Spring 2001

Sky-High Lab:  Astronomy Club Members Discover New

Asteroids

Rose-Hulman's newest educational laboratory is opening new frontiers - or, more precisely, universes - for students.

New telescopes and imaging camera in the Oakley Observatory have allowed Astronomy Club members Chris Wolfe, Emanuel Bettelheim and Susan Hare to discover three asteroids in the midnight skies.  The August discoveries have been verified by the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass.

In fact, club members submitted 851 astronomical observation during the 2000-2001 academic year - ranking 37th among America's 285 observatories.

Most of the asteroids observed are 100 to 200 million miles away from Earth.

"It's incredible to realize that you've discovered something before anyone else.  What are the odds of that happening with all of the astronomers - professional and amateur - in the world?" wonders Wolfe (Elect. Eng., '92), who is continuing graduate studies in image processing and is considering earning a doctorate in astronomy.  "Finding three new asteroids (approximately two miles in diameter) in a week is rare," Hare added.

Astronomy Club President Amy Reed estimates 10 students regularly attend weekly observation sessions and host special events, like March's Messier Marathon.  Members located 109 of 110 astronomical objects identifies by astronomer Charles Messier at the end of the 18th century.

"It's the only physics laboratory I've been around that I routinely hear students exclaiming 'Wow' and 'That's Cool,'" stated Oakley Observatory Director Richard Ditteon (Physics, '75), who teaches an astrophysics course each fall.  "The interest was always there among our students, we just needed the facilities to let them explore those interests."

The observatory, located on the east side of campus, has two 14-inch and two 11-inch aperture Celestron telescopes able to capture images with CCD cameras.  Two 12-inch Meade telescopes, an 8-inch Maksutov telescope (which has been mounted on campus since 1961) and a 6-inch Clark telescope (built in 1886) are also available for making observations.  The observatory was made possible through the generosity of the Terre Haute-based Oakley Foundation.

Specially designed computer software allows astronomy enthusiasts to use Rose-Hulman's telescopes to retrieve information about our solar system through the Internet.  (Persons must contact Ditteon to obtain a password, user name and schedule telescope time.)

"The equipment is fantastic, the best you're going to find at a small college," cited Wolfe, who will join Ditteon and Bettelheim in attending the Minor Planet Conference this Spring.

Reed added, "Astronomy is a hobby for all students.  The large number of telescopes allows club members to explore each of their interests.  Some can examine asteroids, others can look at planets, and others can observe stars and nebulas."