Sky & Telescope - April 2022 - 31

a strange phenomenon now where the public is so exposed to
digital astronomical images, they don't realize you can actually
see something similar with your own eye, " says Colette
Salyk, Assistant Professor of Astronomy. " It's always a revelation
for them the first time they see it. "
The school also employs around a dozen students annually
to collect data, following in Maria Mitchell's footsteps. " She
was famous for getting students involved in the research, "
says Debra Elmegreen, Professor of Astronomy on the Maria
Mitchell Chair.
This involvement is possible in part because modern
instruments were added to the older telescopes. " We have a
scientific-grade CCD and computerized observing tools, so
we're able to do cutting-edge science, " says Salyk. " There's
really no substitute for hands-on observing when it comes to
learning how to deal with real data. "
With a telescope on campus, any student who wants to
learn can. That's not necessarily true in the wider world. A
small number of national facilities are supplanting the larger
network of more diminutive telescopes that once dotted the
U.S. As a result, fewer projects get observing time, and even
fewer students get direct observing experience or even see an
observatory in person. Since many research telescopes sit on
far-flung mountaintops or are in orbit, working with them
usually involves remote logins, or analyzing data that magically
appears in an email inbox. " Mountaintop observing is
becoming a thing of the past, " says Elmegreen.
That means once-necessary skills - knowing how to spend
all night slewing, calibrating, and integrating - aren't as useful.
" On the other hand, if students have no experience with
hands-on observing, they may take all data as 'truth' without
PIONEERING PROFESSIONAL Maria Mitchell, shown here at the
eyepiece end of the Vassar College Observatory refractor sometime after
1865, was the first woman to become a professional astronomer in the
U.S. A talented observer, she also shared an appreciation of the " beauty
and poetry " of astronomy.
having an understanding of how the data are obtained and
what could potentially go wrong in that process, " says Salyk.
" So I think it becomes crucially important to give a glimpse of
what's happening behind the scenes at telescopes, so they can
be appropriately skeptical users of data in the future. "
In addition to offering hands-on experience, college
observatories can also whip up enthusiasm that distanced,
impersonal astronomy can't. " Just to sit in front of a computer
all the time and say, 'We got this data from the Hubble
Space Telescope. Isn't that wonderful?' - it's hard to motivate
students that way, " says Elmegreen. " Most observational
astronomers got into astronomy because, like everyone else,
they loved looking up at the sky when they were kids. " But
when astronomy is reduced to tapping keys on a laptop,
investigating the wonders of the night sky starts to feel like
performing finance calculations, or parsing numbers for a
social-media company. An accessible, on-campus observatory
can keep students interested and motivated to use their skills
to understand the universe.
The utility of small college observatories, though, goes
beyond training or motivating students. It's also about scientific
results. After all, not every astronomical project demands
a dry-desert behemoth. Some research projects just require
regular observations sustained over long periods of time. " I
think we'll always need that, " says Elmegreen.
At Vassar, the observatory collects light curves from supernova
explosions, cataclysmic variable stars, and asteroids. The
32-inch is part of the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope
Follow-Up Network (KELT-FUN) and has directed its gaze at
exoplanet candidates to help determine whether the suspect
systems actually have planets. The scope also serves as an
LOOKING TO THE LIGHT The Vassar College Class of 1951 Observatory
was completed in 1997. Like many small college observatories
dotting the U.S., it's actively engaged in frontline research. The observatory's
telescopes are part of the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope
Follow-Up Network (KELT-FUN).
sk yand tele scope .o r g * APRIL 2022 31
MARIA MITCHELL AT VASSAR: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / PUBLIC DOMAIN;
CLASS OF 1951 OBSERVATORY: ROBERT BENSON / VASSAR COLLEGE
http://skyandtelescope.org
Sky & Telescope - April 2022

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