May 242012
 
May 24, 2012 - Transit of Venus, Join Us for A Public NRAO-Etscorn-MRO Event

When Venus passes directly between earth and the sun, we see the distant planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun.  Historically, this rare alignment is how we measured the size of our solar system. The next transit of Venus occurs June 5 or 6, 2012, depending on your location.  Observers in North America see it the evening of June 5. This will be the last transit of Venus to occur in your lifetime. A transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes directly between the sun and earth.  This alignment is rare, coming in pairs that are […]

May 152012
 
May 15, 2012 - Best Places to View the Annular Eclipse From: Socorro and Albuquerque Areas

Updated May 17, 2012 On Sunday, May 20, 2012 an annular eclipse of the sun will be visible from a narrow corridor that will traverse the Earth’s northern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon’s antumbral shadow will begin in eastern Asia and will cross the North Pacific Ocean where it will end in west Texas. Most of the state of New Mexico lies in the path of the eclipse providing a rare opportunity for the astronomy community, enthusiasts and non-entusiasts to witness an amazing event. Here we list some of the best places in central New Mexico to view the […]

May 142012
 
May 14, 2012 - Fun, Easy and Safe Ways To View Solar Eclipses

When it comes to looking at the sun, eclipsed or not, it can be dangerous to look at it directly. NEVER look at the sun directly, even with sunglasses. You can potentially damage your eyes, which could lead to temporary or permanent blindness. However there are plenty of ways to look at the sun at any given time, or during an eclipse event, such as the annular eclipse coming up on May 20, 2012. Here are a few and cost effective (and even fun) aways you can view the eclipse: SAFETY NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN! Looking directly at the sun […]

May 142012
 
May 14, 2012 - MRO Students Graduate

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 New Mexico Tech held its 2012 Commencement ceremonies. Kelsey Miller and Stephen Jimenez were among the 300 hundred students that were awarded their Bachelor of Science degrees. During their undergraduate careers Miller and Jimenez made great contributions to the MRO Interferomter project development in optical instrumentation and mechanical design projects. Jimenez joined MRO in 2009 as a  Mechanical Engineering major and worked on the Delay Line subsystem, design of anchoring systems for optical tables, and design of NESSI instrument components. Completing his degree requirements in December of 2011, Jimenez received a position as a Mechanical Engineer in the Los […]

Apr 032012
 
April 3, 2012 - New Paper Discusses MROI's Potential For Imaging Circumstellar Disks and Planets

  MROI project scientist, Dr. M. Creech-Eakman, is a co-author of a paper, Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers which will appear shortly in the “Astronomy and Astrophysics Review”. The paper details how current optical and infrared interferometers can contribute to theoretical issues associated with the formation and evolution of stars and planets. The data obtained from the interferometers will also help to discriminate among competing models of the processes involved in the evolutionary processes. The paper also details how this work will complement studies taking place at other facilities, such as ALMA and JWST, over the […]