George Mason University Observatory

1. George Mason University Observatory Dr. Harold Geller Observatory Director

2. GMU had two previous astronomy observatories built since its founding First opened 6 October 1975 Work on the first observatory began in 1972 Observatory was called the Herschel Observatory by the Department of Physics It was built by students John Whalan, Chipper Peterson, and Bob Veenstra under the supervision of Dr. Bill Lankford GMU’s First Observatory

3. The Herschel Observatory was the pig shed adjacent to the Mallory House, across Route 123 from the main campus The pig shed was torn down to make way for the Field House Second observatory was built in the athletic fields this second observatory, a metal shed with roll off roof suffered vandalism more than once lead to its demise by 1980 torn down within two years Observatory History

4. Observatory History • Plans were made to have an observatory on the roof of • Science and Technology I (now Planetary Hall) • Science and Technology II (now Exploratory Hall) • Academic IV (now Innovation Hall) • In 1983 Harold Geller (a grad student) circulated a petition that was received by then President Johnson, regarding the building of an observatory for GMU • Over the years, faculty involved in plans to obtain a new observatory have included Lankford, Kafatos, Lieb, Ellsworth, Ehrlich, Becker, Wallin, Geller, and Dworzecka • Administrators that have been advocates for an observatory included Provost Stearns, Vice-Provost Hill, Dean Struppa and Dean Kafatos • Each time financial issues stopped the building of an observatory. • In 2004 GMU began building its new Research I facility with an observatory tower • In 2007 Research I (now Research Hall) opened officially • In 2009 GMU obtained a telescope from Virginia Tech • In 2011 GMU took delivery of its 32” Ritchey-Chretien telescope

5. Mason’s Observatory Today RESEARCHHALL Mason’s Observatory Tower

6. Ribbon Cutting in 2011 • 0.8 meter diameter reflector telescope • 3 meter diameter radio telescope • Weather station • Night sky brightness meter • International Dark Sky Association • Vatican Observatory

7. GMU 32” diameter UVa 26” diameter U.S.Naval Observatory 26” diameter University of Maryland College Park 20” diameter Johns Hopkins University 20” diameter Georgetown University 12” diameter Sizes of On-campus Regional Observatory Telescopes Relative telescope diameter sizes.

8. Observatory Run Under SPACS (School of Physics, Astronomy and Computational Sciences) Academic Programs in SPACS • Undergraduate Programs • BS in Astronomy • BS in Physics • Minor in Astronomy • Minor in Physics • Minor in Computational Data Sciences • Graduate Programs • Accelerated BS/MS in Physics • MS in Applied and Engineering Physics • MA in Energy and Sustainability Concentration • PhD in Physics • Graduate Certificate in Computational Techniques and Applications • MS in Computational Science • PhD In Computational Sciences and Informatics

9. SPACS Program Census • Active ASTR BS Students: 22 • Active PHYS BS Students: 118 • Active ASTR Minor Students: 5 • Active PHYS Minor Students: 4 • Active CDS Minor Students: 8 • Active PHAE MS Students: 13 • Active CDS MS Students: 10 • Active PHYS PhD Students: 40 • Active CSI PhD students: 94

10. SPACS Enrollment in Spring 2014 • Astronomy Courses 1136 • Physics Courses 3272 • Comp Data Sci 371 • =================== ==== • TOTAL STUDENTS S’14 4779

11. Undergraduates to grad school at: U. of New Mexico U. of Alabama U. of Wisconsin U. of Maryland U. of Virginia U. of Switzerland George Mason U. Graduate students to work at: Naval Research Lab NASA Goddard Space Flight Center U.C. Berkeley S.A.I.C. Fairfax County Public Schools Booz, Allen, Hamilton George Mason U. Northern Virginia Community College Where Have They Gone

12. Observatory Operations Summary • The Mason Observatory is located on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University within Research Hall • A telescope was procured from Optical Guidance Systems • It is a 32-inch diameter Ritchey-Chretien telescope • Current staff • part-time director (Harold Geller) • 1 GTA (Tiffany Lewis) • Volunteers • 1 full-time faculty (Mary Ewell) • 1affiliate faculty (Darryl Wilson) • Graduate students and undergraduate students • The Mason Observatory has an active outreach program • Each year hosting an average of 16 public observing sessions • With an average of 50 persons per public observing session • The Mason Observatory operates on funds from donations and laboratory fees • No separate funding for the observatory itself

13. Educational Use of Observatory • Students in astronomy lecture • Students in astronomy laboratory • In-service professional development for teachers • Undergraduate and graduate research programs to complement current and future astrophysics classes • including directed study, senior thesis, and thesis/dissertation work

14. Research Use of Observatory • Even within the light-polluted skies of Fairfax, the technology will allow us to • Search for extrasolar planets (planets beyond our solar system) • we have done this • Conduct astroseismology studies (characteristics of stellar surfaces and interiors) with a high resolution spectrograph • we need ~$150,000 to buy this • Search for supernovae (stars which have exploded in our galaxy and other galaxies) • we need students interested to do this • Conduct studies of planetary atmospheres with a high resolution spectrograph • we need ~$150,000 to buy this

15. Outreach Use of Observatory • Public night observing sessions • Public lectures • School observing sessions • School planetarium sessions • Summer science camps • Mentorship of local high school students • Support of local astronomy clubs

16. Media and the Mason Observatory • Front page articles of Fairfax Times and Washington Times • Fox Channel 5: Dr. Michael Summers regarding the NASA mission to Pluto • Appearance on Fairfax Public Access cable TV: Dr. Harold Geller regarding evidence of the Big Bang Theory and the Inflation Epoch • Appearances in Mason publications (Broadside, Gazette, Periodic Elements)

17. Observatory Video http://physics.gmu.edu/~hgeller/GMUGellerMPF091314A.mp4