Calendar of Events

Is the Sky Clear
at the APO?

Astronomy Software

The WILD Center

Tupper Lake

Chamber of Commerce

Kopernik Observatory

Bruce McClure's
Stargazing Page

Donor Organizations

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We are currently completing our first observatory structure, the Roll-Off Roof Observatory. Over the winter months of 2013 one or more telescope mounts will be installed, telescopes mounted, and computers connected. We expect the RORO to be ready for use in early summer 2013.

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• November 9, 2012: Some new mosaic images of Mars by Dr. Ken Kremer, science photographer/journalist and friend to the APO, will be featured on a new episode of PBS TV's NOVA on Wednesday, November 14. The episode is entitled "Ultimate Mars Challenge", and features images taken from the newest Mars rover, Curiosity. In addition, another of Ken's mosaic images was featured in Scientific American.
  • Update: You can now watch the NOVA episode on the PBS website!

• November 2, 2012: An informal reception was held on October 27 for trustees, advisors, and major donors to the APO. Everyone had the opportunity to take a tour of the Roll Off Roof Observatory (RORO) building, and later met for cider, donuts and conversation at the APO office on Park St. More photos of the reception can be found on this page.



The RORO, as seen from Little Wolf Road	A young volunteer opens the roof
Marc Staves describes the construction of the building	The RORO with the roof open!

• November 1, 2012: George Viscome, a friend of the APO, took this image of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) from his home in Lake Placid on October 26, 2012. This comet was discovered on September 21, 2012, and while it is currently too faint to see without a large telescope (about magnitude 17.5 at the time of the photo), it is predicted that by the end of next year this comet may be bright enough to be visible to the unaided eye. The image below flips between two photos that George took 22 minutes apart (at 5:38 am and 6:00 am), and you can see that it moves very slightly in the direction of the arrow. The image below covers an area of the sky about ¼ the size of the full Moon. Thanks for sharing this image, George!



Comet C/2012 S1 on October 26, 2012. Photo credit: George Viscome Click for a larger image

• October 24, 2012: Dr. Ken Kremer, science photographer/journalist and friend to the APO, frequently has his Mars mosaics featured on NBC News. Dr. Kremer's images often appear on NBC News on Friday's, when the topic is science. This mosaic was featured on October 19, posted by NBC News Digital Science Editor Alan Boyle. The APO hosted Dr. Kremer for presentations of his 3-D images in July 2012. Ken is a contributing journalist for Universe Today, and many of his photographs are available for purchase at the APO office.

• October 19, 2012: The APO After School program is underway, and it's a big hit! Students meet once a week to study astronomy, and work on cool projects! More information and photos can be found on the After School 2012 page.

• October 10, 2012: Construction of the Roll Off Roof Observatory (RORO) building is moving along quickly! Some photos of the structure appear below. And be sure to see our slideshow showing the preparation and construction of the observatory site, as well as some photos from the groundbreaking ceremony!



The entrance to the RORO	The RORO warm room
The main telescope area	The supports for the roof when rolled off the building

• August 31, 2012: A mosaic image of Mars, created by Dr. Ken Kremer, appears on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website for August 27, 2012. The image shows Mt. Sharp on the horizon, which will eventually be explored by the newest Mars rover, Curiosity. A version of this image, showing Mt. Sharp in color, appeared in an NBC News article written by science editor Alan Boyle. The NBC News article ends with a link to our website containing the description of Dr. Kremer's talks this summer. The APO hosted Dr. Kremer in July, in which he gave a presentation at the Wild Center showing some of his 3-D images of Mars.


Curiosity's view of Mt. Sharp. Image linked from NBCNews.com

• August 31, 2012: APO board member and St. Lawrence University Astronomer and Professor of Physics Aileen O'Donoghue gave a talk on August 24 to Girl Scout Leaders at their camp in Lake Clear. There were about 30 people in attendance. Aileen spoke about the night sky and gave the Scout leaders a preview of what they would see later that evening. The talk was followed by an observing session with a telescope and binoculars. Last year, Aileen gave the same talk but the observing session was washed out by the effects of hurricane Irene. This year, the sky was clear and there was plenty to see.



• August 28, 2012: The APO held a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday, August 12, 2012. The ceremony was well attended by around 75 member-guests. A news report of the ceremony can be found on the Adirondack Daily Enterprise website. Additional photos can be found on our groundbreaking page.



Many were in attendance for this historic event	(L-R) APO co-founder Marc Staves, President Keith Wells, co-founder Tim Moeller
Tupper Lake Mayor Paul Maroun	Marc digs the first shovel-full

• August 22, 2012: Construction on the roll-off roof observatory is proceeding well. The photos below show some of the construction activity.



The concrete slab and pier foundations have been poured

• July 31, 2012: Al Nagler, founder of TeleVue Optics, will present a telescope to the Adirondack Public Observatory on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 4:30 pm. The telescope is in honor of Al's late sister Trudy Deutsch, who was a long-time Tupper Lake resident. The presentation will be at the APO Office on 95 Park St., Tupper Lake (map). Everyone is welcome to attend, especially those who knew Trudy.
  • Update: A news report of the presentation can be found on the Adirondack Daily Enterprise website.
• July 27, 2012: APO Board Member Gordie Duval gave an astronomy presentation to a group of cub scouts and their families at Camp Bedford in Malone. Gordie told the scouts about the constellations, and had them construct a "pocket solar system". Aided by board member Jeffrey Miller, an observing session was held afterward. The crowd was enthralled by the spectacular views of the Moon, Saturn and a couple of meteors!



Gordie shows the scouts some constellations	Answering questions
How to make a "pocket solar system"	Working on the pocket solar system

• July 13-14, 2012: Scientist and science journalist Ken Kremer gave two presentations at the Wild Center in which he showed many of his amazing 3D photos of Mars, as well as his photos of Mars rover Curiosity, and several space shuttles. The audience enjoyed the presentations immensely, and asked many questions of Dr. Kremer. The description of Dr. Kremer's presentations can be found on this page.



The audience sporting their 3D glasses Photo credit: Ken Kremer	Another 3D crowd view Photo credit: Ken Kremer
Photo credit: Ken Kremer	Photo credit: Ken Kremer
Photo credit: Ken Kremer	Photo credit: Ken Kremer

• June 6, 2012: The transit of Venus on June 5^th was truly spectacular. Not only did the skies over Tupper Lake clear (miraculously) but to witness this once (or twice) in a lifetime event – not be seen again for the next 5 generations – was truly awesome. To actually be able to witness one of our Solar System planets crossing the face of the Sun is certainly memorable. We had more than 100 people at our venues: several of our astronomers set up on Little Wolf Beach where 40 to 50 folks assembled; several more of our astronomers set up in the Wild Center parking lot where another 30 to 40 passed through from time to time; and we have more than 60 in the Wild Center Flammer Theater, watching the NASA and SLOOH live feeds. In addition, two more our astronomers set up telescopes and handed out solar-safe glasses to over 100 people at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Below are a few photos that were taken of the event – more photos from all our observing sites can be found on this page.



Observers at Little Wolf Beach	The Sun and Venus image projected
A beautiful image showing the transit and sunspots Photo credit: Michael Rector	A montage image showing the movement of Venus Photo credit: Gordie Duval

• April 26, 2012: The Adirondack Public Observatory is very pleased to announce that we are receiving a donation of a 12" Meade LX200 telescope from the Sharing the Sky Foundation. Sharing the Sky Foundation was started by Dr. David H. Levy and his wife Wendee. Dr. Levy has been a guest lecturer for the APO over the past several years and is a frequent visitor to the Adirondack Park. "This is a very generous gift which will be a significant addition to populating our Roll-Off Roof Observatory with quality, state-of-the-art, telescopes", said Keith Wells, President of the APO. "This telescope will be gifted when our Roll-Off Roof Observatory is completed and a fixed mounting pier is in place ready to receive the telescope, targeted for mid-summer this year." For more information about Sharing the Sky Foundation please refer to their website www.sharingthesky.org.

• April 6, 2012: Venus will cross over the face of the Sun on June 5th, 2012. The last transit of Venus occurred in 2004, and the next won't happen until 2117. The APO is planning lectures and viewing of this rare event. Check our Events page for times and locations.

• March 2, 2012: Dr. Ken Kremer will present two talks this summer at the Wild Center about the exploration of Mars. Dr. Kremer is a freelance science journalist, speaker, scientist and photographer; his articles, space exploration images and Mars mosaics have been widely published in magazines, books and websites. Dr. Kremer will show some of his amazing 3D images of Mars, and give his eyewitness perspective on the launch of the Curiosity Rover. More information about Dr. Kremer's visit can be found on this Events page.

• January 20, 2012: St. Lawrence University astronomers and APO Board members Aileen O'Donoghue and Jeffrey Miller made another trip to the Arecibo Radio Observatory. Student Heather Cutler, SLU class of 2012, accompanied them for the 5th NSF-Sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA Workshop from January 15 - 18. The workshop brings together students and their faculty advisors to present their research, and learn to use the largest, single-dish radio telescope in the world. The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey is an on-going blind survey of extragalactic neutral hydrogen (HI). When the survey is completed, ALFALFA will have detected more than 25,000 extragalactic HI line sources. St. Lawrence is a member of the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team, a consortium of 16 institutions engaged in a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote undergraduate research within the ALFALFA project. More photos and details can be found on the SLU Physics Department web site.



Jeff, Heather and Aileen

• December 2, 2011: Starting October 5th, the APO teachers and volunteers began a seven week After School Astronomy Program at the APO office on Park Street in Tupper Lake. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades from LP Quinn Elementary School signed up to learn about the Solar System. The program was a great success and there were on-average 14 enthusiastic students attending.

• November 18, 2011: The Tupper Lake Planning Board has given approval to the APO to proceed with Phase 1 of our project: the construction of a roll-off roof building to house our telescopes! Once the final permits are acquired, we hope to begin construction in the spring. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise has an article with more details.

• October 16, 2011: The Adirondack Public Observatory has received a draft permit from the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to begin construction of a roll-off roof observatory! Several news articles have appeared recently about our Observatory project:
• Adirondack Daily Enterprise: "Observatory construction may start in spring", September 29, 2011
• Press Republican: "Adirondack Public Observatory gets APA draft permit", October 10, 2011
• Press Republican: "Editorial: Can't wait for observatory", October 14, 2011

• August 1, 2011: The APO again hosted famed comet hunter David Levy, who held a book signing and gave a lecture in the Flammer Theater at The Wild Center, Tupper Lake. Levy, who last visited in 2009, gave a talk was entitled "Comets, Meteors and More". He talked about how he became interested in astronomy in his youth, and related many anecdotes about his life-long quest for comets. Here is the poster that announced the event.

• July 18, 2011: The Adirondack Public Observatory (APO) has recently been accepted as a member of the NASA Night Sky Network. The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology, and inspiration of astronomy and NASA's missions to the general public. The Night Sky Network is supported by NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratories, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

  "We are extremely honored to have been accepted as a member of the Night Sky Network", said Keith Wells, President of the APO. "The Night Sky Network will be a key element for us to further our mission of astronomy education and outreach. Our educational events, held throughout the year, will be complemented by themed astronomy topics from the Night Sky Network providing the APO with a much greater opportunity to advance astronomy in this area."

The NSN works with its members to provide, among other products and services, teaching materials and guides for astronomy outreach to the public. The APO is especially targeting educational programs for children during the summer season and continuing with after-school programs throughout the school year. The Adirondack Public Observatory is a 501c3 organization located in Tupper Lake and is devoted to the study of astronomy in the dark skies of the Adirondacks. The APO is in the process of developing an astronomical facility in Tupper Lake.

• July 18, 2011: The Adirondack Public Observatory has established a relationship with The Kopernik Observatory & Science Center to work toward increasing the awareness and interest in astronomy in New York. Kopernik Observatory and Science Center mission is to offer hands-on investigations using advanced telescopes, computers and other tools, encouraging the discovery of the wonders of the Universe.

• May 6, 2011: The APO has created a short video about our Observatory project. The video is narrated by Gib Brown, WPTZ meteorologist and APO board member. Enjoy!

• April 29, 2011: APO board member and St. Lawrence University astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue recently spent a week observing on the 0.9 meter (36 inch) WIYN telescope. The WIYN consortium (the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory) operates the observatory at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. O'Donoghue observed H-alpha in clusters of galaxies whose properties are under coordinated study by the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team. More photos and details can be found on the SLU Physics Department web site.



Aileen takes in the sites at Kitt Peak	Aileen with the 0.9-m (36 inch) WIYN telescope
Aileen operates the telescope	Enjoying a beautiful evening of observing

• February 11, 2011: St. Lawrence University astronomers and APO Board members Aileen O'Donoghue and Jeffrey Miller, along with St. Lawrence student Heather Cutler, class of 2012, remotely operated the Arecibo Radio Telescope from campus. The telescope is the largest, single-dish radio telescope in the world, and the research is part of the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey, an on-going blind survey of extragalactic neutral hydrogen (HI). Team St. Lawrence will remotely observe during three nights in February. An interview with the astronomers appeared in the Watertown Daily Times.



Jeff Miller, Aileen O'Donoghue, Heather Cutler '12 Jeff's computer is running the control and monitoring programs. The large projected display shows the position of the telescope. Aileen's computer monitors the data integrity.

• January 30, 2011: Last week, APO board president Keith Wells met with the Tupper Lake Planning Board, and presented them with the plans for construction of our observatory. The construction of the first building with a roll-off roof will commence once the proper permits have been obtained from the Adirondack Park Agency. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise has a story about the planning board meeting.

• January 29, 2011: APO Board member Mark Moeller has been chosen as the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year because "he's involved with nearly everything". As stated in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Mark is a member of the Catholic churches' parish council, the Adirondack Public Observatory, the Tupper Lake youth board, the Franklin County youth board, Family Champions, the regional work force investment board, the Tupper Lake Business Council and the local chapters of Rotary, the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. He is also president and CEO of CBNA Insurance Agency Inc. in Tupper Lake. Congratulations, Mark!

• January 28, 2011: St. Lawrence University astronomers and APO Board members Aileen O'Donoghue and Jeffrey Miller made another trip to the Arecibo Radio Observatory. Student Heather Cutler, SLU class of 2012, accompanied them for the 4th NSF-Sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA Workshop from January 17 - 19. The workshop brings together students and their faculty advisors to present their research, and learn to use the largest, single-dish radio telescope in the world. The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey is an on-going blind survey of extragalactic neutral hydrogen (HI). When the survey is completed, ALFALFA will have detected more than 25,000 extragalactic HI line sources. St. Lawrence is a member of the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team, a consortium of 16 institutions engaged in a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote undergraduate research within the ALFALFA project. More photos and details can be found on the SLU Physics Department web site.



Aileen, Heather and Jeff	Heather ( right) with student observers from Union College and Hartwick College
Aileen operates the telescope	A waxing gibbous Moon appears beneath the telescope's Gregorian Dome

• November 30, 2010: St. Lawrence University astronomers and APO Board members Aileen O'Donoghue and Jeffrey Miller recently spent their Thanksgiving break observing at the Arecibo Radio Observatory. Student Heather Cutler, SLU class of 2012, accompanied them for 4 nights of observing. They are involved with the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey, an on-going blind survey of extragalactic neutral hydrogen (HI). The survey uses the largest single dish radio telescope in the world, the 305-meter (1000-ft.) dish at the Arecibo Observatory, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. When the survey is completed, ALFALFA will have detected more than 25,000 extragalactic HI line sources. St. Lawrence is a member of the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team, a consortium of 16 institutions engaged in a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote undergraduate research within the ALFALFA project. More photos and details can be found on the SLU Physics Department web site.



Aileen, Heather and Jeff in the control room	Aileen, Heather and Phil Patrick (Colgate U.) visit the telescope platform
Phil, Jeff and Heather in front of the platform	Heather at the telescope controls

• October 26, 2010: Aileen O'Donoghue, APO Board member and Associate Professor of Physics, will write a bi-weekly column in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise beginning November 2^nd. The column, entitled "The Wilderness Above", will provide information about the wild and natural universe that exists around – and above – us. More details can be found in this press announcement.

• July 28, 2010: The APO hosted astrophotographer PK Chen at the Wild Center. PK signed copies of his book, "A Constellation Album: Stars and Mythology of the Night Sky", shared many of his amazing photographs and told stories about the photos he's taken from various, exotic locations around the world. More photos and details can be found on this page.



PK Chen signs autographs for young fans

PK answers questions from the audience

• July, 2010: On July 4^th, the APO once again participated in the Kiwanis of Tupper Lake's "Celebrate Youth Day". Tim Moeller and Gordie Duval set up telescopes and showed kids and adults how to safely observe the Sun. There was also a contest to "Guess the distance to the farthest planet", and the winners received a field guide to the constellations



Tim Moeller at the APO tent	The solar telescope
Detail of the Coronado solar telescope	Guess the distance to the planets

• May 27, 2010: Take a look at some 3-D renderings of our proposed observatory design, courtesy of Stanly E. Black AIA, Boston, Massachusetts. More images can be found on this page.



Front view with building labeled	The observing area at night

• May 7, 2010: Gib Brown kicked off the spring series of lectures at the WILD Center with his talk What the Weather Wuz When We Wuz We'uns!