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Space Science

Live Telescope Webcam Tonight 20

Posted by Zonk from the nice-civics-project dept.
Daniel Bowen writes "Tonight's Willow Brook Elementary School star party will have decidedly more technology in use than previous years. In addition to a fleet of telescopes and astronomers for the children, this year there will be a live webcam connected to a telescope, operated by Roane State college astronomers, and hosted by the University of Tennessee Sunsite. The telescope image will also be projected onto the outside wall of the gymnasium in a 50 foot diagonal image alongside a Starry Night sky map. With cooperation from the City of Oak Ridge, TN, all streetlights in the neighborhood will be turned off, giving the giant projections clarity from the school yard, and night vision a chance. For one night out of the year, this suburban elementary school soccer field should have a beautiful nighttime sky, and a chance to inspire hundreds of children."
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Live Telescope Webcam Tonight More

Live Telescope Webcam Tonight

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  • Tonight? (Score:4, Informative)

    by porkchop_d_clown ( 39923 ) <mwheinz.me@com> on Friday February 18, 2005 @12:33PM (#11713714)
    What about every night?

    SLOOH [slooh.com] has been running for, what, more than six months now.

  • Hope (Score:4, Funny)

    by Reducer2001 ( 197985 ) on Friday February 18, 2005 @12:42PM (#11713850) Homepage
    I hope they'll have it up tonight after the Slashdotting they are about to recieve...

    Student: Mommy, why can't I look at the moon tonight?

    Mother: The server got turned to slag after an afternoon Slashdotting, honey.

    Student: It's just not fair!

    Mother: I'm sorry dear.

  • I've long wanted to build my own webcam with telescope for terrestrial use but wondered if vibration due to wind would mess up the image.

    Are there practical guidelines for how to build outdoor webcams to help circumvent problems with vibration and, for that matter, wireless transmission back to computers within a few hundred meters?

    • by which, I assume, you mean "day time" vibration shouldn't be a huge problem.

      For stellar observations, where images might be built up over an hour or more, the mount usually costs more than the telescope - but for daytime use I'd suggest just using some masking tape to attach a webcam eyeball to your scope and see what happens.

      For wireless - I'd look at the X-10 security cameras.
    • You *will* need a good mount to keep the instrument steady at high power. On the other hand, except for the smaller planets, you would be better off running the telescope at lower power if you can. Before you go to the trouble of constructing your own web-cam, though, you might want to research some of the on-line astronomy discussions. There are many options if you want to throw $$$ at the problem instead of time. Both Meade Instrument Co. and Celestron sell cameras similar to a web cam that have been

  • Good for Education (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Quantum Fizz ( 860218 ) on Friday February 18, 2005 @01:08PM (#11714317)
    This is a GREAT idea, and hopefully will have a positive return.

    The fact that they're getting elementary school students involved with 'cool' science projects (visual astronomy is always cool) is a great way to stimulate scientific interest in these children. The US has problems with the current status of public schools, but this seems like a great step in the right direction.

    One aspect that makes me particularly happy is that they've coordinated w/ the general community, to turn off the streetlights. This will make most community members feel involved in the project, even if only remotely. Many universities around the globe offer weekly or monthly public observatory hours, but few people make use of this or are even aware of it. But when you involve a community as a whole, people will notice. More neighbors might stroll over to see some interesting things in the sky, or even just become aware that there's a nearby telescope they never knew existed.

    It might also encourage parents who would otherwise not really care about their child's education (unfortunately many parents think of school as free day-care), to ask some questions and maybe even encourage them a bit more. This move is definitely a good thing, and I really hope it works out well.

  • ...that it doesn't rain.

    (Speaking as a telescope operator.)

  • Interesting choice of night... (Score:3, Informative)

    by pease1 ( 134187 ) <bbunge@ladyaGAUS ... m minus math_god> on Friday February 18, 2005 @01:12PM (#11714387)
    The moon will be well up and very bright... they won't gain much from having the street lights off. They should have waited until a couple of day past the next new moon. Nonetheless, assuming it's clear, they'll see some craters on the Moon, Saturn and perhaps the Orion Nebula. I wish them all the luck in the world.

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