Our guests really enjoy the many facets of the observatory. On clear weekend nights, the computer controlled GPS telescopes are brought out so folks can actually see the planets, moon, and the stars. The International Space Station makes regular appearances over Roseland and hundreds of guests have marveled that they could actually see it easily. In addition to looking through telescopes, I am happy to give “Doc Tocs” * which are brief lectures about celestial topics that have proven extremely popular. And with the sponsorship of Roseland management, several afternoon parties are held on the observatory deck where refreshments are served and activities such as launching hot air balloons liven up the experience. Additionally, when the weather cancels out a star party, I will show a DVD on the indoor flat screen TV that features an astronomy topic.

No visit to Roseland is complete without a visit to the observatory!

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

The observatory at Roseland commenced full operation in 2008 as a working astronomical observatory. “Doc” Dr. John Occhuizzo has creating a curriculum of observing and learning in return for which he gets to put his telescopes on the best observing spot on the hill! Doc John’s career was education. After obtaining his B.S. in physics and math from Saint Vincent College, he taught senior high school physics, astronomy, and computer programming for a suburban Pittsburgh school district where he became the science department chairman. He was responsible for the science education of over 8000 student grades K-12. Doc also taught graduate secondary education courses on three University of Pittsburgh campuses. It was at Pitt that Doc earned his master’s and doctorate degrees.

MISSION STATEMENT

The skies over West Virginia are dark and clear. Perfect conditions for stargazing with a telescope. I have built an actual astronomical observatory atop Rosehill. The two quotes reproduced below echo the motivation behind the observatory. My hobby of astronomy has given me much pleasure in the past half century. I built my first telescope before man walked on the moon! In my retirement years I finally have the time to pursue full-time my personal quest to understand the universe in which I live. It is my self-assignment to advance my knowledge of the universe with practical astronomy and utilize my natural curiosity about the heavens to amplify the grandeur I see in creation. It is thus incumbent upon me to share this knowledge and provide the opportunity for others to explore these wonders.

Dr. John Occhuizzo

“Since the dawn of history, Man has pondered the riddle of the origin and structure of the universe. Pondering, however, didn’t get man very far.” Quote Tim Ferris “The most beautiful thing about the universe is the human ability to comprehend it”...”When you think about it for a moment, the human comprehension of the universe is nothing short of miraculous.” Quote Mario Livio, STSI

My pride and joy is my Meade LX90 Schmidt-Cassegranian telescope with computerized GOTO capabilities. This scope is a powerful instrument that gives virtuoso performances when the sky is dark and the stars seem so close you can reach out and grab them! But I also have a few refractors or modest aperture and the several pairs of an observer’s best friend, binoculars! And I just got started in digital astrophotography with a CCD camera. The camera replaces the eyepiece of a telescope and the output goes to my laptop. The computer, with the use of powerful software, takes the best of many images and creates a final image that rivals those taken by huge telescopes back when photographic film was the medium. I plan to do several experiments with the camera other than just take pretty awesome pictures. For instance, I want to measure the height of some mountains on the moon by measuring the shadow cast on the plain below. The list of projects includes an animation AVI’s of Jupiter’s rotation which will also let me measure it’s rotational period and that of its satellites Io and Callisto too. I also have a great library of books about astronomy, atlases, maps, and charts. There are loads of DVD’s on physical science and topics in astronomy. The infrastructure is here, waiting for people to come to Roseland and share the joys of the night sky with me. Remember the motto, at Roseland, it’s all about the view.

And the view just gets better after sunset!
Clear Skies!
Dr. John Occhuizzzo

Below is a list of internet links of interest to stargazers.............

http://www.earthsky.org
http://www.3ap.org/ Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh
http://www.deepskysoftware.net/buyit.html
http://www.astromart.com/ Classified ads of astronomy equipment
http://lunarrepublic.com/
http://www.oarval.org/MoonMapen.htm
http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu.html
http://www.heavens-above.com/
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/
http://www.cloudynights.com/
http://www.supernovae.net/isn.htm
http://www.lightsout.org/
http://www.aavso.org/
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/
http://sec.noaa.gov/pmap/index.html
http://www.spaceweather.com/
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/

Want to study astronomy at home, online, and free? Here is a link to the online astronomy course that covers two semesters and hundreds of topics. The curriculum was prepared by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Curious? Give it a try.

The syllabus for the two semester course can be seen at these web sites:

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/

The lesson plans for each of these courses can be examined at these web sites:

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/index.html
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/index.html

* What’s a “Doc Toc”? Here is a typical lecture that Doc has given on summer evenings:

The MOON Did You Know:
The same side of the moon faces the earth at all times. This is because the moon rotates on its axis at the same rate as it revolve around earth. Gravitational friction with the earth slowed it down to this pace. This was not always the case. The moon was once very close to the earth (<25,000 miles) and appeared 10 times bigger in the sky. Both earth and moon had much faster rates of rotation. The moon was created from a fiery collision when a Mars sized object slammed into the very young earth about 4 ½ billion years ago resulting in a tremendous conflagration. The newly enlarged earth regained its spherical personality after more than 100,000 years. The debris from the collision coalesced an we got a very unique moon in the process. It is speculated that the earth was surrounded by rings after the collision, much like Saturn. But the moon would eventually clear the debris from orbit. For many millions of years, the close proximity of the moon caused 1000 foot high tides of water and lava from much volcanic action on earth. There was, obviously, no life yet evolved on earth. The day was about 10 hours long and the moon rose and set twice daily and all sides could be seen from earth. Gravitational interaction slowed both bodies by tidal friction and put them in lock step. This process also pushed the moon a bit farther from earth with each passing year. As the moon moved further away, the tidal effects lessened and both bodies evolved into what we see today. It is a remarkable coincidence that we humans have evolved at a time when the moon is just far enough away to totally eclipse the sun as seen from earth. This will not always be the case. The moon is moving away from earth at about 1 inch per year.