For release August 15, 2000

Local Students Take Step Toward Stars

Two Capital Region teenagers sampled the life of the world-class astronomer this summer as participants in a the nationwide Advanced Teen Astronomy Camp at the mountaintop observatories of the University of Arizona, near Tucson. Jim Dolen of Castleton, a student at Columbia High School, and Ben Herbert of Saratoga Springs, a student at Saratoga Springs High School, were enabled to participate in the program by winning the Albert Hessberg II Campership Award, sponsored annually by Schenectady's Dudley Observatory.

Dolen and Herbert spent a week in June at the Astronomy Camp, which brings together some 60 outstanding students aged 13-19 from across the nation in an annual program sponsored by the University of Arizona Alumni Association They carried out a wide variety of astronomical activities, including nighttime observation of the stars through the university's giant telescopes. daytime looks at the Sun using a variety of instruments, exchange of ideas with practicing astronomers, and the carrying out of the students' own research projects. "The idea," said camp director Donald W. McCarthy, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, "is to combine serious academic study with world class research facilities and a fun atmosphere-- to do real science and experience the excitement of discovery in a personal hands-on fashion."

The fun ranged from volleyball games between campers and counselors to using a liquid nitrogen cannon to throw an accelerometer built by the students from soda cans more than 500 feet into the air. The research took advantage of the two 60 inch and one 40 inch reflecting telescopes of the 9160 foot altitude Mt. Lemmon Infrared Observatory, and the nearby 61-inch reflector on 8250 foot high Mt. Bigelow.

Dolen and Herbert conducted two astronomy research projects. "One project was to make a light curve of a variable star (a star that changes periodically in brightness)" said Dolen. "We chose the star V 703 Sco because it had a very short period. Our data was hurt because clouds kept interrupting our observations, but we learned a lot from the research." In the other project, the two used the 60 inch telescope and a spectrometer to measure the distances of two galaxies that appeared to be the same size.

Other camp experiences included a visit to the Kitt Peak National Observatory, training sessions in the operation of telescopes, spectroscopes and a wide range of other equipment, some of it constructed by the campers themselves, lectures by leaders in the field of astronomy, and a discussion of college opportunities in science and engineering fields. "I really learned a lot", concluded Herbert, "and had an incredible time in the process."

The Dudley Observatory, located in Schenectady, is the nation's oldest independent supporter of astronomical research and education. Founded in 1852, it is a private foundation, supporting education in astronomy, astrophysics, and the history of astronomy. Albert Hessberg II, for whom the Observatory's campership award is named, was a leading Albany attorney and astronomy enthusiast who served for many years as a trustee of the Dudley Observatory. The award is open to all high school sophomores and juniors in Albany, Fulton Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, or Washington Counties.

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Dudley Observatory
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