> Sky is the limit at new SFU observatory

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Contact:
Howard Trottier, 778.782.4465, 604.612.2786 (cell), trottier@sfu.ca
Sophie Lavieri, 778.782.3537, slavieri@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca

Correction Appended

No

Two million dollars is hardly worth the price of a lottery ticket these days. But, to Simon Fraser University’s dynamic duo in science outreach, Howard Trottier and Sophie Lavieri, it’ll make the difference between building an observatory and science outreach centre on Burnaby Mountain and reaching for the stars.

Trottier, a physicist, and Sophie Lavieri, a chemist, are moving full speed ahead with fundraising.

With $2 million in the observatory’s coffers from a private donor, SFU needs only $2 million more to construct a facility that will rival Vancouver’s H.R. MacMillan Planetarium in terms of scientific community outreach. And, it will surpass such programming at other university observatories nationally, which are focused on undergraduate teaching rather than community outreach. SFU will give equal weight to both.

To be constructed next to the Diamond Alumni Centre—which boasts having some of Greater Vancouver’s darkest star-studded skies—the 458-square-metre facility will feature:

• A motorized 8-metre diameter dome, visible from the road leading up to the Burnaby campus and housing a 0.7-metre diameter reflector telescope, capable of tracking distant galaxies billions of years old.
• A telescope providing a digital feed to display screens in adjoining classrooms and to off-site locations such as schools.
• A viewing plaza dotted with sundials for people to set up their own telescopes next to the dome.
• 140 square metres of reconfigurable floor space to accommodate 48 people in a lab setting and up to 100 people in a classroom format.
• An introductory astronomy course and an advanced undergraduate astrophysics course offered by the SFU physics department.

“We desperately need this facility to accommodate our busting-at-the-seams astronomic programming,” says Trottier, founder of SFU’s free wildly popular Starry Night parties, which typically draw more than 100 school-aged kids and their families. “We’re turning schools and families away right now because we don’t have a permanent space, equipment and support staff for these programs.”

“The community demand for this is huge,” adds Lavieri, founder of SFU’s equally popular Science in Action program, which brings school kids into SFU labs to participate in free custom-made workshops.

“We need to inspire the next generation of scientists at a young age if we’re going to solve the challenging problems facing today’s world. Right now we’re financing science workshops that attract more than 5,000 students annually on a wing and a prayer.”

Trottier and Lavieri say the envisioned observatory would enable them to double or triple the number of participants in their workshops and events.

(Photo available for download at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfupamr/4831779297/)

Backgrounder: Sky is the limit at new SFU observatory

SFU scientists Howard Trottier and Sophie Lavieri are concocting a full day of events on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Burnaby campus to help raise public and potential donor awareness of SFU’s envisioned observatory. They and the Vancouver chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC)—which works with the duo and will be an observatory user and volunteer—are bringing in a space star as a presenter.

James Whiteway, associate professor of space engineering at York University, will talk about his work on the now world famous weather station on the Mars/Phoenix Lander project.

The day—which will also celebrate Astronomy Day, a North America-wide event hosted by the RASC nationally—will feature a solar scavenger hunt, astronomic and Science in Action workshops and a Starry Night party.

Trottier and Lavieri will present free telescopes to families who have attended the required number of workshops and Starry Night parties to be eligible to win the equipment.

—30—

Correction: October 20, 2010
The original version of this story stated: "Star-struck by SFU’s approval of the construction of the $4 million multi-purpose facility, Trottier, a physicist, and Sophie Lavieri, a chemist, are moving full speed ahead with fundraising." SFU approves the observatory concept but has not approved the construction of this facility.

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