5th-Grade Students Research Nebulae with ATEO-1

Insight Observatory had the pleasure of providing its remote telescope services once again this school year with Ms. Christine DeSantis' 5th-grade students at Plymouth South Elementary School, Plymouth, MA. The students specifically accessed the 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) remotely from their classroom using the Educational Image Request (EIR) from their Chromebooks.

A 5th-grade student in Ms. DeSantis' class at Plymouth South Elementary School studies her image taken with ATEO-1 of the NGC 2073, The Iris Nebula on her classroom-assigned Chromebook.

Here is what Ms. DeSantis said regarding her class utilizing ATEO-1 for their classroom project...

"Learning about deep space objects and how they are photographed was an exciting and motivating experience for my fifth graders! This project related well to two science units: matter and energy and the solar system. Students were able to extend their knowledge of the elements and discovered why dust and gasses are able to glow when energized by a nearby energy source and how this results in spectacular nebulae. Before the image requests were put in, the students researched three types of nebulae.

As they proceeded to put in the requests they discovered that certain nebulae may or may not be visible at various times of the year. They reviewed phases of the moon and became aware that deep space photography works best during the new moon and also learned why the location of the telescope is important.

After their images were processed, the students compared the images from Insight Observatory to Hubble photographs. Next, they created a slideshow to demonstrate comprehension of all the concepts including adding details about their chosen image: the type of nebula, its age, distance from Earth, and distance across (size). This is a wonderfully thought-provoking and exciting way to learn about some complicated and abstract concepts. We are so grateful to have been able to participate in this project!"

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NGC 2244 - The Rosette Nebula (left), NGC 7293 - The Helix Nebula (upper right), and M42 - The Orion Nebula (bottom right) all imaged by 5th-grade students in Ms. Desantis' class using remote telescope ATEO-1.

Insight Observatory would like to thank Ms. DeSantis for once again collaborating with us. If you are an educator and interested in participating in a classroom project utilizing Insight Observatory's remote telescope services via our online Educational Image Request (EIR), please contact us.

We would also like to thank all of Insight Observatory's loyal remote imagers and Patreon patrons for their ongoing support that allows Insight Observatory to provide remote telescope services for educational purposes.

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"On the Moon Again!"

On July 20th, 1969, 600 million people on all the continents followed the first step of a man on the Moon, together with their family or friends, around a radio, and sometimes a television set. Fifty years later, "On the Moon Again" was created to share this enthusiasm for the Moon again in a global, universal movement, transcending all borders.

Insight Observatory and Blake Planetarium collaborated on the evening of July, 12th 2019, by participating in the global event "On the Moon Again".

Scientists worldwide gathered behind "On the Moon Again" and invited Insight Observatory to participate in this unifying event. Their support committee promoted the values of sharing and cooperation. "On the Moon Again" was an initiative of French scientists who coordinated this event with the contribution of thousands of volunteers. Once Insight Observatory was invited to join this global event, we immediately approached the Blake Planetarium located in Plymouth, MA to see if they would have an interest in putting on a joint event with Insight Observatory. The planetarium was very responsive, to say the least. Being that this event was for public outreach, the planetarium was kind enough to offer four showings of the planetarium's program "Earth, Moon, Sun", every half-hour free of charge to the public. This collaboration with Insight Observatory was highly publicized and the result was many reserving their spot ahead of time.

Interior view of the Blake Planetarium theater prior to the evening's event "On the Moon Again".

While the programs were running in the planetarium theater by Blake Planetarium Program Provider, Steven Davies, I represented Insight Observatory's contribution by providing a small Celestron 2.4" refractor telescope set up in the front of the school where the planetarium is located. Using this small instrument would make it easy to pick up and run inside in the event the skies opened up. Although the telescope was small and designed for novice astronomers, it still provided decent views of the moon. There was also a backup plan in case we were completely clouded out in Plymouth, MA. John Evelan, the owner of SkyPi Remote Observatory had his Insight Observatory affiliate telescope ATEO-2B, the Celestron 11" f/10 planetary telescope ready to broadcast images of the moon into the planetarium theater. Unfortunately, he was challenged by cloud coverage in western New Mexico and could only provide a few images of the moon.

Yours truly giving a thumbs-up after the clouds gave way to the moon, Dr. Patt Steiner providing views of the moon through her refractor telescope, and a quick shot of the moon through the Celestron refractor using my iPhone.

As folks were arriving and departing the planetarium, I had the waxing gibbous moon in the telescope's eyepiece for all to see. The weather started out unsettled however fortunately cleared out for most of the outdoor part of the event. Nearly all of the attendees that stopped by to look through the telescope had never seen the moon up so close before. The groups of adults and children of all ages were amazed by the detailed view of the craters, mountain ranges, and mare (seas) they could see with such a small backyard telescope. It was most rewarding guiding them where to look through the telescope for Mare Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility), the landing spot of Apollo 11.

Blake Planetarium has many public programs throughout the year. You can see what programs they have to offer by visiting bit.ly/BLAKEPLANET.

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Collaboration with SkyPi Remote Observatory

Sublime Skies, LLC DBA Insight Observatory is pleased to announce a joint Education Outreach collaboration with SkyPi Online Observatory, LLC!  

SkyPi Remote Observatory was conceived as an installation of automated roll-off observatories with telescope piers with the purpose of hosting remote imaging telescopes by John and Jan Evelan of Mesa, Arizona back in 2012. "The facility is dedicated to providing a superb remote imaging environment for the discriminating astrophotographer" as stated by John Evelan. "The remote observatory site is located in Pie Town, New Mexico with a population of approximately 200. It is arguably among the darkest sky sites in the lower 48 states. There are many other advantages that come along with this site. As I began planning the observatory, I realized that sharing and hosting the site was a natural evolution for it. The goal is to make remote observing accessible and more affordable to the astronomy community."

Remote Robotic Telescopes are hosted in SkyPi Remote Observatory's Alpha Observatory. 
Image courtesy of SkyPi Remote Observatory.

The comments above are exactly why the founding members of Insight Observatory, Michael Petrasko, and Muir Evenden chose the location for hosting their 16" f/3.7 Dreamscope Astrograph imaging telescope that was installed in May 2017. After carefully searching for the ideal location to host their Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO-1), they chose SkyPi Remote Observatory. Not only did the physical location turn out to be phenomenal for imaging and research but the service provided by John and his talented technicians, Michael and Caleb went completely above and beyond what their expectations were during and after the installation of the telescope. Their response time to any technical issues and special requests is extremely prompt. Insight Observatory could not imagine hosting its remote robotic telescope anywhere else.

IC 405 - The Flaming Star Nebula imaged by Insight Observatory on 16" F/3.7 Remote Telescope 
hosted at SkyPi Remote Observatory.

As their business relationship flourished and Michael Petrasko was onsite this past May on a routine telescope maintenance visit, John and he were discussing the online ATEO Portal Muir had designed and developed for accessing the ATEO-1 remote telescope via the internet. John asked if "any" telescope could be accessed via the online portal and when Michael replied yes, John opened up one of SkyPi's roll-off observatories that houses a Williams Optics 5" f/7 with a one-shot CCD camera attached. John then continued, "Even this one?".  That's when SkyPi's 5" f/7 refractor became Insight Observatory's very first affiliate imaging telescope on its network and has been designated ATEO-2. Currently, the crew at SkyPi is in the midst of configuring an 11" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that will be dedicated to planetary imaging. This imaging system will be known as ATEO-3.

M51 - The "Whirlpool Galaxy" imaged by Bob Birket on his Optics 12-inch RCOS Astrograph hosted at SkyPi Remote Observatory. Automated Roll-Off Roof Observatories Alpha, Bravo, and Gamma to the right.

John and Jan Evelan share the same passion for educational outreach the founding members of Insight Observatory do. After ATEO-2 was configured by the crew of SkyPi to be accessed by Insight Observatory, it became accessible on Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request (EIR) Form for classroom projects. ATEO-2 can also be accessed on their Public Image Request (PIR) Form as well. The telescope will be added to the online ATEO Portal within the next couple of months.

An Observatory housing n 18" Dobsonian Telescope was constructed so clients could enjoy observing in the dark skies at SkyPi. The telescope will also be used for Education Outreach events as well. 
Images courtesy of SkyPi Remote Observatory.

Both companies met on a video conference call this past Labor Day weekend to discuss possible joint ventures where both entities may accomplish their common goals for education outreach. Insight Observatory could not be more enthusiastic to partner up with SkyPi Remote Observatory on these!

If you are looking for the ideal spot to host your imaging system, we strongly recommend SkyPi. Other Astro-imagers have found SkyPi Remote Observatory to be the ultimate hosting solution other than Insight Observatory. You may read all of their positive feedback on their Testimonials page on their website. Also, check out the images taken by SkyPi's hosting clients on their image gallery.

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