Greenies Get Hands-On at West Virginia Observatory
Trip allows Christ School students to learn more about radio astronomy
Being a radio astronomer for a day is something that Clarke MacDonald '21 may remember for a lifetime.
Dr. Brent Harris and Marcel Duhaime took Clarke and nine other boys from Christ School to Green Bank, W. Va., last weekend. Their destination was the Green Bank Observatory, home to the largest moving radio telescope in the world (it measures 100 meters across).
Given the 12-hour round trip by bus for the Greenies, the large majority of their experience took place Saturday. And there was a lot more to it than just standing around and looking at all the observatory's fancy equipment.
"The trip really piqued my interests because of the hands-on aspect," Clarke said. "After touring the facility, we were given instruction on how the telescopes are operated, then allowed to use a 40-foot telescope for the entire night. What we observed was our own discretion. After a night of gathering data and scanning for traces of hydrogen in distant objects and gas clouds, we worked with an astronomer to interpret our findings over breakfast. This trip opened my eyes to how we observe our universe, and was definitely one of my favorite trips I've taken with Christ School."
Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects that give off radio waves. The observatory site is in such a remote part of West Virginia that there was no cell phone service. Clarke and Andy Su '19 took photos while on the trip, some of them on film, since opportunities for digital photography were limited by the observatory.
"The boys adjusted well and we kept them pretty busy," Harris said. "It was a big campus with a lot to see. They gave us a diesel vehicle to drive around campus so it wouldn't interfere with the telescopes. We stayed in a retreat house and got to learn a lot about the history of the site. We saw some really high-level technology."
Students who took the trip were Andy, Clarke, Colin Brazas '22, Carlleo Koch '20, Thomas Bolick '20, Henry Duggins '20, Connor Booher '20, Max Masiello '20, Justice Ajogbor '20, and Jack Adams '20.
