Harwich - (5/18/10) Because of an incredible donation by a Brewster man, Harwich school students will have the opportunity to see up close hundreds of celestial objects that are part of our Galaxy, The Milky Way, and beyond.
One year ago, Harwich technology teacher Larry Brookhart and amateur astronomer Tom Leach learned that the Cape Cod Astronomical Society had been offered a large Dobsonian telescope by Dr. Tim Barker, Professor of Astronomy at Wheaton College in Norton. Huge by amateur standards, the Society made a decision this incredibly powerful, 12' tall, light gathering reflector and its portable stairway might be unmanageable for some of its aging membership and lack of convenient storage space. Brookhart and Leach put their collective interests together and approached the Harwich School Board with the idea this instrument would be the foundation of an observatory within the school system. An astronomical observatory could form an important basis as a learning activity for many shared science and mathematical concepts among students in Harwich Public Schools. They also argued that the interest a well-organized program might generate would attract students to Harwich when considering School Choice.
The donation of the (new to Harwich) telescope was enthusiastically received by the Harwich School Committee at its January meeting where it voted that a vacant storage garage located in the east wall of the Elementary School would be a convenient home and offer a dark area within the school grounds. The light gathering power of this mirrored telescope is four times more powerful than the fixed telescope at the Werner Schmidt Observatory at South Yarmouth and easily the most powerful on Cape Cod.
In the 1980's, Thompson's Field in Harwich once served as a meeting place for stargazers under direction of news reporter turned astronomer Jim Carlson. The avid group of amateur astronomers would eventually become the Cape Cod Astronomical Society which went on to build an observatory at D-Y High School and Carlson of Harwich would be its first director. Carlson once wrote "The Universe was created from the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago. In that time it has expanded to encompass more than 30 billion light years. There is no center towards which we can look to see where it occurred and, similarly, no edge. We are inside it. The Big Bang was created all around us. We exist in that era of the cosmos when only 3% of its entire mass is visible". Harwich recently passed a commercial outdoor lighting By-Law to control the escape of stray light into the night sky which effects our ability to see the stars, planets and other celestial objects. The Harwich School’s interest in accepting the Tim Barker telescope will open a new path for students and visitors to view the dark skies over Harwich and begin to understand these wonders.
(Two of these images were taken last week the day the school department employees and volunteers picked up the telescope at Brewster and moved it to the Harbormasters shop on Bank Street for temporary storage. Delivery of the telescope to the school is anticipated the first week of June)
Aperture 32" (812mm)
Focal Length 144" (3657mm)
Focal Ratio f/4.5*
Computer Control - none, but capable of adapting
Eyepieces: 2" & 1.25" diameter with adapter (various focal lengths)
Max Field of View: .57° (field of view needed to see the whole of the moon is about 0.5°)
Magnification Levels: 182x (20mm eyepiece) and 365x (10mm eyepiece)
Finderscope: Telerad
Mount: Dobsonian (plywood)
Weight: 300lbs.
*A quick rule of thumb is:
f/10 and higher: smaller field of view; good for looking at the moon, planets and double stars
f/8: intermediate and good for general all round viewing
f/6 and below: wider field of view; good for deep sky objects
Contact Information:
Larry Brookhart 508-317-2885
Tom Leach 508-237-9291