent Novae, and Classical Novae: Do These Events Occur in the Same or Different Stellar Masses?

Astronomers are trying to determine the answer to the question of whether there is a direct relationship between Type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa), Classical Novae (CNe) and Recurrent Novae (RNe). Some evidence has been found to support a distinct relationship between catastrophic SNe events and RNe outbursts. There is evidence that tipping of the scale into a full-fledged Type Ia SN may be related to RNe, and though some evidence seems to point to this, all the particulars are not out regarding the three types. Do the three events occur within the same stellar mass, or are they separate events occurring in separate stellar masses? 

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.

The results of a study, led by Ben Dilday, a postdoctoral researcher in physics at UC Santa Barbara and at Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT), are surprising because previous indirect –– but strong –– evidence had pointed to the merger of two white dwarf stars as the originators of other Type Ia supernovae. One interesting subject is the planetary nebula NGC 5189. It has a unique, torqued-spiral shape, with peculiar patterns of knots around its periphery, possibly due to wobbling in the stars' rotation, or, possibly, to the presence of a binary white dwarf system at its center.

Symbiotic binaries are systems containing both a white dwarf (WD) and a red giant component. Symbiotic novae are those systems in which thermonuclear eruptions occur on the WD component. These are to be distinguished from events are driven by accretion disk instabilities analogous to dwarf novae eruptions in cataclysmic variable outbursts. Another class of symbiotic system is that in which the WD is extremely luminous and it seems likely that quiescent nuclear burning is ongoing on the accreting WD. A fundamental question is the secular evolution of the WD. Do the repeated outbursts or quiescent burning in these accreting systems cause the WD to gain or lose mass? If it is gaining mass, can it eventually reach the Chandrasekhar Limit and become a supernova (a Type Ia SN if it can hide the hydrogen and helium in the system)? In order to better understand these systems, a new study has begun on the evolution of Thermonuclear Runaways (TNRs) in the accreted envelopes of WDs using a variety of initial WD masses, luminosities, and mass accretion rates. Astrophysicists have put into use a 1-D hydrocode, NOVA, which includes the new convective algorithm of Arnett, Meakin, and Young, the Hix and Thielemann nuclear reaction solver, the Iliadis reaction rate library, the Timmes equation of state, and the OPAL opacities. It is reported that (1) the WD grows in mass for all simulations so that canonical 'steady burning' does not occur, and, (2) that only a small fraction of the accreted matter is ejected in some (but not all) simulations. They have also found that the accreting systems, before thermonuclear runaway, are too cool to be seen in X-ray searches for Type Ia SN progenitors.

SN PTF 11kx Imaged by BJ Fulton  
Las Cumbres Global Telescope Network.

The case of SN PTF 11kx, discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory, showed this relationship beyond further doubt. Astronomers could discern that the supernova was surrounded by shells of hydrogen gas that had likely been blown off in previous nova eruptions, decades before the supernova occurred. Novae are more frequent but weak explosions not catastrophic to the star. While similar shells of material had been seen before in a handful of Type Ia supernovae, their origin was debated and they had never before been firmly linked to novae - some doubted that the material was near the supernova at all. SN PTF 11kx proved differently. The surrounding gas was moving too slowly to be from the supernova event itself, but too fast to be from a typical stellar wind. Lars Bildsten, director of UC Santa Barbara's Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, hypothesized that it was material shot out from a previous nova eruption, which had been slowed as it collided with the wind from the red giant star. UCSB graduate student Kevin Moore showed this hypothesis to be plausible and would lead to gas moving at speeds seen in the observations. Adding credence to the theory was the fact that the material moved at two different speeds -- faster-moving interior material to slower-moving exterior -- exactly as expected. The outer material had been slowing for decades, while the inner material had less time to slow. But if this was the case, the fast-moving supernova ejecta should have eventually collided with the nova material. About two months after the explosion, this is exactly what happened. New observations showed that the supernova ejecta was colliding with the interior shell of the material. It was impossible to doubt that this gas was nearby the supernova. "This was the most exciting supernova I've ever studied," said Dilday, "For several months, almost every new observation showed something we'd never seen before."

This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; The Palomar Transient Factory at the California Institute of Technology; Baltic Astronomy, Vol 21, pages 76 - 87, 201arXiv:1211.6145v1 [astro-ph.SR]

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Image Processing with Instagram

After recently installing the Instagram app on my iPhone, I found it has a well-designed and intuitive image processing tool built into it. The staff at Insight Observatory recently decided to add Instagram to its list of Social Networks as a platform to publish Astro-images that they or their clients have acquired using remote robotic telescopes for educational or personal purposes. Back on December 16, 2015, I personally imaged M42, the "Great Orion Nebula" remotely from Siding Spring, Australia. The exposure time was 5 minutes captured with a One-Shot Color CCD camera. After downloading the raw image file from my DropBox account onto my smartphone, I thought to myself "Why not make this image the first one to post on the new Insight Observatory Instagram account?"

M42 Processed with the Instagram Editing Tool.

As I proceeded to post the image of M42, I discovered the image editing tool in the app. I started experimenting with the app's tool and I saw that the editing tool extracted much more information from the image than could be seen on the original raw image file. This gave me the idea of integrating the Instagram app with lessons that Insight Observatory has developed for secondary schools that include imaging with remote robotic telescopes. The students could incorporate image processing with the Instagram app. It is already very popular and well known with many students of this age group. Most students are familiar with how to use the app as they most likely use it for personal social media purposes already. The Instagram app will also allow students to easily share the Astro-images they acquire and process with their friends and family on social media.

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Astronomy Bingo Games

Recently, I was browsing the Las Cumbres Global Telescope Network education section of their website and came across an entertaining and fun way for students to participate in astronomy education... Play Bingo with Charles Messier. 

Charles Messier was an astronomer who lived in Paris in the 18th century. He wanted to become famous for discovering comets. When he looked through his telescope, he often rediscovered objects which were already known and were not comets. So he didn't waste time; each time he found an object that did not move in the sky, he cataloged it.

Play Bingo with Charles Messier

As I read more on the topic of entertaining ways of teaching astronomical subject matter, I discovered more "Astronomy Bingo" type games. When we think about the study of history and some other subjects, we instinctively know that these subjects involve learning many facts. In history, for example, details such as what happened on a particular date, or who was the King of France at a particular time, are critical information. On the other hand, we often tend to forget that studying science subjects also involves learning many facts. Astronomy is no exception to this general rule - there are many facts that students must become familiar with - the names of planets, moons, and other stellar objects, the different types of stars, and, of course, astronomical jargon and terminology.

Thus, one of the challenges that educators face when teaching astronomy is how to get these facts across in a way that students can easily remember. In the olden days, teachers used to simply stand in front of their class and lecture their students. Today, however, both teachers and students are looking for something more interactive and a bit more fun too! Educational games are gaining more and more popularity in the classroom, and in particular, educational variants of the game of bingo are increasingly widely used.

Astronomy Bingo Card

Bingo turns out to be ideal for use in education. In large part, this is because virtually everybody knows how to play bingo already, but since the game is so simple, even people who don't know how can learn to play quickly, plus bingo can be adapted to teaching virtually any subject, including astronomy, by simply using bingo cards printed with squares containing words or phrases related to astronomy, instead of numbers. Furthermore, bingo also has the distinct advantage that the game does not require expensive specialist materials, which is quite an advantage, bearing in mind the financial limitations that educators work under today.

To play bingo in the classroom, each student is given a printed bingo card, the teacher takes the role of "bingo caller", and then you play. Of course, a teacher may well choose to alter gameplay in order to focus students on the educational elements, perhaps by asking students to describe the items that they have marked off from their cards, or by having a class discussion as each item is called out.

Of course, if you want to play astronomy bingo, you won't be able to play unless you have bingo cards containing those items that form the subject of the lesson. The simplest way to get such cards is to print them off using a computer. This is very easy, thanks to ready-made free bingo printables that can be downloaded from the Internet, and affordable bingo card maker software, which can print whatever type of bingo cards that you might want.

Article Source: Tanna, S. (2008, January 11). Astronomy Bingo Cards. Retrieved March 8, 2015.

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A Pilgrim's Progress

On Saturday, February 7, 2015, a talk was given to the public at the Cotuit Library in Cotuit, Massachusetts.  Fellow Insight Observatory staff member, Harry Hammond and I gave a presentation entitled "A Pilgrims Progress" of amateur astronomy.  The event covered adventures that spanned over a 35-year period, as experienced by a couple of friends, showing their progress and pitfalls along their journey. The program was well-received by local residents of the town on an afternoon that was anticipating more snowfall in the Greater New England Area.

A "Pilgrims Progress" Talk was Given at the Cotuit Library.

Harry and I started the presentation with stories of how we both independently became interested in astronomy. From those stories, the talk evolved into sharing our passions, such as mine for visual observing and Harry's for astrophotography. We both shared a few anecdotes of our individual experiences in amateur astronomy as well as our experiences together. A few examples are being Charter members of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society back in 1985 to collaborating together on the Sacred Heart School's Observatory project via Insight Observatory in the summer of 2014.

As Harry covered his experiences with astrophotography, he explained the basics of how back in the day, simple exposures of the night sky could capture brilliant colors from deep-sky objects such as diffused nebula. Harry also touched on such methods of the (now antiquated) technique of "hyper-sensitizing" print or slide film to the new conventional methods for astrophotography utilizing digital and CCD cameras.

M20 - Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius

Imaged by Harry Hammond.

I concentrated mostly on sharing my visual observing techniques with the telescopes I owned and used over the past three decades. The highlight of the talk for me was telling the story of the "Personal High" of my experiences with amateur astronomy. The experience occurred on the morning of February 11, 1989, around 1:00 am when I independently discovered extragalactic supernova 1989B in the galaxy designated M66 in the constellation, Leo.

The purpose of the talk was to share, introduce and hopefully inspire some of the attendees to the fun and rewards that can come from such an exciting hobby.

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Students, Parents and Staff Enjoy Comet Lovejoy

Students, parents, and a few staff members from the Sacred Heart School enjoyed comet viewing on the evening of January 20, 2014, at the Kohout-Dingley Observatory located on the school's campus in Kingston, MA. The event was planned and presented by Insight Observatory. The comet that was on display was Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2. The event featured a display of a 3-D model entitled "Anatomy of a Comet" that was designed and constructed by Insight Observatory's Creative Director, Paul Bonfilio. Paul greeted the attendees of the event as they entered the observatory and presented them with a brief lecture on what a comet actually is utilizing his 3-D model. After the audience listened to Paul's lecture, followed up with some questions and answers, the guests then proceeded up the stairs of the observatory to get a glimpse of this rare celestial visitor through the observatory's 11" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, operated by Insight Observatory's Project Developer, Michael Petrasko.

Insight Observatory's Creative Director,

Paul Bonfilio Explains the Anatomy of

a comet to students and parents.

The seeing conditions for viewing the comet through the telescope were only fair due to scattered clouds that rolled in over the course of the event. However, the thin clouds didn't hinder the observers from seeing Comet Lovejoy's nucleus and dust tail. Even though only a pair of binoculars would be more than ideal to observe the comet, the telescope's wide-field eyepiece provided observers to see about 50% of the comet in the field of view. It turns out that this evening allowed all of the attendees to get their first view of a comet ever.

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet discovered on 17 August 2014 by Terry Lovejoy using an 8" Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. The comet was discovered at apparent magnitude 15 in the southern constellation of Puppis. It is the fifth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy.

By December 2014, the comet had brightened to roughly magnitude 7.4, making the comet a small telescope and binoculars target. By mid-December, the comet was visible to the naked eye for experienced observers with dark skies and keen eyesight.

Astrophotographer Chris Schur captured Comet Lovejoy 
C/2014 Q2 with globular cluster  M79 on Dec. 28, 2014,
 from Payson, Arizona.

On 28−29 December 2014, the comet passed 1/3° from globular cluster Messier 79. It brightened to roughly magnitude 4−5 and became one of the brightest comets located high in a dark sky in years. On 7 January 2015, the comet passed 0.469 AU ( 43,600,000 miles) from Earth. It crossed the celestial equator on 9 January 2015 becoming better seen from the northern hemisphere. The comet will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 30 January 2015 at a distance of 1.29 AU (120,000,000 miles) from the Sun.

Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2014 Q2 had an orbital period of about 11000 years. After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it will have an orbital period of about 8000 years.

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Amateur Astronomy Talk to be Given at Local Library

There will be a talk given on Saturday, February 7, 2015, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm at The Cotuit Library, Cotuit, MA presented by Insight Observatory staff members Harry Hammond and Michael Petrasko, covering the topic of Amateur Astronomy and how to get started.

Amateur Astronomy Stargazing and Observing Session

Harry and Michael have been friends exploring the path of amateur astronomy for over three decades. Harry monitors trends in astrophotography, while Michael is engaged in spreading the amateur astronomy gospel, from serving as a planetarium and education consultant to conducting "stargazing" sessions for the public. They've built telescopes, observatories, and other "Astro-gear," conducted public observing sessions, and when not seeking out dark skies for observing and astrophotography, given talks on astronomy to local groups. Their written articles, astrophotography, and tips for creating astronomical equipment have appeared in print from local publications to Astronomy, Sky and Telescope, and other magazines. Both have served as Charter members and past Presidents of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society, and Harry has also served as an officer of the South Shore Astronomical Society. Michael and fellow astronomy enthusiast, Muir Evenden, founded "Insight Observatory" back in 2011 which specializes in secondary school, college level, and public outreach astronomy education utilizing remote robotic and backyard telescopes.

This event will be followed up with public stargazing and telescope viewing on a later date to be determined in May 2015. Michael and Harry would have a 10" telescope and a few pairs of binoculars, one of which would tend to the telescope while those guests waiting for a look will have constellations and other naked-eye objects pointed out. May is a great month for observing... Lots of deep-sky objects, tolerable weather, and perhaps a planet or two will be on tap!

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Observing Objects in the Summer Milky Way

On the evening of October 27, 2014, Joe Masi, a Science Teacher at Sacred Heart High School, and I had our first successful observing run at the newly renovated Kohout-Dingley Observatory in Kingston, MA. This observing session was the first since the installation of the new Celestron 11 telescope mounted on a Losmandy Equatorial mount. Due to the unstable weather here in New England this fall, we have been challenged with finding a clear night to start getting acclimated to the new telescope system. 

Observing with the 11" Telescope.

Joe and I figured we could do a dry run of with equipment before having the students present. I arrived at the observatory shortly before sundown. The waxing crescent moon was hanging in the western sky. As I waited for Joe and total darkness to arrive, I thought I would get a glimpse of the moon through the C11 for the first time. The full disk of the moon (due to earthshine) fits nicely in the field of view of the 23 mm Axiom 2" eyepiece. The optics displayed fine detail in the moon's terminator, especially when steady pockets of air passed allowing good seeing. When Joe arrived at the observatory, I still had the moon in the eyepiece which allowed him a chance to get a good look at the moon as well. Joe was just as impressed with the optics performance as I was.

As the sky became darker, we configured the telescope and mounting system so we could utilize the Gemini 2 GOTO system. Once we completed the two-star alignment method with the GOTO system, our goal was to slew our way up through the summer Milky Way. The first targeted object was M8, the Lagoon Nebula. The object was so slow in the sky; the nebulosity was faint due to the murkiness of the horizon. The next object of choice was M11, the "Wild Duck" open star cluster in the constellation of Scutum. We then observed common deep-sky objects in the summer Milky Way such as M57, The "Ring Nebula" in Lyra, and M27, the "Dumbbell Nebula" in Vulpecula.

NGC 869 and 884, "Double Cluster 

in Perseus"Imaged by Tristan and Alek, 

from the Plymouth Community 

Intermediate School

I noticed the constellation of Pegasus was getting higher up in the sky and knew we could get a good view of M15, a nicely condensed globular cluster that rivals M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. Joe very impressed with this deep-sky object commented on how bright the cluster was. As we winded down our observing session, we ended with a nice view of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the double open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884 Cluster in Perseus. As Joe sat in the observing chair comfortably, he could detect the difference in the colors of some of the stars.

Content with this successful dry run, Joe and I then closed up the dome and parked the new telescope system. This observing session inspired us to introduce the students in the school's astronomy club and science classes to this newly renovated observatory with its new state-of-the-art instrumentation.

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Observing in the Age of Modern Technology

Last Sunday morning, my longtime friend and co-astronomy enthusiast, Muir Evenden and I went observing again together for the first time since 2006. Growing up together on Cape Cod in the late 1970s and 1980s, Muir and I continued to foster each other’s interest in the field of astronomy Back then Muir would bring along his Celestron 8 telescope and I would cart my Edmund Astroscan 2001 4.25" Wide-Field telescope. We would observe with these instruments through those years, bringing them to numerous observing programs for astronomy education and public outreach. After Muir relocated to the Phoenix, Arizona area back in the early 1990s, I would make a point to travel out there at least once a year. On those annual visits, we would travel down to the Tucson part of the state, rent telescopes for the week, and observe at the base of Mt. Hopkins, the site of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. Muir and I continued this tradition until the fall of 2006 as he then relocated to Poland shortly thereafter.

NGC 253  - Image by Muir Evenden & Michael Petrasko

Of course, Muir and I have always kept in touch through the years via Skype and eventually founded Insight Observatory together. However, because of the technologies that are available to amateur astronomers as well as students studying astronomy, Muir and I were actually able to observe the night sky while I was in my home office on Cape Cod and Muir at his residence in Poland. Via Skype, I shared my computer's desktop with Muir and we logged into the remote robotic telescope network located in New South Wales, Australia, operated by itelescope.net. As we chose their telescope T13, a Takahashi SKY90, 3" f/4.6 telescope with a One-Shot color CCD camera, we looked at the list of recommended images to shoot and we chose NGC253, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. We took a series of 5, 10-minute exposures of the galaxy. After each one was taken, we could go to the feature itelescope.net provides called a "Last Image Preview" and glimpse at the results. Muir then stacked and processed the 5 images in the imaging processing software called PixInsight. NGC 253 is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky, the Sculptor Galaxy can be seen through binoculars and is near the star Beta Ceti. It is considered one of the most easily viewed galaxies in the sky after Messier 31, the Andromeda Galaxy.

The Sculptor Galaxy is a good target for observation with a telescope with a 12" diameter or larger. In such telescopes, it appears as a galaxy with a long, oval bulge and a mottled disc. Although the bulge appears only slightly brighter than the rest of the galaxy, it is fairly extended compared to the disk. In 16" telescopes and larger, a dark dust lane northwest of the nucleus is visible, and over a dozen faint stars can be seen superimposed on the bulge.

"Grus Quartet" - Image by Muir Evenden and Michael Petrasko

After imaging NGC253, we skimmed through the planetarium software, Stellarium, and saw there was an interesting quartet of large spiral galaxies, in the constellation Grus. This quartet of galaxies is known as "The Grus Quartet". The spiral galaxies are physically very close together and strongly interacting. The high starburst activity of two of the members, NGC 7552 and NGC 7582, is also thought to arise from tidal galaxy-galaxy interactions and the subsequent formation of a bar in the disk. Several tidal tails are visible extending from NGC 7582, one pointing toward the neighbors in the east and the other toward NGC 7552, which lies at a projected distance of approx. 30' to the northwest. Muir and I then decided to take one 10-minute exposure of the group with T13. We were amazed to see how each galaxy in the image frame had a unique characteristic.

After spending those couple of hours remote observing and logging out of the remote telescope network, I said to Muir "I actually feel like I did in the old days after a good observing session."

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5 Great Astronomy Apps for the iPad

One of the benefits of working in the field of astronomy education is the opportunity to try out all of the different astronomy apps designed for iPads and iPhones. iPhones have been very popular in the past couple of years. Exploring the objects in the night sky is fun on an iPhone, however, even better on an iPad. There is simply no comparison between the experience that you get from an iPad astronomy app and its counterpart for the iPhone. The larger screen, especially the iPad 3′s retina model, makes a whole lot of difference.

In the event that you are into stargazing and need to utilize your iPad to investigate the objects in the night sky more than ever, these 5 astronomy applications for the iPad will have you prepared:

Star Walk: provides you with a breathtaking experience with the stars right on your iPad. Can identify the stars as you explore them on your device too.

Red Shift: This is another wonderful astronomy app for the iPad. It covers around 100,000 stars and 500 plus Deep-Sky objects. This app provides support for iPad 3′s retina display. The 3D flights to the moon and planets are breathtaking.

GoSkyWatch Planetarium: This astronomy app contains all the stars visible to the naked eye. This is not only a great learning tool for amateur astronomers, but it can also serve as a handy object identification tool. It also offers information on moon phases and sunrise and sunset times for all locations.

Solar Walk: Assists you with investigating the Earth's planetary group to the fullest extreme. This app covers all of the planets and their satellites in our solar system.

SkySafari 3: This is an astronomy app that has everything you need to explore the stars and other objects. You can use this to identify the stars. The night mode allows an observer to preserve their night vision. The Pro version offers many more features.

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Wide-Field Galaxy Imaging

The night sky in the spring is packed with a plethora of galaxies just waiting to be observed and imaged. Recently I was browsing through my copy of Sky and Telescope's "Pocket Sky Atlas" by Roger W. Sinnott. I came across the pages that cover the constellations Virgo and Coma Berenices. After noticing how many "red" symbols were on the page representing galaxies in the area of these constellations, I had the idea of remotely imaging a particular area that would be condensed with some of these galaxies with a wide-field telescope.

Galaxy Group in the Virgo Cluster with NGC 4461 in the Center Image by Michael Petrasko and Muir Evenden

I then accessed the planetarium software on my computer, "Stellarium", to determine the best time to image a cluster of galaxies. After surveying the night sky in New Mexico in the software, setting the time of night roughly an hour and a half after sunset there, I found a grouping of island universes in Virgo that would be worth giving a shot at. I found a galaxy in the grouping that would be the "targeted center galaxy" for the image frame. This galaxy would be NGC 4461, a spiral galaxy in Virgo. I ended up taking a series of ten luminance images over a period of two nights on T14, a Takahashi FSQ Fluorite 160mm telescope with an SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera via the itelescope.net remote robotic telescope network. My associate, Muir Evenden, then processed the raw image files using the CCD image processing software PixInsight. What I found interesting about the results was all of the different types of spiral galaxies that were caught in the image.

This type of data gathering could be a fun and interesting exercise for students participating in astronomy education projects. Students could be tasked with identifying the designations and galaxy types in the image field utilizing astronomy software and/or star atlases as I did.

The galaxies caught in my image are located in the Virgo Cluster. This cluster of galaxies whose center is about 53.8 light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Comprising approximately 1300 (and possibly up to 2000) member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the larger Virgo Supercluster, of which the Local Group is an outlying member.

Many of the brighter galaxies in this cluster, including the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, were discovered in the late 1770s and early 1780s and subsequently included in Charles Messier's catalog of non-cometary fuzzy objects. Described by Messier as a nebula without stars, their true nature was not recognized until the 1920s.

The cluster subtends a maximum arc of approximately 8 degrees centered in the constellation Virgo. Many of the member galaxies of the cluster are visible with a small telescope. Its brightest member is the elliptical galaxy Messier 49; however, its most famous member is the also elliptical galaxy Messier 87, which unlike the former is located in the center of the cluster.

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Insight Observatory Installs New Telescope for School Observatory

Insight Observatory was recently contracted by the Sacred Heart School located in Kingston, Massachusetts, to search out, find and install a suitable new telescope with a mounting system for their Sacred Heart Observatory located on a hill in the back of the school's campus. The 10' observatory dome was originally built on a structure back in 1999 that originally housed a 12" telescope. The observatory has been without a telescope since 2004 due to several technical issues with the instrument that could not be overcome. 

Sacred Heart Observatory, Kingston, MA

The observatory has since undergone renovations this past spring as part of Sacred Heart's STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) initiative. Part of these renovations included selecting a new instrument that would be an integral part of the astronomy curriculum and the astronomy club that will be offered at the school in the fall of 2014. After visiting the observatory and meeting with the institution's Director of Advancement along with the school's astronomy teacher, taking various measurements and discussing the requirements of the functionality of the telescope for the curriculum, Insight Observatory's staff set out to research equipment that would suit the astronomy program's needs.

C11 OTA Mounted on a Losmandy G11

Equatorial Mount

The result was a Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain 11" (C11) Telescope Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) to be mounted on a Losmandy G11 Equatorial Mount. This setup would allow users to enjoy good visual observing experiences as well as allow the opportunity of getting involved with the imaging of deep-sky objects and planets. This advanced mounting system is equipped with a "Go-To" system that allows an observer to slew the telescope to objects stored in its database. This "Go-To" system can either be controlled with a hand pad (included with the mount) or from software on a computer connected to the mount's console. If desired, the system can be connected and accessed remotely via the Internet as a remote robotic telescope. Phase one of the installation has been successfully implemented (physical assembly and mounting to the observatory's custom-made pier) and phase two (polar alignment with true north) will commence within the upcoming weeks.

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