Shooting for the Stars

Details: Created on Monday, 12 May 2014 17:59; Written by Meaghan Meachem

peacham observatory Written by student meteorologist Curt Olson

PEACHAM - One of Vermont's most powerful telescopes could be in your backyard and you may not even know it. Northern Skies Observatory, located in the small town of Peacham, uses a telescope that allows astronomers and even future astronomers to gaze into some of the deepest parts of space or at most 10 billion light years.

The observatory first opened for educational purposes back in 2011, but has been in the works since2006. Through generous donations and grants, over $300,000 was raised by the hard work of the Northeast Kingdom Astronomy Foundation to cover capital expenses and another $50,000 was needed to purchase the 17 inch telescope.

According to David Cawley, the Northern Skies Observatory Director, the goal of the project is to "inspire kids to get involved in astronomy and maybe even pursue it in college." This goal is being fulfilled as the observatory works closely with 10 local high schools and middle schools across Vermont. Teachers in these classrooms are able to queue up any location in the sky. The advanced software at the observatory is able to track that location and determine when would be the best visibility. Once this is determined, the dome automatically opens up and positions the telescope to the exact location, no human input necessary. The images are then sent directly back to the teacher to be used for astronomy lessons.

Camps are also held at the observatory during the summer to further students learning. There they can use a solar scope which allows them to look directly into the sun and observe hot spots and have all their questions about space answered. For the older folks who show an interest in space, well the observatory has you covered, as they have their own astronomy club, hold star parties, and do talks all around the NEK.

But with over 55% of days in Vermont being cloudy, why choose the little town of Peacham to be the home of the observatory? Well Cawley says that there is little light pollution like you see in bigger cities, so the only thing to get in the way of the starts is the clouds. And how do you go about getting an over 14 foot dome roof to Peacham, well you ship it in a crate all the way from Ohio.
The telescope and the dome have the ability to rotate 360 degrees, making space a little bit easier to explore without having to leave Earth.

For more information about the observatory and any events you can find them on Facebook and at their website.