Amateur Astronomy at Kitt Peak
May 14th, 2009 | 
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After dinner, Adam left us to walk around the facilities ourselves as he had to prepare for that night's Nightly Observing Program (NOP) viewing. My wife and I headed back to our room to rest before starting our night viewing. It was a very cool night with clear skies and very, very little atmospheric disturbance. The moon was not due to arrive until about 5:00 AM. It doesn't get much better than that and we couldn't wait to get started.
We arrived at the observatory ahead of the NOP group, and got a tour from Adam around the observatory. He was very informative about the equipment, computers, and telescope. He also told us that we would reconfigure the telescope for our program after the NOP completed.
The Nightly Observing Program consisted of three presentations. First, everyone was escorted to the edge of the mountaintop where we all watched the Sun set in the Arizona western sky. During the setting, Adam informed everyone about watching for the Green arc just above the Sun as it passes beyond the horizon. Note that this photograph is from Andrew Young at sdsu.edu and was not taken during this program. I include it here simply for illustrative purposes.
After the Sun set, Adam instructed us to turn toward the east. He pointed out from higher elevations, you can actually see the shadow of the Earth on the atmosphere. It appears as a gray arc on the light-pink post setting sky.
The second part of the program consisted of a night sky viewing to point out various constellations, stars, and other phenomenon. This is something that everyone could take home with them, and, given a dark night, be able to share these sightings with others. This narration continued until the Sun had sufficiently set to allow for clear viewing through the telescope. During this time, you could also see the other telescopes whirring into life as astronomers, both on-site and remote, were gearing up for their nightly runs. Kitt Peak really comes to life after dark.
The third and final presentation of the Nightly Observing Program had everyone gather around the telescope in the visitor center observatory. Adam explained what we were going to be viewing, and answered everyone's questions with the confident knowledge that only comes from education and a passion for their work. Adam proceeded to have everyone in-turn look through the telescope at stars, galaxies, and nebula for the rest of the program.
At the conclusion of the Nightly Observing Program, the visitor center staff escorted everyone back to their vehicles, and covered the headlights so as not to disturb viewings taking place in the twenty other observatories at Kitt Peak.
By this time the night air at the top of the mountain was getting chilly. When they recommend that you bring a coat, even in the summer months, I would head their instructions. After living in Arizona for better than twenty years our thin blood wasn't helping keep us warm.
Adam and I set up the telescope for our viewing. We re-calibrated the optics, attached the CCD camera, and started up the controller computer before moving to the warmth of Adam's office.
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