Astronomy 2: Overview of
the Universe
Fall 2008
Details of the field trip to Lick Observatory on Mt Hamilton:
The field trip to Lick Observatory's Mount Hamilton station will be on Friday
October 10. The trip is optional, but open to students in both Astro 2 classes (9:30am and 11am lecture times). We can only accommodate the first 40 students who sign up: first come, first served. You have to sign up **in person** with Cathy Clausen in the Astronomy department office (ISB 201) and will have to pay her $5 to reserve your spot for the trip (no refunds!). We will arrange transportation in UCSC vans. We will leave campus at 2PM and you should be back in your rooms by midnight.
The current plan is to meet on campus and drive up to Mt Hamilton in vans provided by the University. We will see the 120-inch reflecting telescope (the main research instrument used by the astronomers at Lick Observatory) and learning about the ongoing research being conducted with it. Modern telescopes, like these, are usually used in combination with instruments that are very similar to the kind of digital cameras we use in every day life. But looking through large telescopes with a naked eye can be quite stunning. Hopefully, weather permitting, we will have a chance to do just that. We will use an eye piece to look directly through the 36-inch refracting telescope to view a variety of astronomical objects that are visible on the day of our visit.
If you sign up, please do some advanced planning so that the trip will go smoothly:
1-- Please bring warm clothing. A winter coat/sweater, closed shoes, and long pants would be appropriate. A hat is also not a bad idea. (Fall nights at Mt Hamilton are invariably chilly due to the altitude, and you will be spending a signficant chunk of time in the open night air while we are looking through the telescopes.)
2-- Please pack a dinner for the trip. In the interest of time, we will not plan to stop anywhere for food.
3-- You might consider bringing some money in case you want to buy things from the gift shop. They have some nice stuff (shirts, mugs, photos of the observatory, etc).