:: Return to Faculty Mini-Grants ::
Faculty Mini-Grant 10: Tim Hamilton
Application of live telescope imaging
to astronomy classes and planetarium shows
Dr. Timothy S. Hamilton
Assistant Professor of Physics & Director, Clark Planetarium
Shawnee State University
Department of Natural Sciences
Shawnee State University
940 2nd St.
Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
(740) 351-3145
thamilton@shawnee.edu
PURPOSE AND RATIONALE:
Astronomy is an inherently visually-based science, almost all of its research depending on the remote sensing of light. Furthermore, at the introductory level, the course avoids much of the more abstract, mathematically-based aspects and spends more time on (1) the description and classification of astronomical objects (e.g., galaxies can be divided into elliptical, lenticular, spiral, barred spiral, and irregular types) and (2) a description of the physical processes behind what we see.
This approach drives a need for the proper visual presentation. Shawnee State University has an 8 inch telescope, which is capable of seeing all of the planets (including Pluto, under good skies) and several star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. The current observing labs for the astronomy class involve taking the students and telescope onto the Ohio River levee next to campus. Although this affords the best viewing within walking distance, the top of the levee is narrow and rather small for a class of 20 students. Once the professor has trained the telescope on a target, the students must take turns looking through the eyepiece. Given the number of students, this gives each student only a short time to look. The students spend most of their time not looking, and they become bored and restless with little to do.
When viewing nebulae and galaxies, which appear faint and diffuse, several students report not being able to see the object at all. Generally the target won’t fill the field of view, and students have trouble picking it out from the collection of other objects in the field. Obviously, the professor can’t help by pointing. Furthermore, the human eye is limited in how faint an object it can see; there is no way to give it a long “exposure time,” as in a camera. And color is not visible in such low light (the eye will see faint objects only in black and white), so the brilliant colors of nebulae are invisible to the students. These colors are physically important, because they identify the chemicals present in a nebula.
The proposed project would install a color video camera (specially designed for astronomical use) on the telescope. This would send a live image to be projected onto the dome of the school’s planetarium, where the entire class can see it at once. The primary advantage of this approach is that it involves all of the students simultaneously, cutting out their idle time. It also lets them see much fainter features, so that, for instance, the wide spiral arms and dust patterns of galaxies are visible, instead of just the small, featureless blobs that appear when looking through the eyepiece. It is important in teaching astronomy to point out the various features of the target you’re seeing. That is very difficult when only one person can see the view at a time, but this approach will let the professor do it easily with a laser pointer. In addition to simple viewing, the camera system will allow us to save the images on the computer and analyze them. This makes possible a wide range of projects for student research and for the advanced astronomy class.
Further Educational Value
The system has application beyond astronomy labs—it will be used for public shows at the planetarium, as well. Our current approach to public telescope viewing is the same as for the astronomy class: after the planetarium show, the visitors are taken outside and must take turns looking through the eyepiece. The drawbacks are the same as for the astronomy students, with the added problem that the many small children have a harder time seeing anything.
Most of the planetarium’s visitors are school field trips, so the new method will be an example to the teachers leading the trips, as well. We already provide lesson plans for teachers (planetarium.shawnee.edu/teachers.html), to accompany their visits to the planetarium, and we will add material on the use of the camera system. Some of our planetarium operators (all SSU students) have been education majors, and we they will be able to apply their experience with this approach when they become teachers.
INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS:
Application of technology:
The central piece of equipment for this proposal is the MallinCam video camera (mallincam.tripod.com), which will capture the view from the telescope. This will be streamed live to the planetarium projector using a tablet computer (the ASUS eeePC Tablet) and a pair of wireless routers, so that the telescope can be set up away from the planetarium building without stringing any wires.
The MallinCam Hyper Video camera is a CCD video camera designed for astronomical use. Since telescopes are viewing faint objects, the main problem is to have an exposure time long enough to capture sufficient light. Most video cameras have a fixed exposure time (about 1/30 sec) that is too short to see anything but brighter stars. The MallinCam is made to allow a range of exposure times, anywhere from normal video speeds up to 56 seconds long. Another problem in astronomy is the presence of “noise” in the image, which obscures the faint features of a target. Unlike non-astronomical cameras, the MallinCam is cooled to reduce this noise.
Assessment of results:
Questionnaires will be used to assess (1) students’ preferences for one method or the other (direct observation through the telescope vs. the use of camera and planetarium) and (2) the influence of the new method on students’ interest in astronomy. The effect of the method on students’ understanding of the course material will be assessed as follows: For two lab sessions, I will split the class into two groups, approximately evenly matched in ability. One group will observe through the telescope directly, and the other group will view the same targets from the planetarium, using the camera system. Identical quizzes over the lab material will be administered to both groups at the end of the lab time (pretests will be taken before the lab begins). In the second lab (covering different targets), the groups will switch instruction methods, and pre- and post-tests will be administered again. A comparison of quiz grades will be used to assess the new method.
Dissemination of Results:
The results will be disseminated through a combination of teacher lesson plans we develop for using this system, a report to SEOCEMS, and a conference presentation. If the system is found to be sufficiently valuable, the results will also be published in a journal.
TIMELINE OF ACTIVITIES:
Summer, 2009— Order camera and support equipment
Install equipment on telescope
Perform preliminary tests using cable link
Create student questionnaires and pre- and post-tests
Fall, 2009— Install wireless link between planetarium and telescope
Use new system for astronomy labs
Administer student tests
Winter, 2009-10 to Spring, 2010—
Revise methods based on results
Develop lesson plans for visiting teachers
Spring-Summer, 2010—
Submit summary of results to SEOCEMS
Publish results
BUDGET:
Salary for PI (including benefits) $1,250
Funds for travel to conference to present results 1,000
MallinCam Hyper camera 1,200
Accessories for camera:
Extra battery 200
Carrying case 40
Heat dissipator 40
90º video adaptor 20
Accessories for telescope:
Counterweights 50
Dew heater and light shield 90
Battery and inverter 50
For video streaming:
ASUS eeePC tablet computer 700
V-10A USB-2 adaptor 140
Wireless repeaters (2) 120
Streaming video software 100
Total: $5,000
