November 1, 2007
Astrophotography class Nov. 7 at Jacobsen Observatory
Have an interest in capturing the night skies on film? A class at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory might be just what you’re looking for.
In that class, Joel Leigh, a UW sophomore in physics and astronomy and an experienced astrophotographer, will discuss how newcomers can get started with their own astrophotography.
Leigh said his talk will be a general overview of astrophotography, geared for nonscientists. There are different techniques, he said, in photographing different celestial phenomena, and he will give examples, some from his own work but also including images from experts in the field, and from NASA.
“The idea is to show things that people don’t have to have a background in astronomy to appreciate,” Leigh said. “You don’t have to be an astrophysicist to take astronomic photos, but it adds an extra layer of interest.”
Leigh himself looks forward to a career in physics or astronomy, but is leaning toward the latter. A physics researcher could work a whole lifetime on a key but obscure problem, he said, whereas astronomy is more like exploring an unknown frontier. “Basically, all you have to do is point a telescope at the skies and you can discover something.”
Leigh’s is one of three student presentations that evening. A talk by Aaron Hossack at 7:15 will be on the electromagnetic spectrum and one at 8:15 by Patrick Jones will be on the scale of objects and distances in the Milky Way galaxy. Both of the later classes already are full. All three presenters are from the Astronomy 270 class, titled Outreach in Astronomy, taught by Ana Larson.
The observatory was built in 1895 and is the second-oldest structure on the UW campus. The observatory is open to the public from March 1 through Nov. 30 and holds informational meetings on the first and third Wednesdays of each month during that time.
The observatory itself is open from 7 to 9 p.m. evenings in March and from 9 to 11 p.m. evenings April through September. The facility is closed to the public December through February.
For more information about the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory, visit online at http://www.astro.washington.edu/observatory/.
