[getsmart-l] Save the D Dunlap Observatory Campaign, hikes this weekend

[Gloria Boxen]

http://www.rhnaturalists.ca/events/

David Dunlap Observatory hike.
 
Sat & Sun, Nov 24, 25, 2-4pm 
  Meet at the front gates to the Observatory at 123 Hillsview Dr at 2pm to start.   Discover the unique features of the meadows and wooded areas of the property.   Children and leashed dogs are welcome.  Note:  DDO hikes will take place if the weather cooperates.

Hillsview is just south of Weldrick Road (& north of 16th Ave.) 
It runs west from Bayview Ave. to the railway tracks.  
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl


more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/penopticon/1502675078/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/save-david-dunlap/pool/page2/



 


http://www.rhnaturalists.ca/save-the-observatory/
Latest Information and Articles from RHN Members  

   CBC interview with Dr. Tom Bolton on future of Dunlap Observatory
                     
           CBC interview with Dr. Tom Bolton on future of Dunlap Observatory     Thursday, November 15th, 2007            On November 14, Dr. Tom Bolton was on CBC Radio’s Sounds Like Canada program to talk about the kind of work astronomer are doing at David Dunlap Observatory. You can listen to the entire interview.


 The wide-ranging interview provides an overview of the history of the observatory, the work that lead to Dr. Bolton’s discovery (using the Dunlap Observatory) of the first Black Hole in 1972 and a discussion of how the telescope is being used today by Canadian and international astronomers. As a well-known expert on Dark Skies and light pollution, Dr. Bolton insists that sky glow is not a valid reason for closing the David Dunlap Observatory:
 “Well, in my mind, that is a phony issue. First of all, we have light pollution controls in Richmond Hill.  Second of all, light pollution has not reduced the effectiveness of the observatory any since 1971. In fact, once we put electronic detectors on the telescope in 1989, which allow us to subtract the sky background, at least to some degree, we’ve actually been able to observe 100 times fainter than we could before then, and, with an investment of $10,000 in new equipment, we could probably push that another factor of 10. So, for the kind of astronomy that this observatory has always been best for, there has been no change.”
 Dr. Bolton told the CBC that while there has been a trend in North America to close smaller observatories in order to build larger telescopes, smaller instruments continue to prove their worth in Europe and around the world. 

If the DDO remains open, Dr. Bolton has plans for a fall 2008 project to track a star orbiting a gamma ray source for a period of 28 days using the DDO along with specialized instruments located in Europe and New Mexico. He notes that this kind of research, known as “time-series” astronomy, is simply not possible using large telescopes which allocate just a few days a year to visiting astronomers.


 Within the astronomical community, there is ongoing debate over the need for both large and small telescopes.    In 2004, NOAO director Sidney Wolff acknowledged  that large telescopes are essential, but added that “small telescopes are making exciting contributions to frontline research, including (1) measuring changes to the expansion rate of the universe, (2) finding optical counterparts to gamma-ray bursts, (3) making precise observations of Sun-like stars in order to understand solar influences on climate change, (4) making direct detection of extrasolar planets, (5) conducting the first deep all-sky survey in the near infra-red, and (6) discovering near-Earth asteroids.”
 In 2006, David Dunlap Observatory astronomers contributed to 19 scientific publications.
     
      
   U of T refuses to hear deputation from Richmond Hill Naturalists
   Ward 6 residents show support to save David Dunlap Observatory
   Help us save the David Dunlap Observatory
   DDO - the wild heart of Richmond Hill
  Why the David Dunlap Observatory must be preservedIt should be remembered that the DDO land is  the last significant green space in the south section of Richmond Hill.  The loss of this 189-acre urban wilderness will have a devastating impact on wildlife ....The loss of this property will also rob current and future generations of healthy green space that provides a host of free services including: insect control, air and water purification and carbon storage and habitat for deer and dozens of birds species.

http://www.rhnaturalists.ca/blog/2007/10/21/ddo-the-wild-heart-of-richmond-hill/

Denise Potter
...So for the past few weekends we’ve walked the DDO, and have been startled by the diversity and abundance of wildlife we’ve found. In a brief hour on Thanksgiving weekend we surprised a Cooper’s hawk, three passing Sharp-shinned hawks, and a red-tailed hawk
a triple-handful of flickers, hairy and downy woodpeckers, a pair of Eastern Towhees, an astonishing number of robins, hermit and wood thrushes. There were gold finches, house finches, purple finches, chickadees
tiny ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets, red- and white-breasted nuthatches. 

Some thickets were full of white-crowned sparrows, others offered cover to hordes of white-throated sparrows and juncos. Yellow-rumped warblers and cedar waxwings trilled while a family of catbirds mewed at us.We didn’t see deer but they clearly saw us
we heard their alarm calls in the forest all around us but never laid eyes on them through the thick undergrowth. On later walks we’ve seen a phoebe and even a merlin, glowering at us from the radio tower.
   
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