PARI Hosting Space Science Labs for the Fourth Year

For the fourth summer PARI is holding our popular Space Science Lab programs for local high school students. The first session was held at PARI last week. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from this SSL Session.  Students studied the moon and build their own telescopes. The second session will be held July 27 - August 1. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is the major sponsor for Space Science Lab. Click 2008 SSL to see pictures from last summer.

July 10th Evening at PARI - Photographing the Night Sky

The July 10, 2009 Evening at PARI program will feature presentations by two local award-winning photographers on Evening Light and Night Sky Photography. Click NEWS RELEASE to read more about this upcoming program. Click COVER PHOTO to see a nighttime picture that was taken by Rob Travis which was used for the cover of last year's annual report. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the June 12th Evening which featured a lecture by Dr. Robert Milligan on Galileo. Click PAST EVENTS to see pictures from past Evenings at PARI. Click EVENING AT PARI to find out how to register for upcoming Evenings, including the July 10th program.

PARI at Lake Toxaway Community Day

Friends of PARI Dr. Joe and Karen Phillips staffed a booth at the June 27th Lake Toxaway Community Day. PARI's Mini-Smiley model attracted the visitors to the booth where Joe and Karen gave out PARI literature and answered questions. Several Lake Toxaway residents have been most generous to PARI, none more so than the Phillips. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from this event.

Undergraduate Interns Important Part of PARI This Summer

Six undergraduate students are participating in research at PARI this summer. This week they completed a dome to be used ny students in Space Science Lab and Duke TIP programs.  Click PHOTOS to see the interns. Their research includes solar energy, the 26 meter radio telescope instrumentation development and building the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive SCOPE database. The undergraduates are from UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Asheville, NC State University and Furman University.

PARI Receives Plate Collection from US Naval Observatory

APDA Director Thurburn Barker and PARI's VP Dave Clavier went to the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC on June 10-11, 2009 to pick up a collection of astronomical photographic plates. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from their trip. While at the USNO Thurburn Barker made a presentation to the USNO staff at about PARI, APDA and our plate preservation programs.

PARI Celebrates 10th Anniversary at SPACE DAY Open House

On Saturday, May 2nd, more than 200 people came to PARI to help us celebrate our tenth anniversary at our SPACE DAY Open House.  This is the one time each year when we showcase all of our facilities, research and programs for the general public. Click 2009 SPACE DAY to see pictures from this event. Visitors were able to see research being conducted in our Astronomical Photographic Data Archive, hear from guest lecturers (including "Johannes Kepler" and Don Cline, who showed some rare meteorites from his personal collection) and attend a planetarium show on how to spot the planets. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from previous SPACE DAYS.

Transylvania Times Thanks PARI for Service to the Community 

An editorial in the April 23rd edition of the Transylvania Times newspaper thanked PARI for meeting our mission. They wrote, "Ten years ago that facility was taken over by the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, better known as PARI. Since that time PARI has had nothing but a beneficial effect on the community." Click EDITORIAL to read the complete text of the article. Congratulations to the entire PARI staff, including our great partners from Avant Communications, who have helped us spread the word of the good works of PARI. And we especially thank Don & Jo Cline for their many years of support.

Recent Visitors to PARI

In addition to our regularly scheduled tours and events, PARI is pleased to host many visitors. Some recent visitors have been: the 2009 BRCC Career Academy for Teachers; residents from the Deerfield Retirement Center; members of the local Chapter of the American Association of University Women; Robert Schaet and Gary McDonald; Immedion CEO Frank Mobley; EMC VP Bob Hawkins and his family; Graduate Students from NC A&T State University; Michelle Ouelette from Sky-Skan; Comporium Executives; Scientists from Naval Post Graduate School and Idaho National Laboratories

Weekly Tours of PARI Continue in 2009

Tours continue every Wednesday at PARI at 2:00 pm. The tours are being led by trained docents who give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at PARI. Visitors are able to spend time observing the exciting education and research programs at PARI. Click TOURS for more information about how to sign up for a Wednesday afternoon tour. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the most recent tours.

Prominent Geologist Helps Design PARI Geology Tour

The Curator of Geology for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Dr. Christopher Tacker, is leading an effort to develop a self-guided geology tour of PARI. Dr. Tacker came to PARI twice in the last few weeks to collect samples and assess PARI's rock formations. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from his visit on May 27-28. While at PARI, Dr. Tacker made a presentation on the richness of PARI's geological history.

The PARI 2008 Annual Report is Available

The 2008 Annual Report has been published and is available for downloading. This is the fourth year that PARI has published an annual report. Highlights from this past year include: STEM programs such as Duke TIP, ROBOTS and Space Science Lab; Research programs such as the UNAVCO Plate Boundary Observatory and the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA); and reports on Friends of PARI, StarLab and the Stellar Classification Online- Public Exploration (SCOPE). Click ANNUAL REPORT for a color pdf of the report. Click VIEW to see the latest quarterly newsletter. Click 2008 STUDENT SUMMER RESEARCH PROCEEDINGS for a copy of this year's research reports.

Photos of the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

Located on the site of the former NASA Rosman Tracking Station in the Pisgah National Forest, PARI offers an unparalleled opportunity for people of all ages to experience the wonders of scientific research first hand. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of PARI taken at various times throughout the year.