| | 16 | == Public Lectures and Star-Gazing Nights == |
| | 17 | |
| | 18 | We try to do a star-gazing session every two weeks on the roof. Each star-gazing night is coupled with an astronomy talk and a slideshow. The talk/slideshow is especially worthwhile when the sky is cloudy, which is usually the case (less than half of the nights are clear from NYC). Traditionally it has been Friday nights; however, transient events like eclipses, transits, and comets demand alternative scheduling. [[BR]] |
| | 19 | |
| | 20 | These are a lot of fun when the weather cooperates. Turnout is typically around 50-200 people - a mixture of Columbia students (15%), local families (20%), and amateur astronomers (5%) and interested adults from the community (60%). At a recent event we took an informal poll of the attendees and determined that only 25% of them were affiliated with the University, meaning that 75% of our audience is from the general public as a whole (great news)! Furthermore, 25% of our audience is coming from outside of Manhattan, which surprised us all. |
| | 21 | |
| | 22 | Lectures typically last 30 minutes, and star-gazing follows that for another 1.5 hours or so. We try to offer astrophotography slideshows (essentially mini-lectures) after the main lecture but during the star-gazing so that people can cycle between the various stations and get more out of the event. |
| | 23 | |
| | 24 | Our volunteer staff consists almost entirely of graduate students, although we have a few undergrads and a post-doc who make occasional appearances. We currently have a healthy core of observing volunteers, but it's always good to have different faces, so sign up (or just show up to see what it's like)! If you are unfamiliar with our equipment, training sessions with the veterans can be arranged.[[BR]] |
| | 25 | |
| | 26 | Instructional webpages associated with star-gazing nights: |
| | 27 | |
| | 28 | * [wiki:Outreach/Directions/Volunteer Star-Gazing Volunteer Instructions] [[BR]] |
| | 29 | |
| | 30 | * [wiki:Outreach/Directions/Organizer Star-Gazing Organizer Preparation Instructions][[BR]] |
| | 31 | |
| | 32 | * [wiki:Outreach/Directions/Lecturer Lecturer Instructions][[BR]] |
| | 33 | |
| | 34 | * [wiki:Outreach/Observations Observational Resources][[BR]] |
| | 35 | |
| | 36 | * [wiki:Outreach/HandyFacts Handy Astronomical Facts][[BR]] |
| | 37 | |
| | 38 | * [wiki:Outreach/Slideshows Download our slideshows] |
| | 39 | |
| | 40 | ==== Lecturer Instructions ==== |
| | 41 | For those of you putting together a public lecture, I recommend you prepare it as though you are explaining an astronomical topic to someone seated next to you on an airplane with no background in science. The guideline of 30 minutes is rough, as you may go a little over or under the 30 minute mark in duration. Lectures are generally given in Pupin 301, a large lecture hall with capacity for ~300 attendees. There are 4 chalk boards, a digital projector, a DVD/VHS player, a video camera to project books or other non-digital images, a speaker system, and a wireless microphone. The speaker system is set to work with the wireless microphone (but you do not need it if you project your voice) as well as the output headphone jack from your laptop. You will need to bring a laptop, dongle, pointer, presentation, and yourself by fifteen minutes before the lecture is set to begin. If you do not have a laptop or laser pointer, we can use the ones purchased for the astronomy lab by the department, but please let us know in advance that this is what you plan to do. If you have any questions, please contact Cameron. |
| | 42 | |
| | 43 | == Astrophotography Slideshows == |
| | 44 | We offer slideshows of images of the sky during star-gazing nights, either in lieu of observing (in the case of cloudy weather--Pupin 301), or for attendees seeking a brief respite from the rooftop (during cold sessions in the Winter--Pupin 1402). These slideshows are broken into 5-10 minute-long themed groups of images (e.g. nebulae, supernovae remnants, disk galaxies, atmospheric anomalies, moons, etc.), and are presented with commentary by one of our volunteers. They allow the public an opportunity to see the sky as it really exists, not from our often overly-light-polluted skies. If you're interested in putting together a short (10 slides) slideshow on some astronomical topic, please contact Cameron. A copy of the template for slideshows exists and is available here in [attachment:master.ppt Powerpoint] or [attachment:master.odp Open Office] formats. [[BR]] |
| | 45 | |
| | 46 | |
| | 47 | |
| 24 | | |
| 25 | | == Star-Gazing Nights == |
| 26 | | We try to do a star-gazing session every two weeks on the roof. Each star-gazing night is coupled with an astronomy talk and a slideshow. The talk/slideshow is especially worthwhile when the sky is cloudy, which is usually the case (less than half of the nights are clear from NYC). Traditionally it has been Friday nights; however, transient events like eclipses, transits, and comets demand alternative scheduling. [[BR]] |
| 27 | | |
| 28 | | We currently have a healthy core of observing volunteers, but it's always good to have different faces, so sign up (or just show up to see what it's like)! If you are unfamiliar with our equipment, training sessions with the veterans can be arranged.[[BR]] |
| 29 | | |
| 30 | | These are a lot of fun when the weather cooperates. Turnout is typically around 80-120 people - a mixture of Columbia students, local families, and enthusiasts. This number |
| 31 | | has been growing as we advertise more, and it has forced us to start holding lectures in Pupin 428 or 301 instead of in 1334 or 1402. |
| 32 | | |
| 33 | | ==== Volunteer Instructions ==== |
| 34 | | Here is a list of instructions that a volunteer should follow when arriving at a star-gazing night: [wiki:Outreach/Directions/Volunteer Star-Gazing Volunteer Instructions] [[BR]] |
| 35 | | |
| 36 | | ==== Organizational Preparation Instructions ==== |
| 37 | | I've put together a list of directions that someone in charge of a star-gazing night and lecture should follow to adequately prepare for an observing session here: [wiki:Outreach/Directions/Organizer Star-Gazing Organizer Preparation Instructions].[[BR]] |
| 38 | | |
| 39 | | ==== Observational Resources ==== |
| 40 | | To aid volunteers in finding good targets with the telescopes, we've created a page with observational resources including a list of different cool objects you can see from our rooftop. Check it out here: [wiki:Outreach/Observations Observational Resources].[[BR]] |
| 41 | | |
| 42 | | ==== Handy Astronomical Facts ==== |
| 43 | | Useful figures and analogies, either for stargazing on the roof or speaking in a classroom: [wiki:Outreach/HandyFacts handy astronomical facts].[[BR]] |
| 44 | | |
| 45 | | == Public Astronomy Lectures == |
| 46 | | People in our department regularly give lectures aimed at the general public. Ideally these coincide with star-gazing nights, and are about 30 minutes long. Audiences are usually 50-100 attendees generally consisting of students (15%), families (20%), amateur astronomers (5%), and interested adults from around NYC (60%). Please see our past events for the titles and abstracts of previous, successful talks.[[BR]] |
| 47 | | |
| 48 | | ==== Lecturer Instructions ==== |
| 49 | | For those of you putting together a public lecture, I recommend you prepare it as though you are explaining an astronomical topic to someone seated next to you on an airplane with no background in science. The guideline of 30 minutes is rough, as you may go a little over or under the 30 minute mark in duration. Lectures are generally given in Pupin 301, a large lecture hall with capacity for ~300 attendees. There are 4 chalk boards, a digital projector, a DVD/VHS player, a video camera to project books or other non-digital images, a speaker system, and a wireless microphone. The speaker system is set to work with the wireless microphone (but you do not need it if you project your voice) as well as the output headphone jack from your laptop. You will need to bring a laptop, dongle, pointer, presentation, and yourself by fifteen minutes before the lecture is set to begin. If you do not have a laptop or laser pointer, we can use the ones purchased for the astronomy lab by the department, but please let us know in advance that this is what you plan to do. If you have any questions, please contact Cameron. |
| 50 | | |
| 51 | | == Astrophotography Slideshows == |
| 52 | | We offer slideshows of images of the sky during star-gazing nights, either in lieu of observing (in the case of cloudy weather--Pupin 301), or for attendees seeking a brief respite from the rooftop (during cold sessions in the Winter--Pupin 1402). These slideshows are broken into 5-10 minute-long themed groups of images (e.g. nebulae, supernovae remnants, disk galaxies, atmospheric anomalies, moons, etc.), and are presented with commentary by one of our volunteers. They allow the public an opportunity to see the sky as it really exists, not from our often overly-light-polluted skies. If you're interested in putting together a short (10 slides) slideshow on some astronomical topic, please contact Cameron. A copy of the template for slideshows exists and is available here in [attachment:master.ppt Powerpoint] or [attachment:master.odp Open Office] formats. [[BR]] |
| 53 | | |
| 54 | | View/download our [wiki:Outreach/Slideshows various slideshows] |
| 55 | | |
| 56 | | == AstroWall Events == |
| 57 | | There is a stereoscopic projection system (ie 3D pictures and movies) installed in the classroom (Pupin 1332) that is relatively easy to set up and use. It includes a wide range of astronomical datasets from stars to the cosmos and has been used for a number of public outreach and education activities. Please see Greg Bryan or Stuart Gill for more information or training. |
| 93 | | The Galileoscope is a high-quality, low-cost telescope kit developed for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 by a team of leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators. No matter where you live, with this easy-to-assemble refractor you can see the celestial wonders that Galileo first glimpsed 400 years ago and that still delight stargazers today, including lunar craters, the phases of Venus, the moons of Jupiter, and Saturn's rings. Kit includes Plossl eyepiece, and 5-cm diameter glass objective lens. 25x and 50x magnification should be achievable with good image quality. Tripod mount point included. |
| 94 | | |
| 95 | | Our department will be purchasing ~500 of these at the bulk rate of $12.50/telescope, and then selling them at the individual rate of $15.00/telescope. We will then use the proceeds to finance a number of these which will be given away at our events to children, best question asked, etc. [http://www.galileoscope.org] |
| | 94 | The Galileoscope is a high-quality, low-cost telescope kit developed for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 by a team of leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators. No matter where you live, with this easy-to-assemble refractor you can see the celestial wonders that Galileo first glimpsed 400 years ago and that still delight stargazers today, including lunar craters, the phases of Venus, the moons of Jupiter, and Saturn's rings. Kit includes a Plossl eyepiece, a Barlow lens and a 5-cm diameter glass objective lens. 25x and 50x magnification is achievable with good image quality. Tripod mount point included. |
| | 95 | |
| | 96 | Our department will be purchasing ~500 of these at the bulk rate of $12.50/telescope, and then selling them at the individual rate of $15.00/telescope. We will then use the proceeds to finance a number of these which will be given away at our events to children, best question asked, etc. |
| | 97 | |
| | 98 | [http://www.galileoscope.org] |
