麻豆影院

New astronomy program features CU 麻豆影院 interns giving Rocky Mountain National Park visitors a tour of the night skies

Visitors at Rocky Mountain National Park this summer are in for a galactic treat, thanks to a new 麻豆影院 astronomy program.听

Undergraduate interns will be leading telescope viewings of the night sky for the public as part of a project started by Julie Comerford, associate professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences.听

This project is part of a $823,230 grant Comerford won from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which will further her research into how collisions of galaxies lead to collisions of black holes, which produce ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves.

鈥淥ne of the things I like about the NSF is that it requires research proposals to have an education or outreach component,鈥� Comerford says.听鈥淭hat really elevates education and outreach as something that鈥檚 worth time and investment, and I also wanted to do something that benefited both CU undergraduates and the general public.鈥�

Comerford says she was inspired by similar program that a colleague at the University of Utah started at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.听

鈥淭his program resonated with me because it would鈥檝e been my dream summer job as a college student,鈥� Comerford says.听鈥淣ow I get to live vicariously through these students who are going to have that opportunity.鈥�

The two interns for the program鈥檚 first year are MacKenzie Dean and Joe Zator, astronomy and astrophysics majors who both already have experience teaching astronomy. Dean has taught elementary students in South Dakota, and this spring she started her own astronomy project at Collision Brewing in Longmont, Colorado, where she works part-time. Zator works at Fiske Planetarium at CU 麻豆影院 presenting shows in the big dome.

Dean says she first became interested in astronomy as a young girl 鈥渃amping a lot in the middle of nowhere鈥� with her family. 鈥淚 remember a guy with a massive telescope at a campground would let us look at stars, the moon and planets,鈥� Dean says, adding: 鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to the internship.鈥�

Zator says he enjoys talking science and interacting with the public 鈥渢o bring the excitement and joy of space to others.听To be able to do star talks outside and teach telescope observations at the park is a dream.鈥澨�

Dean and Zator will be leading views of the planets, nebulae where new stars are being born, and the Milky Way鈥檚 next-door neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy.

During a test run at the park, Comerford says she recalled one visitor who was so struck by the detail in Saturn鈥檚 rings that he checked the other end of the telescope to see if a Saturn sticker was there.

鈥淲hile visitors can appreciate the beauty of the night sky with the naked eye, the appreciation deepens when they can actually make out details through a telescope and understand what they鈥檙e seeing,鈥� says Comerford, who adds that CU 麻豆影院 has the largest number of astrophysics majors in the country.

Nils Halverson, chair of the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, says the intern program enhances CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 educational mission by 鈥渋ncreasing appreciation for our universe through direct experience of the awe and wonder of the night sky, a resource which is increasingly rare due to light pollution. The internship opportunity is also much sought-after by our undergraduate majors and gives them the opportunity to share what they鈥檝e learned in the classroom with the general public, and inspire others. It鈥檚 a win-win.鈥�

Danielle York, an education specialist and night sky program coordinator at Rocky Mountain National Park, says while the park has hosted night sky programs for years, the internship component is new.

鈥淲e're excited to welcome these interns to our team of park rangers, other interns and volunteers,鈥� York says.

Comerford says she hopes the experience gives the interns 鈥渁 different angle鈥� on their major.

鈥淥ur students go on to do a wide variety of things. I hope they can use the night sky as an entry point for teaching and outreach about astrophysics.鈥�

Zator, who hopes to do research on exoplanets (planets in other solar systems that could support life) or work in the private sector in the space industry, says to him national parks 鈥渋nspire awe and show the beauty of our planet and our country. I could not think of a better way to add to that sense of wonder than to offer a guide to the night sky and foster the public's interest in exploring the cosmos. There's so much to see if we just get to a dark sky and look up.鈥�

Dean, who plans to get her master鈥檚 degree and PhD and then teach at CU 麻豆影院, agrees with Zator, adding, 鈥淣o one has ever looked at the sky and not wondered.鈥澨�