Ronald H. Henderson

Ron.Henderson@mtsu.edu

Ron Henderson

Physics & Astronomy

Discipline specific equipment

WPS and Observatory

N/A

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Astronomy 1030 and the corresponding lab, ASTR 1031, are among the most popular general education science options at MTSU. Approximately 900 students take this course each year, and an important part of the laboratory experience involves nighttime observations. Students experience deep space objects, including galaxies and nebulae, with the 16” telescope in our observatory located on the lawn of WPS. Telescope images are sent via a CCD camera to a pair of 65” diagonal LCD displays mounted on the north and east sides of the observatory structure. We also place several portable 8” telescopes outside the observatory that are directed at objects within our own Milky Way galaxy including the moon, planets, stars, and star clusters. Over their lifetime, more than 30,000 students and members of the public have viewed astronomical images with this equipment. In addition to serving thousands of students, these instruments are an important outreach venue for MTSU with star parties, K-12 visits, and major public events like eclipses and transits. The LCD displays are over 10 years old; the portable 8” telescopes are now over 15 years old, and all are falling into disrepair. The LCD images are faint, degrading, and not HD, while the portable telescope motors and electronics are failing after hundreds of uses. We propose to (1) replace the two LCD monitors with larger HD units, and (2) replace four portable 8” telescopes.