By Wendy Culverwell
Herald staff writer
Dennis C. Collins has an idea the telescope perched atop Rattlesnake Mountain might entice more students to take his physics classes at Kennewick High School.
In the not-too-distant future, students will be able to hop on their computers at school and command the telescope to capture stellar images, which they can analyze using math and physics skills.
Putting the stars on-line offers teachers like Collins a way to present complicated theories to students using tools they love.
"If you can make it as real as possible, then the word gets out," explained Collins, who said the intimidating reputation of physics scares off potential students.
With the blessing of its owner, Battelle, the telescope on Rattlesnake Mountain is being transformed into an on-line resource that will eventually be controlled through the Internet.
Full automation still is several years away, but the project passed two major milestones this past week.
Battelle scientists completed the radio modem link that puts the mountain-top observatory on the lab's computer network, and a handful of teachers, including Collins, spent five days at Southridge High School in Kennewick learning how to use on-line telescopes in their classrooms.
"I think this very definitely is going to be a draw," said Collins during a visit to the observatory, which is at an elevation of about 3,500 feet.
The telescope has spent much of the last decade staring at the inside of its domed roof. It is a research-quality piece of equipment with a .8-meter mirror and a hefty price tag - $800,000 to build today.
It was installed in 1971 when local scientists were studying auroras over the Pacific Northwest but fell into disuse about 15 years later when the researchers moved on and no one came in behind them.
Save for the few souls who ventured past a locked gate and drove the crumbling road that climbs the mountain's steep slopes, the telescope was an untapped resource, silently waiting for the right technology to make it useful again - and the right people to see its potential.
That happened three years ago when Battelle scientists had an idea: use the Rattlesnake telescope to put the stars on-line. The telescope could be transformed into a first-rate teaching tool, and the right mix of computers, modems, motors and digital cameras would eliminate the need to post an astronomer at the observatory.
Most of the telescope's stargazing time will be earmarked for local students, said Eric Leber, manager of Battelle's university and science education programs.
He also serves as president of the board of the Alliance for the Advancement of Science Through Astronomy, a nonprofit group formed to pursue the project.
Leber said astronomy is a good gateway to science - show students another planet or galaxy and they're instantly interested, he said.
"To encourage learning and understanding of science, you have to present more than textbooks," he said.
Rattlesnake won't be the first fully automated telescope, but it is unique because it targets education, explained Ken Swanson, a Battelle computer scientist working to devise the equipment and software needed to position the telescope, rotate the dome and manipulate the dust covers.
The telescope already is taking digital pictures, but full automation is still several years away, he said, citing the complexity of the problem and the shoestring budget. The Internet connection should work within about six months.
At that point, the Rattlesnake telescope will join the Hands On Universe network of telescopes in the United States and Australia. Teachers who have been through the training sessions at Southridge and other spots around the country will be able to request images from Rattlesnake via the Internet. The requests are answered in a day or two, depending on the viewing conditions.
Collins and the other teacher-students spent last week learning about Hands On Universe at Southridge. They will return to their classrooms with curriculum guides and software designed to analyze stellar images.
Tammy Droppo imagines her math students at Desert Hills Middle School stretching their skills by studying the stars.
"It's a practical application of math," she said. "Kids always say, 'When am I going to use this?' "
Teachers don't receive professional credit for the strenuous weeklong Hands On Universe class, but Droppo said that's not why she signed up. "I just wanted to do it for my own enjoyment."
Arlis Hoglen is one of three Horse Heaven Hills Middle School teachers in Hands On Universe.
His students will analyze star images as part of the school's eighth-grade Mission to Mars program, in which students create a spaceship and study everything from navigation and communications to report writing.
Hoglen said he first heard about plans to automate the Rattlesnake telescope about two years ago and was excited right away.
"It's really interesting that we can request data from telescopes."
Joe Nevius, who teaches biology and integrated science at Southridge, said Hands On Universe combines a lot of good teaching tools: telescopes, computers, the Internet and the possibility students will make important discoveries. "There's an outside chance the kids could find something."
Nevius said if students are interested, he'll teach an astronomy class. If there aren't enough interested students to form a class, he'll work with individuals.
Technology is a big reason why the automation effort is coming together now, according to Swanson and Leber.
Until recently, it would have been a stretch to control the telescope through an Internet-style connection. To use the telescope, past stargazers had to tromp to the top of the mountain, and Battelle wasn't eager to let many do that.
The mountainside ecology is extremely delicate. "You step on a plant and you have basically put it out of commission for 30 to50 years," Leber said.
Supporters include the Department of Energy, which donated two motors, worth nearly $40,000, to move the telescope. Microsoft donated cash and equipment, and Battelle's contribution has come to about $108,000 so far, according to Leber.
When it's fully automated, the Rattlesnake telescope will be able to respond to about 100 image requests each night.
"That ought to satisfy demand for a while," said Leber, who isn't ruling out the possibility of putting more telescopes on top of Rattlesnake.
Leber hopes the telescope will be the first of many pieces of equipment Battelle will make available to education in hopes of spurring more students to pursue math and science.
Still, he's pleased this was the first because astronomy inspires awe in so many people. "I would love to go through school now. I went through science the boring way."