General Information
We're going to the Pinnacles - Pinnacles National Monument! This will be a fun and educational course which will get you hip-deep in astronomy. It is offered in close conjunction with Geology 27 "Geology of the Pinnacles" taught by Cabrillo geology instructor Dave Schwartz. Geo 27 will teach you about the geology of the Pinnacles, and Dave and I together will help you understand the connections between planetary science, stellar evolution, and the crustal forces on Earth which shaped the unique and beautiful landforms of the Pinnacles. We'll be camping at Pinnacles Campground.
This is a weekend course on general astronomy by direct observation. Upon completion, you'll have earned 1 unit of astronomy credit. We'll be staying at Pinnacles Campground - a private campground. IMPORTANT NOTE: Pinnacles has two entrances; one on the west side, reached from Soledad, and one on the east side, reached from south of Hollister. We will be staying on the east side; don't make the mistake one person did by driving down the Salinas Valley. Maps and details will be given out.
Thursday; 5~8 pm: Astronomy. General orientation, planning food, carpooling, lecture on origin of solar system/stars in planetarium. Planetarium session. Maps, instructions for arrival.
Fri afternoon thru Saturday night: At Pinnacles Campground just outside Pinnacles National Monument. Astronomy lectures/discussion/telescopic observing Friday and Saturday evenings.
****** IMPORTANT!!! ******* We must pay to reserve a group campsite at this private campground early, and these sites are expensive. You are responsible for the $17 per person campground fee (entirely separate from Cabrillo College fees!). Therefore, you must pay to the bookstore $17 (using the voucher forms you get at the orientation from Dave Schwartz)in order to receive an ADD slip which you can take to the registration desk. This is why you will not be able to add this course on HawkTalk or at the registration desk. You must get instructor approval to add! No one may add the class UNTIL the orientation. Everyone gets the same starting gun!
* Many people ask whether they can bring along a friend, "significant other", or kids/dogs. The school forbids us from handling people who are not officially registered for the class, for insurance reasons as well as cost. That means that no one will be welcome unless they have registered for the class. Perhaps I should be more explicit; NO KIDS! NO AUDITS BY UNREGISTERED PEOPLE!
* You will be carpooling to Pinnacles, meeting the instructor Rick Nolthenius at the campsite Friday afternoon. We'll organize carpools at the on-campus meeting.
* This trip requires camping on Friday nite and Saturday nite. There are no motels within 40 miles of Pinnacles, and the astronomy portion of the weekend will last until near midnite. So, be prepared to bring or share....
- sleeping bag
- tent (there are wild boar to watch out for)
- camp food (keep it in the car unless you're eating it!)
- cooking gear
- warm clothes (It has sometimes dropped below freezing before dawn)
- sunscreen, Ray-bans
- binoculars or telescope would be nice if you have them
- star chart if you have one
- field notebook
- daypack for any day hikes you want to do, or stuff for lounging at the pool.
- lawn chair for relaxing/ listening to the lectures/tanning at the pool
* The campsite is accessible by car so you do not need backpacks. It has water, restrooms, showers, a small store, even a pool.
* The trip will go, rain or shine. If it's raining (god forbid!) bring rain gear.
* This is an officially sponsored Cabrillo course and the instructors and the College can get in a lot of trouble if anybody does anything dumb. So....leave your automatic weapons, rifles, alcohol, and recreational drugs home for this one!
Particulars
Here's the format; Our experience is that it is difficult to hold a lecture Friday before dark because people need time to set up and eat dinner. So, after camp set‑up and dinner, we'll go directly to observations, beginning at dark, with a lecture-while-observing. At dark, we'll uncap the Cabrillo telescopes to view planets, double stars, galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, etc. For eager-beavers, there may be an opportunity to take some night photos (not through the telescopes, unfortunately) afterwards. For more on astrophotography consider Astro 9: Astrophotography Rick will discuss various topics while you observe them in the telescopes. Saturday during the day you'll be at work in Dave Schwartz' Geology 27 course (co-requisite). There's hiking, weird rock formations, unique caves with waterfalls inside to explore, and of course the famous lecture at the pool afterwards. Saturday evening we'll start dinner preparations at before dark. After dinner, we'll have a "`round the campfire ring" lecture on cosmology, galaxies, and the origin of the universe, then go to the telescopes for more viewing.
* Preparatory reading: "Universe" by William Kaufmann or "Cosmic Perspectives" by Jeffrey Bennett. We'll be doing the highlights. This book is on reserve in the library. Please pay special attention to the sections on stars and galaxies and cosmology, towards the end of the book. Try and do your reading before our trip, so you can ask impressive questions around the camp!
* Your grade will be based on attendence at all sessions, demonstrated curiosity, and on a take-home, open book final exam.
There will be more handouts and details on where we will be staying, etc. at the in-class sessions. Please note that these are required attendence! I look forward to seeing you.