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C. W. Tombaugh
Observatory |
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The Clyde W. Tombaugh Campus
Observatory was dedicated in September 1972. The facility houses
two Astronomy Department telescopes and one belonging to the
Astronomical Society of Las Cruces. |
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Meet Alan Hale |
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Alan Hale's research
interests include the search for planets beyond the solar system,
including those which might have favorable environments for life;
stars like the sun; minor bodies in the solar system, especially
comets and near-Earth asteroids; and advocacy of spaceflight. He
is primarily known for his work with comets, which has included
his discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1995 and his participation in
the International HalleyWatch during the return of Halley's Comet
in 1986. Besides his research activities, he is an outspoken advocate for
improved scientific literacy in our society, for better career
opportunities for current and future scientists, and for taking
individual responsibility to make ours a better society. |
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Day 4 Tue, Oct.
12
B/L/D
Very Large Array - Las
Cruces |
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After breakfast and check out we’ll begin our journey south to the town
of Socorro and the Very Large Array (VLA), one of the world’s premier
radio observatories. The VLA consists of 27 large radio antennas in a Y-
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shaped configuration. Each dish is
25 meters (81 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is
combined electronically to give the resolution of a telescope up 36
kilometers (22 miles) across, with the sensitivity of a dish 130 meters
(422 feet) in diameter. We’ll conclude our day in Las Cruces, situated
in the fertile Rio Grande Valley, just 48 km (30 miles) north of El Paso
and the Mexican border. Join us for dinner this
evening in the historic Mexican village of Mesilla. Later, we’ll travel
back to Las Cruces for an evening of desert stargazing at the Clyde W.
Tombaugh Observatory. Tombaugh and his colleagues constructed the
observatory using surplus parts from White Sands Missile Range.
Overnight: Marriott Spring Hill Suites |
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Day 5 Wed, Oct.
13
B/L/D
White Sands - Museum of
Space History - Stargazing in Cloudcroft |
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This morning we’ll travel east to the 10,000-square-km
(4,000-square-mile) White Sands Missile Range. We’ll visit the
missile-range museum to learn about the origin of America’s
ballistic-missile and space activity, how the Atomic Age began, and
the accomplishments of scientists like Wernher von Braun and Clyde
Tombaugh. We’ll stop for lunch at White Sands National Monument, |
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one of the world’s great natural, wonders.
Here, great wavelike dunes of glistening sand have engulfed 700 square
km (275 square miles) of desert to create the world’s largest gypsum
dune field. Later we’ll visit the town of Alamogordo and the New Mexico
Museum of Space History to learn about the history, science, and
technology of space exploration and about some of the key people who’ve
advanced our understanding of the universe. We’ll include time to visit
the International Space Hall of Fame and its excellent gift shop. In the
late afternoon we’ll leave the high desert for the Sacramento Mountains,
rising some 2,700 meters (9,000 feet) above the sea
level. After dinner,
join us for an evening of stargazing in beautiful Cloudcroft, renowned
for its dark, pristine skies. Join Ron Wodaski (author of The New CCD
Astronomy) and other residents of the local “astronomy village” for
heavenly views through their large telescopes and a chance to do some
CCD imaging with state-of-the-art equipment.
Overnight: The Lodge at Cloudcroft (2 nights) |
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Day 6 Thu, Oct.
14
B/L/D
Apache Point Observatory - Sacramento Peak
Observatory
Presentation by
Alan Hale
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After breakfast we’ll drive to Apache Point Observatory, home
of the Astrophysical Research Consortium’s 3.5-meter telescope, the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey’s 2.5-meter reflector, and New Mexico State
University’s 1-meter telescope. We’ll tour these facilities and meet
with staff astronomers to learn about the research going on there.
After lunch we’ll visit the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento
Peak. Our VIP tour will include visits to the Evans Facility and its
coronagraph used for observing |
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the Sun’s corona, and the Dunn Solar
Telescope. It’s 110 meters (364 feet) tall, but two-thirds of it is
below ground. This evening we’ll be joined for dinner by comet
discoverer Alan Hale, codiscoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet
of 1997.Hale’s research interests include the search for solar twins and
for Earth-like planets around other stars, and studies of minor bodies
in the solar system, especially comets and near-Earth asteroids. After
dinner we’ll return to Sacramento Peak Observatory for a very special
“after-hours” session of deep-sky observing. |
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Copyright 2003 TravelQuest
International. All rights
reserved. 800-830-1998
Revised: October 25, 2005.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies or trademark holders. |
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