Hanford Observatory

April, 2006
Photo credits: Laura Cook

A warm and sunny April 22 afternoon provided the backdrop as families from Pasco and Prescott enjoyed a bilingual Spanish-English astronomy event at LIGO Hanford Observatory. Yakima Valley/Tri-Cities MESA and WSU Harvest of Hope GEAR UP coordinated invitations, transportation and Spanish translation. Washington State University Tri-Cities assisted with transportation, and the Tri-Cities Astronomy Club provided solar telescopes, hosted by Club members Bobbie Rittman, Art Stithem and Matthew Giannini

The afternoon's program began with a showing of the new National Science Foundation movie "Einstein's Messengers." Lourdes Melo, shown at right providing interpretation for a later activity, translated the movie's script and voiced the translation through WSU Tri-Cities' transmitter and headphones. After the film visitors were able to choose from several activities that rotated throughout the afternoon's schedule. Many sampled the view through the Astronomy Club's telescopes, noting that it was a relatively quiet day on the surface of the sun (as quiet as 6000 C will allow).

LHO operator Gerardo Moreno (above left) provided auditorium discussions of LIGO science and tours of the site throughout the afternoon. Tours provided a look down the interferometers' arms and finished with a visit to the control room.

Student volunteers from WSU Tri-Cities' Department of Teaching and Learning hosted a number of LIGO exhibits and activities for inquiring hands of all ages. Outreach coordinator Dale Ingram displayed some of the unique properties of liquid nitrogen and led participants through a Web-based exercise in finding the constellation Orion in the night sky.

Caterer extraordinaire Terry Santini and her staff brought the afternoon to a close with a Mexican-themed meal, served in LHO's staging building. This was business as usual for Terry's company which also provides on-site meals for the annual LHO gathering of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration

About the Partners: Yakima Valley/Tri-Cities MESA (Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement) operates from the WSU Tri-Cities campus and serves school districts in the Tri-Cities and lower Yakima Valley region. MESA programs are active in eight states. In Washington State, MESA activities receive support from state funding and from a variety of public and private sector partners. WSU Harvest of Hope GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) serves regional school districts north and east of the Tri-Cities from offices on the WSU-Tri-Cities campus. WSU Harvest of Hope funding originates at the U.S. Department of Education and is administered through WSU. A number of partners contribute to GEAR UP activities and programs. The Tri-City Astronomy Club brings together amateur astronomers who promote public interest in astronomy through sponsorship of Club events and through participation in collaborative public activities. LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, is leading an international effort to directly detect gravitational waves. LIGO is operated by Caltech and MIT and is supported by the National Science Foundation.