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OBSERVATORY THE LATES

By John O'Brien. Recently, the UPEI Physics Dept. has begun

*to add observational fac—

ilities aton Memorial de,n%rtm:mnWeof the campus. Although the appearance of the tin—skin_ ned dome is somewhat self— explanatory, there are some questions that are still unanswered.

For some time now, studs ents have known that this observatory was being built by the Physics Dept. Professor‘Wc»nacott, of the Physics Dept., has clarified a few points concerning the observ— atory. Firstly, he made it clear that the observ— atory is not connected

‘ with the planned planet—

arium that is to be built adjacent to the gymnasium.

By the way, the proposed planetarium is primarily a commercial venture by

a group of entrepreneurs, notably Mr. Heber Jones, formerly of D.B.&J. These men have formed a non— profit group, called THE

. ABEGWEIT SCIENCE CENTRE,

which owns the planetar— ium equipment. The build— ing, which is to contain the planetarium, will be built by UPEI and rented to the company, which will charge admission

to the "shows", be they purely_scientific or not. This facility will hold 100 people, and it is expected to have

a high entertainment value for the general public, as well as edu— cational benefit for students, who will prob—

ably be admitted at reduc- ed rates. .(A planetarium,

as the name implies, is specifically designed to reproduce the night sky, on-the inside of a dome

shaped structure.)

However, not to be con— fused with the proposed planetarium, is the Physics Dept. Observatory. This will be primarily for the use of astronomy students at UPEI, as well as for the use of others, whenever I possible. This structure‘ will hold roughly a dozen people. It is ten feet in diameter and has eight foot high walls. It was built above Memorial Hall, on a concrete slab, which insulates the structure from the heat of the building. This is neces— sary because heat would distort any image, which is seen through air, and would prevent accurate observation.

A 2,200 lb. concrete pedestal was erected on the cement slab and a 1h" Celestron telescope will be placed on this pedestal. A stairs will be built, leading from the concrete slab to a

fUnnié 0

THE UPEI SUN, Thursday, J III-Iil-IIIIIIIIlI-II-Ill-Ill

T UPEI‘ F

anuary 31, 1980, page 2 I. I .-

III-IIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIII second floor (the observ— ation deck) ,which will remain separated from the pedestal that supports the telescope. This is to prevent any vibration of the telescope, which will“ be mounted on the concrete upedestal, which projects upward through a hole in the floor of the observ— ation deCk.r

Professor Wonnacott hopes that construction on the observatory will

.'be completed by the end

of the present semester.

The telescope is design— ed to automatically follow any star, upon which it has been fixed, across the sky, by moving itself to 'compensate for the rotat— ion of the earth. This is necessary for photo— graphy because time—ex- posures are usually required.

When asked, "How does a lh inch Célestron telescope compare to those of other universities in the Mari—

V (———‘—‘—“-——'——_“‘\times?" Professor Wonna—

cott said that the tele- scope at St. Mary's Uni— versity is only 2 inches greater in diameter (16"), ibut that there is more to !a good telescope than lens psize. He - that the 'UPEI telescope compares well with other telescopes 'in the Maritimes and that he is pleased with it. About the location of the observatory, near the lights of Charlottetown « \ iand UPEI, Profe‘sor Wonna— mfitsfidtmm,%flmmgh it is a less—than—ideal location, it should work well. The greatest problem with light will be to the south, which is the more interesting half of the sky, however, it would not

/

‘ have been practical to

.locate.the observatory-in a mOre rural setting and then have the problem of transportation . The few advantages would not com— pensate for the loss of time, convenience, and money. . _

The observatory will

' benefit more than students

and professors of science. ‘There will also be occas—' ions when other students will be using the facility. It will also prove bene— ficial to high—school student groups, as well\as to the general public, particularly on those occasions when they can be admitted to directly experience its benefits -—no charge,of course,

to anyone.