Lowell Observatory And Life On Mars (Hill)

The mission of Lowell Observatory is to "pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach programs to bring the results of astronomical research to the public."

--from Lowell.edu

Lowell is one of the oldest astronomical observatories in the United States, founded in 1894 by astronomer Percival Lowell and run for a time by his third cousin, Guy. The current trustee is William Lowell Putnam, grandnephew of Percival Lowell and son of long-time trustee Roger Putnam. The institution was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Lowell Observatory welcomes more than 70,000 visitors each year, offering guided tours and views of the night sky through the original 24-inch Alvan Clark Telescope and other telescopes at the Mars Hill site. The Clark was built in 1896 at a cost of $20,000, assembled in Boston and transported by train to Flagstaff.

Also located on the Mars Hill campus is the 13-inch Pluto Discovery Telescope, used by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 to discover the dwarf planet (now "plutoid"), Pluto.

(Note: The telescope measurements--ie. 13- and 24-inch--refer to the diameters of the primary mirrors or "objective lenses." My husband just explained that to me.)

Percival Lowell, affectionately known as Uncle Percy up on Mars Hill, was born on March 13, 1855 in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1876, he graduated from Harvard University.

Until 1883, Lowell concentrated on various business interests, then traveled throughout the Far East for the next decade. He lived in Japan off and on during this time and wrote several books about his experiences there. He also served as the counselor and foreign secretary to the 1883 Special Mission from Korea to the United States, the first diplomatic group sent from Korea to any western power. Following this mission, Lowell stayed in Korea for several months as a guest of the government .

In 1893, Lowell decided to take up astronomy after hearing that Schaparelli, the man who originally discovered what he believed to be "canals" on Mars, was losing his sight and would not be able to continue his work. A year later, after extensive site testing, Lowell established his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Here's an interesting article about Percival Lowell from the Boston Globe: The Man Who Invented Mars

Percival Lowell's primary goal for his observatory was to study the solar system--Mars in particular. He theorized that the Martians (yes, "intelligent life" forms) were trying to keep their planet alive via a network of canals which channeled water from the polar caps to the rest of the planet. Several Martian globes illustrated by Lowell are contained in the Observatory archives.

Lowell also conducted research on other planets (about them, that is, not on them), particularly Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and Venus. He was very involved in the search for a ninth planet, the existence of which he predicted mathematically by studying the oddities of Uranus's orbit which were not accounted for by Neptune. (Got that?) In addition, Lowell determined the internal makeup of Jupiter and Saturn by observing the movement of their satellites. He also sketched the surface of Mercury and determined periods of rotation for Mercury and Venus.

(Not that I understand any of that stuff, either.)

Percival Lowell died on November 12, 1916, and is buried in the mausoleum on Mars Hill, just a few hundred yards from where I'm sitting.

Located one mile west of downtown Flagstaff, Lowell's Mars Hill campus is home to the Steele Visitor Center, where you can join daytime guided tours every hour from 10:00 AM through 4:00 PM, or spend a star-filled evening of tours, exhibits and telescope viewing on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 5:30 PM.

When you visit Lowell, you can explore interactive exhibits, experience a 3-D digital space theater, see wide screen multimedia shows in the auditorium, learn about more than 100 years of Mars Hill history and observe the night sky through both modern and historic instruments.

And while you're on Mars (Hill), be sure to check out the 535-pound meteorite, installed in the Visitor Center by my husband, who's often called out of the machine shop to help with exhibits. This hunk o' celestial rock was donated by Verkamp's Souvenir Shop at the Grand Canyon, where it was on display for a century.

If you decide to become a member--or "friend"--of the Observatory, you can come on up and explore the Universe as often as you'd like with free admission. You'll also receive a complimentary subscription to the quarterly newsletter, The Lowell Observer.

Visit the Outreach section of Lowell's website for details about the observatory's regular programs and frequent special events.

On October 24th, 2001, the City of Flagstaff became the world's first International Dark-Sky City.The designation was awarded by the International Dark-Sky Association, a nearly 10,000-member, non-profit organization dedicated to building awareness of the problems of light pollution and promoting quality outdoor lighting.

Beginning with the arrival of Percival Lowell and his Clark Telescope, Flagstaff has become one of the world's premier deep space research sites. On April 15, 1958, the Flagstaff City Council passed Ordinance #400, banning advertising search lights that threatened to spoil the night sky. 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of that event and the beginning of a dark skies movement that is spreading across the world.

**See National Geographic Magazine's Our Vanishing Night.

Mars Hill and Observatory Mesa offer some of the best views of Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks. On your way up the hill from downtown, you'll see a pull-off just before the Observatory entrance. Once you're through with the visitor programs and maybe a nice walk in the woods, you can park for a while on your way out and watch and hear at least one of the more than 100 daily trains blow its horn through town.

After visiting the Observatory, you might like to take a walk amongst the Ponderosa pines, keeping your eyes and ears open for any number of critters that make the Coconino National Forest their home.

From the windows of our house on Mars (Hill), we see wildlife on a daily basis, including a resident gray fox, more Abert squirrels than I could ever count, and a herd of elk that pass by the back porch quite frequently. Mule deer, jackrabbits and ravens are also common, and, if you're lucky, perhaps you'll even spot a bobcat.

Beyond Lowell grounds are miles upon miles of undeveloped Observatory Mesa for your hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, x-country skiing, and critter-watching pleasure. Just park your car in the Visitor Center lot (not the employee lot ... thanks!) and off you go.

**To learn about some of the wildlife you might encounter on a hike in these parts, see my article, Wildlife of the Coconino National Forest

Another really great thing about Lowell Observatory is its support of the arts, particularly its artistic employees. Grounds & Buildings supervisor for more than 20 years, Jerry McGlothlin, now retired, is also an accomplished and versatile ceramicist, who created functional and elegant stoneware and porcelain in his Mars Hill studio. The studio was located in the C.O. Lampland Dome, also the Observatory's woodworking shop and greenhouse. Many a night we'd spend playing nickel Poker in the dome as Jerry fired his pottery in the kilns just outside. Shortly before Christmas for many years, Lowell Observatory sponsored an amazing show of Jerry's ceramics in the Rotunda museum.

Another of Lowell Observatory's multi-talented employees just happens to be my husband. Steve Lauman was born and raised in Flagstaff and, in his youth, experimented with the manipulation of materials. Whether it was bending wire into interesting shapes or melting aluminum cans in a campfire, he's always been fascinated by molding simple materials into something else. Growing up in the culturally rich Southwest, he learned to use these manipulations to express emotion, moments in time and feelings evoked by nature. He learned to weld and form steel with a torch given to him by his grandfather. This began his career as a metal fabricator and designer, not to mention contributed towards his myriad of skills which parlayed into his current job at the Observatory.

In addition to Steve's artistic metalwork, he also enjoys painting both abstracts and representational scenes. If you're interested in seeing more of Steve's creations, pay a visit to Goldenstein Gallery in uptown Sedona in the Verde Valley's beautiful, red rock country about 45 minutes from Flagstaff. (You can even sit on one of his funky benches out front.)

The Observatory now operates four research telescopes at its Anderson Mesa "dark sky" site, 12 miles southeast of Flagstaff, including the 72-inch Perkins Telescope in partnership with Boston University, and the 42-inch John S. Hall Telescope. Lowell is a partner with the U.S. Naval Observatory and Naval Research Laboratory in the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI), also located at that site. (There's a mouthful for ya!)

The Observatory operates smaller research telescopes in Australia and Chile and is currently building the Discovery Channel Telescope in partnership with Discovery Communications, Inc. in Happy Jack, AZ.

Forty miles southeast of Flagstaff in Happy Jack, Arizona, the 4.2-meter Discovery Channel Telescope, otherwise known as the "DCT," and its accompanying infrastructure sits atop a cinder cone at an elevation of 7,800 feet, surrounded by ponderosa pine forest as far as the eye can see.

The DCT is a powerful research tool for areas including the search for Near Earth Objects (NEOs), extrasolar planets, and exploration of the newly-discovered Kuiper Belt. It will also expand opportunities for public outreach and education in the world of science and technology.

Here's an article about the Discovery Channel Telescope from the November 9, 2009 edition of the Arizona Daily Sun, featuring an interview with Heather Marshall, who served as the mechanical engineer for the Observatory's new world-class research telescope for about four years.

 
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