PARI Staff at 219th Meeting of American Astronomical Society 

PARI President Don Cline, Research Director Michael Castelaz and Cline Scholar Herbert Mehnert attended the 219th meeting of the AAS in Austin Texas this week. They presented posters on several topics related to PARI research and attended meetings. In addition, they met with colleagues, including Dr. Donald Terndrup and Nigel Sharp from the NSF. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the meeting. Herbert was on PARI campus this past summer as the Don Cline Summer Intern. He is currently attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Winter 2012 Edition of PARI's Newsletter

The Winter 2012 edition of the VIEW is now available. This edition features a lead story about the remounting of the receivers on PARI's signature 26M antennas. Other stories in this issue include: Grassroots Museum Director Visits PARI, PARI Hosting Homeschool Event, TEDx Katuah Conference, Recent Star Party, Research Update and an article on "The History of Asteroids," by Dr. Bob Hayward.

Weekly Docent Led Tours of PARI Campus

Each year thousands of people come to PARI. We have welcomed visitors from around the world. Each Wednesday at 2:00 pm PARI's volunteer docents lead guided tours of our campus and include an overview video and a walking tour of the main program and research areas of the PARI campus. Visitors are encouraged to bring a camera to take pictures. The PARI campus is handicapped accessible. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of visitors from our Wednesday tours since 2007.

January Evening at PARI - Special StarLab Planetarium Presentation

The first Evening at PARI for 2012 will feature a special StarLab presentation by PARI Science Educator Stephen Hawk. The program will be be on Friday, January 13, 2012 beginning at 7:00 pm. Click NEWS RELEASE to read more about the plans for the Evening. The December program featured a talk by Dr. Bob Hayward and Dr. Michael Castelaz about the Star of Bethlehem. Click PAST EVENING PHOTOS to see pictures from previous events. Click RESERVATION to find out how to register for future Evenings at PARI.

Feedboxes Mounted to 26 Meter Antennas

The long awaited remounting of the completely refurbished feedboxes with the two matching feeds was accomplished on Tuesday, December 13th. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of the process. The core team led by Ben Goldsmith, Thad McCall and John Halsey with help from Donnie Curto and Brad McCall coordinated the engineering feat of lifting and installing the loaded (1,500+ lbs) feedboxes into the frames at the focal points of the massive radio antennas. The feedboxes have been fully redesigned and refurbished by the NSF-Sponsored team which was led by University of North Carolina Asheville's Dr. Brian Dennison and Dr. Chuck Bennett. The next step is now the commissioning of the two antennas into an interferometer, making this one of the finest instruments of its kind.

PARI Publishes Our 2011 Annual Report

The 2011 PARI Annual Report is now available online. The photo for the cover of this year's annual report was taken by Friend of PARI Richard Wright and features Jo's Cove in the foreground and our 26M West antenna in the back. Click 2011 ANNUAL REPORT to see a pdf of the report. Jo's Cove is park on the PARI campus that was dedicated to our Chair, Jo Cline, in recognition of her years of support. The inside cover of the report lists the many highlights from 2011, which was a very good year for PARI. Contact David Clavier if you are interested in receiving a printed copy of the annual report.

Next SciGirls Program - High Tech Fashion - Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The next SciGirls program will be held on Tuesday, January 31st once again at the Transylvania County 4-H Office at 98 East Morgan Street in Brevard.  The November program was on Wind Power. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from previous programs. Go to REGISTRATION to find out more about the January 31st and future programs and to register. The cost is $10 per girl.  Join the PARI team and find new connections to science for year-round enjoyment and exploration.  Find out more about the national programming for SciGirls at http://pbskids.org/scigirls/.

NC Grassroots Science Museum Collaborative Executive Director Visits PARI

NCSMC Executive Director Steve Saucier visited PARI on Thursday, December 15, 2011. He met with Don and Jo Cline, Dave Clavier, Christi Whitworth and John Avant. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from his visit. He toured the site and discussed ways that PARI can be more involved in Grassroots.  While at PARI Steve also saw the Space Shuttle exhibit in the exhibit gallery and spent time in the Astronomical Photographic Plate Archive (APDA). PARI is one of 32 member science museums in the Grassroots Collaborative.

PARI Receives Another Significant Astronomical Photographic Plate Collection

Scott Leonard and Gary Walker from the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) delivered a collection of more than 8,000 astronomical photographic plates to PARI on Thursday, November 17th. The collection, which also includes scanned images and logs, is valued at $600,000. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of the delivery. PARI staff and volunteers helped unload and file the plates. The collection includes images taken since 1913. The fact that MMO chose to locate this collection here is further evidence of how PARI and APDA are gaining reputation in the field. The photo at the right is an image from one of the plates of M24 - a view of part of the summertime Milky Way and was taken 46 years ago.

PARI Welcomes Visitors to Our Campus

In addition to monthly Evening at PARI program and our weekly guided tours, PARI welcomes guests and small groups daily. Daily visitors can take a self-guided tour. PARI works with groups to arrange specially tailored visits to the PARI campus. Click 2011 VISITORS to see recent pictures of our visitors. Click PAST VISITORS to see pictures from previous years. We also regularly host visiting groups of students and their teachers. Click STUDENT GROUP PHOTOS to pictures of these groups.

November 18, 2011 - Homeschool Day at PARI

PARI held our Fall 2011 Homeschool Day at PARI on Friday, November 18th. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the day. Click PAST HOMESCHOOL DAYS to see pictures from previous events.

PARI Hosts TEDxKatuah, Science: The Art of Discovery

Saturday, November 5, 2011 was a very exciting day at PARI. More than 100 participants came to PARI to participate in TEDxKatuah: The Art of Discovery. The event was organized by TEDxAsheville and featured speakers, exhibits, performances and interactive events. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the event. PARI's Christi Whitworth and Michael Castelaz made presentations. This was a great opportunity for many people to experience science in a different way at PARI.

PARI Staff Picks Up Another Plate Collection from USNO

Research Director Michael Castelaz and APDA Director Thurburn Barker went to Washington, DC on October 23-25 to receive an astronomical photographic plate collection from the US Naval Observatory. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of their trip. APDA received 32,341 plates with this collection. Dating back about 100 years, the plates make up one-half of the USNO's plate collection used to measure the distances to nearby stars. This is the thrid collection PARI has received from the USNO.

PARI Star Party - October 28-30, 2011

Rain the first night failed to dampen the spirits of the dozens of astronomers who came to PARI for our October 2011 Star Party. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the weekend events. The weekend featured talks, tours, observing and an opportunity for astronomy enthusiasts to share new ideas and techniques.

APDA Receives a Donation of World-Wide Halley Comet Photos

Scientist Jack Brandt came to PARI on Monday October 3, 2011 to donate two archives of Halley Comet photos to APDA. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of his visit. Brandt, in collaboration with Mal Niedner and Jurgen Rahe, was very active in the Large-Scale Phenomena Network of the International Halley Watch. In the course of the project, he moved from Goddard Space Flight Center to the University of Colorado. The results were two archives of the images collected in 1985-1986. Some of these images were published in their ATLAS.

PARI Represented at the North Carolina Astronomers Meeting

Don and Jo Cline and Michael Castelaz attended the North Carolina Astronomers meeting in Greensboro at Guilford Technical Community College on September 30th - October 1st. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the event. Don presented four posters about PARI, Smiley, APDA and GAMMA II and SCOPE. Michael gave a presentation on Gravitational Lens at the Galactic Center. The featured speaker was Dr. Francis Halzen, Principal Investigator on the IceCube project which is a neutrino detector in Antarctica. About 40 astronomers attended the meeting.

FRIENDS OF PARI ANNUAL MEETING AND SYMPOSIUM - Friday, September 9, 2011

The annual meeting of the Friends of PARI was held September 9th on the PARI campus. Members toured the site, saw demonstrations and heard a presentation from NASA Scientist Dr. William Cooke. The program included recognition of Distinguished Supporters, Distinguished Student Scholars and the Friends of PARI President's Award winner. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the event. Click PAST Friends of PARI MEETINGS to see pictures from previous Annual Meetings and Symposia.

Construction Continues on Repair and Renovation of PARI's Research Building

Work continues on the HVAC portion of the Research Building Repair and Renovation project. HVAC contractor Mac Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. is the contractor doing the work. Southern Painting & Maintenance Specialist, Inc. completed their work painting PARI's 26M antennas. ACI replaced the roof with a new roofing system. Four potential contractors recently attended a pre-bid meeting for the electrical portion of the project. Click PHOTOS to see pictures on the progress of this exciting project. The Research Building currently houses the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive, the RF Laboratory, the Aeronomy Laboratory and the Research Building Data Center. Project Manager Thad McCall and Assistant Project Manager Ben Goldsmith report that the project is moving ahead of schedule. PARI received a competitive grant from the National Science Foundation for this project. The total cost for the project will be $1.3 million. The funds for this project are coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

Duke TIP Field Study Above and Beyond

Last week was the final week of the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) at PARI. Students from around the country have been studying astronomy and astrophysics and working on group research projects. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of their daily activities.

PARI Records a Magnitude 5.8 Earthquake

On Tuesday, August 23rd at 1:51 pm PARI's seismometer recorded a Magnitude 5.8 earthquake. The epicenter of the earthquake was 38 miles northwest Richmond, VA. PARI's phones began ringing immediately after the earthquake with people asking about the event. Details of the earthquake are listed on the US Geological Survey (USGS) website at VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE. Click SEISMOMETER READING to see the record of the event recorded on PARI's seismometer. Click LIVE READINGS to see the up to the minute live streaming data. WLOS, ABC 13 reporter Megan Schiering came to PARI and interviewed Michael Castelaz and Lamar Owen for a story about the event. Click EARTHQUAKE STORY to see a clip of the news report.

NASA "FIREBALL" Workshop Held at PARI

PARI hosted the NASA Meteor Video Observations and Analysis Workshop on Thursday and Friday, August 4th and 5th. Scientists and experts in the field from around the world attended. The workshop was conducted by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Meteoroid Environment Office and featured many speakers and presentations on observing, recording and analyzing meteoroids. NASA scientist, Dr. Bill Cooke, lead the two-day workshop. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the workshop. Several Attendees were interested in our Harvard Meteor - Lost City Meteorite documents and films. Click IMAGES AND ARTICLES to see that material.

PARI Hosted Second Space Science Lab

PARI celebrated our sixth year of conducting the Burroughs Wellcome Fund sponsored Space Science Lab program. Fourteen high school students came to PARI on August 8-12 for the second 2011 week-long Space Science Lab. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the Second Session. Fourteen SSL Scholars attended the first session from July 27-31. They studied astronomy and constructed their own optical telescopes. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the First Session.

NCSU Science House Students Attend Workshop at PARI

Twenty five high school students and eight instructors attended a week long workshop at PARI the week of June 20-24. They were from the North Carolina State University Science House in Raleigh, NC. The students build Radio Jove receivers and studied other elements of photonics during their week. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of their activities.

PARI Once Again Represented at NCMNS Astronomy Days

Since 2003 PARI has been presenting at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science Astronomy Days in Raleigh. This year, on May 21-22,  Don and Jo Cline, Michael Castelaz, Christi Whitworth and Dave Clavier staffed a booth demonstrating SMILEY and PARI's SCOPE project. Meanwhile Site Engineer Ben Goldsmith was back at PARI, more than 300 miles away, keeping a watchful eye on SMILEY while hundreds of young people in the museum remotely used the 4.6 M Radio telescope to collect data. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the event.

NASA Sponsored Climate Camp at PARI Again

For the second year, PARI hosted the Appalachian State University Climate Camp. The week long resident program for high school age homeschoolers, which was conducted last week, is supported by a grant from NASA. The program was taught by Drs. Brett Taubman and Jim Sherman with support from PARI education and research staff and from APP State undergraduate and graduate students. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of activities from the camp. Students learn about climate using scientific method. Click LAST YEAR'S PHOTOS to see pictures from last year's Climate Camp at PARI.

Jo's Cove Dedicated at PARI

PARI Dedicated a park, named Jo's Cove, in honor of Chairperson Jo Cline on Friday, May 6, 2011. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of the park and of the event. The park was established on a small hill near the center of PARI's campus and features a walking path, a small stream and pond. The dedication plaque reads "In honor of Jo Cline, PARI's First Lady."

Naval Research Laboratory Installs a New Instrument at PARI

Drs. Chris Englert and Charles Brown from the Naval Research Laboratory installed a new instrument at PARI the last week in April that measures winds and temperatures in the upper atmosphere. They are comparing their measurements to those made by a similar instrument at PARI installed by Clemson Professor Dr. John Meriwether. Click PHOTOS to see pictures of the installation of the NRL instrument at the PARI North Roll-off Roof Building ont he Optical Ridge.

Students and Teachers from Walker County Georgia at PARI April 7-8
Students and teachers from Walker County Georgia came to PARI to study astronomy on Thursday and Friday, April 7th & 8th. While at PARI they learned how to remotely use PARI's 4.6m radio telescope, Smiley. They also heard a presentation from two Rossville High School graduates, who are now accomplished NASA scientist at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Dr. Bill Cooke and Rob Suggs discussed their meteroid tracking project. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from the visit. The costs for the overnight stay at PARI and for the program were underwritten by Friends of PARI Jim and Shirley Smith.

PARI featured in Everyone's Universe Book

PARI was listed in the recently published book, Everyone's Universe - A Guide to Accessible Astronomy Places. The book, by Noreen Grice, lists observatories that make viewing the sky accessible to everyone. Click PHOTOS to see the listing. PARI is proud to have been listed and to have recently hosted several groups including visitors with special needs.

Volunteers Make PARI Work to Accomplish our Mission

PARI is fortunate to have a number of dedicated volunteers who help with many important tasks at PARI. On Saturday, February 26th several volunteers came to PARI to help lay new cables in the Cline Adminsitration Building and to construct a Wildlife Photography Blind. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from that Volunteer Day. Another example of a very important volunteer project is the PARI GALAXY WALK, which was recently refurbished. Also, the Friends of PARI are responsible for one of our very important optical telescopes called PARI SKY. To find our more about volunteering at PARI contact Friends of PARI President John Boehme at jboehme@pari.edu or our Director of Education Christi Whitworth at cwhitworth@pari.edu.

Astronomers from Czech Republic Doing Research at PARI

Astronomers Rene Hudec and Lukas Hudec, visiting scientist from the Czech Republic, are returning to PARI next month to follow-up on their research on the spectra of stars and galaxies using photographic images in the PARI Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA). Dr. Hudec is using the results in combination with data to be taken by the European Space Agency GAIA Space Telescope to be launched in 2012. Dr. Hudec recently published an article in the Czech public journal, 3POL, using the data from his visits to PARI. This is their fourth visit to our campus. Click PHOTOS to see pictures from their previous visit.

Transylvania Times Thanks PARI for Service to the Community 

An editorial in 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.

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.