Hanford Observatory

November, 2004

Pasco High School science students took advantage of one of the last clear days of the fall to get an up-close look at the sun through the LIGO Hanford Observatory's portable solar telescope on October 28. Six of Shelly Stahl's classes viewed the sun throughout the morning and afternoon, and the experience illustrated the striking large-scale dynamics of our nearby star. Early in the day the solar surface was quite active, displaying several filaments and prominences, one of which appeared to be at least a couple of earth diameters in length. By the afternoon most of the features had diminished, as if the orb had decided that a nap was in order. LIGO education and outreach coordinator Dale Ingram brought the scope to the school for the day, and the students undertook several small activities with prisms, lenses and spectroscopes while they were waiting for a turn at the solar telescope.