Astronomy Project at JJMO
In February of 2018 I became a volunteer at the John J. McCarthy Observatory in New Milford, CT. While there I volunteered as assistant instructor for two Adult Education astronomy courses, was a co-teacher for a week-long astronomy camp, helped confirm newly discovered asteroids by imaging them and submitting the images to the Minor Planet Center, assembled a new telescope and added tools such as lasers and finderscopes. I was also in charge of helping guests use this telescope during the monthly event. In 2019, I was presented the Lisa Glukhovsky Award for Outstanding Observatory Student of the Year.
I also began my own project in which I used a CCD camera on Meade telescope to image and catalog galaxies. After taking several images, I would create a time-lapse and study it. The hope was that I would see a moving dot, which could be an undiscovered asteroid or comet. Weeks later, I would take a picture of the same galaxy and compare the photos. If there was a bright spot that had not been there previously, then it could be a supernovae.
(Top Left) A picture of the 16″ Meade Schmidt Cassegrain telescope which was used for imaging. The wide field 106 mm Takahashi refracting telescope was used for tracking.
(Left) The JJMO from outside.
(Above) A few examples of the types of galaxy pictures I would take for my project.
I did work with imaging tools to take out noise from the images and to darken them, however their main purpose was to be fast and functional, rather than presentational.
Although I did not discover any asteroids or supernovae, I am eternally grateful for my decision to begin volunteer work and my project at the JJMO. I learned so much about astronomy, telescope operation, and imaging, and I also met incredible people and some of my best mentors.
The observatory also has a beautiful garden on the side. In the summer of 2020 I assisted in planting and caring for a new pollinator meadow on the grounds.
