Me-Me-Mee Mees!

For the intern field trips this year, we decided to do something a little different. The usual format was starting to get old, fewer businesses were giving quality tours, and the level of interest from the interns was definitely waning. (Just browse some of last year's intern blogs, and you'll see.) The last thing we want to do is give the kids a boring experience or inadvertently turn them OFF of pursuing imaging or optics or engineering. So instead of having several smaller trips during the day to local companies, we decided to try out one big field trip to more of a destination. The stars aligned (har har) for a trip to the Mees Observatory down in Bristol! Because of the connections we have with Mees through some professors and grad students here in CIS, we were able to arrange for a special tour and star gazing outside of the usual public tour schedule - and last night was THE night!

Everyone assembled in the lobby of Carlson to load onto the huge bus we rented, and we were on our way. All of the interns here today, along with a few REU students, some faculty and staff, myself & my husband, and one summer worker who is going to be a student this fall made up the group of 29 field trippers. Our first stop was Sticky Lips for dinner. Even though we called ahead to warn that our group was coming, our arrival still came as a surprise to the hostesses... But it all worked out because the weather was beautiful and there were a bunch of benches outside that we could occupy.

This picture shamelessly stolen from Nick's blog.

We happily stuffed our faces full of delicious BBQ and had a great time. The value of taking the interns out to eat should never be discounted - although it seems like we are just spending money to let the kids stuff themselves, there is a lot of bonding and getting to know each other that takes place over meals. The interns always have a lot of fun, and we get to connect with them on another level too. Overall, the effect an outing like this has on the overall experience and impression that we leave on the interns is worth way more than what the bill ended up costing (which was actually much less than I was expecting for a group of 29 people, by the way).

Anyways, after dinner we piled back onto the bus for the ride down to Mees. It's a lengthy trip but it's very scenic, plus the ride was super comfortable thanks to reclining seats that accommodated me and my then-swelling belly thanks to all the BBQ. Us "boring" adults sat towards the front of the bus, but it was obvious even from up there that the kids were having a great time behind us - never underestimate the excitement of a big comfortable bus when it comes to teenagers. It's just like class trips to DC: sure, you remember some of the stuff about the Capitol and whatnot, but what kids remember most and take the most pictures of are the bus rides to/from. (Oh, I remember.)

We made it to Ontario County Park and unbelievably, the bus took us ALL the way up the hill to Mees. (I was actually a little disappointed at this, as I always enjoy the intro at the Gannett House and spookily walking up the hill in the dark by flashlight - but with the teenager:adult ratio being what it was, it's probably just as well that we didn't get to do that.) As we unloaded from the bus, the sky was clear as could be - what a perfect night for star gazing!

Just arrived!

Twilight

Up on the deck

Old computers, tee hee. It seems like only yesterday we all worked on machines like these... My, how times have changed.

Getting a look through the telescope at Saturn

The inside of the observatory is lit by only by dim red lights, so as to not destroy our night-vision.

Denise checks out globular star cluster M13

Everyone was having a great time.

The clear, still night made for FANTASTIC viewing - Bob Crumrine, who joined us from the Astronomy Section, Rochester Academy of Science (ASRAS) and led the star gazing said he "had the nicest views of M13 and M57 I've had in years!" Through the telescope we got to look at Saturn (a nice clear shape, rings and all!); planetary nebula (the aforementioned M57); Epsilon Lyrae, a double-double star where each star in the double star is actually a binary star of its own; a globular cluster (the aforementioned M13, in the constellation Hercules, which was absolutely stunning); and another double star Albireo, in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, which looked like a single star to the naked eye but through the telescope was actually a yellow star and a blue star (and not necessarily a binary pair). We also had clear views from the deck of Antares (!!!!!! <3<3<3 He shined and sparkled so, so bright!), several satellites, a number of meteors (probably early Perseids!), and the International Space Station.

The ISS rose over Antares and glided smoothly right over us!

And there are many, many (, MANY) more pictures on Sadie's blog.

Overall we had a really fantastic night - the star gazing was magnificent, the meteors were spectacular, and everyone seemed to be feeling the magic. The inspiration and excitement felt by the interns really comes out in their blogs:

• "Not going to lie I thought it was going to be terribly boring, however I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was completely awesome! The stars were so beautiful out where we were, the microscope only made it even better. ... I am thankful to have been able to go on this trip, not only was it super fun, but we certainly became closer as friends :D"
  
• "Plus the Mees observatory last night was AMAZING! We got to look at M 57, which is one of the previous nebulae I already downloaded and compared the WISE infrared images for--soo cool!!!! "
• "Today was great. ... The field trip to the Mees Observatory was amazing. ... The night was perfect. Not a single cloud muddled our vision, and at different times we saw meteors, Saturn, a planetary nebula, a star cluster, and even the International Space Station. Truly could not have been a better night for stargazing. "
• "Last night was probably the best time I've had in a while. it was a clear night and we got to see a few different objects in the sky. We also watched the ISS pass by along with a few other satellites. This along with multiple meteors made for a pretty awesome night of star gazing."
• "All in all, an awesome night!!! I had so much fun, and I think all of us learned something. For those who wonder, we saw M57, M13, Saturn and a couple of other things. SO COOL!!!"
• And a bunch more blog posts describing the evening as "amazing".

And the feeling was mutual from Mr. Crumrine: "I was impressed with the student's interest, focus and behavior, and enjoyed working with them.  One student correctly identified M57 as a planetary nebula, many could correctly explain the different colors of Alberio, and we had a discussion of whether it was a binary pair or not. ... So yes, a great night for all, and was a pleasure to work with you!"

I cannot downplay the enthusiasm I myself had for this trip. It was really fantastic and I know I'll be bragging about it for some time to come. This was definitely one of the most successful field trips I've ever been on, and I'm so happy to see that it was definitely beneficial for the interns, too. The positive impact of a trip like this, quite simply, is astronomical (har har).

Though on top of all my positive feelings for the whole night, I couldn't shake some personal bittersweet emotions, what with so much talk about Antares - granted it was about the star, but it and my brother are now literally the same. Not to mention the only other time I've been to Mees was about 14 years ago with my Antares and my dad, back when Antares was in Astronomy class in high school. Not so long ago he also sent me and my dad an e-mail about observatory tours..... I wish so badly he could have been there with me. Though I know in many ways he was. :-/