ASU Research E-Magazine: Eyes on the Sky

Look to the heavens for answers. ASU undergraduate students will do just that as they peek in on some of universe’s most violent events. Flagstaff astronomer Robert Fried is making their job easier. Earlier this summer, he and his wife Marian donated a fully equipped observatory to the university.

The Braeside Observatory is a computerized astronomical research facility. Valued at nearly $1 million, the observatory’s special features make its educational and research value to the university far greater.

Braeside Observatory was established as a private foundation in Atlanta, Georgia in 1976 by Robert Fried, an astronomer and now retired Delta Airline captain. The facility was built on a 10-acre tract of land surrounded by state and federal forest near Flagstaff. It consists of a domed observatory building, complete with a 16-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope, and a separate control building from which the telescope is operated by computers.

ASU scientists plan to link the facility’s computer controls to 20 astronomy laboratory classes beginning this fall. The instrument can be operated from campus by remote control. It will be used as a research and teaching tool by both undergraduates and graduate students.

“This will be a major benefit for us, particularly for our undergraduates who don’t have access to big telescopes for research,” says Astronomy Professor Rogier Windhorst. “Normally, it takes travel and money just to get to a big scope, and time on such equipment is hard to come by. Our advanced undergraduates will be able to use Braeside for their research, either from campus or at the site.

“Another major advantage is that we’re free to dedicate this telescope to a single object all night long. This is useful for studying galaxies and major events, like supernova explosions and black holes feeding on gas and stars,” Windhorst adds.

Easy access to the Braeside telescope will allow ASU students the opportunity to do potentially publishable research in a variety of areas, including study of the local solar system and its planets, as well as studies of stars and structures both inside and outside our own galaxy.

Beginning astronomy students will benefit as well. “We will use Braeside Observatory to enrich the experience of all ASU students taking astronomy classes,” says Howard Voss, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The plan for classroom use involves using data gathered by more advanced undergraduates for lab exercises in lower division astronomy classes. Under such a plan, first year astronomy students would have the opportunity to study exciting astronomical events such as variable stars and supernovae.

Windhorst says that other uses for the new facility are also being considered. Possibilities include K-12 teacher training workshops on the ASU campus, and summer camps on-site for K-12 students and their teachers or amateur astronomers.—James Hathaway