Penticton teacher reaching for the stars
Four centuries after Galileo had his earth-shaking revelations while observing the moons of Jupiter, the world is celebrating the international year of astronomy. But at Penticton Secondary, science teacher and amateur astronomer Bruce Gow is just looking for a way to get the school’s powerful telescope dusted off and back in operation in a new observatory.
For a few years, Pen High was a member of an elite club — one of a very few high schools in North America that had its own observatory, at least until ongoing construction of the school’s new campus forced the dismantling of the little building. With the telescope lying idle in his classroom, Gow is eager to get it back into action, so this important addition to the science curriculum can be restored.
There is some hope for getting the mostly idle instrument back in full use. Representatives from the board of education, district staff and Gow are meeting with contractor Larry Kenyon of Greyback Construction in hopes of brainstorming an idea that will get Pen High an operational observatory once again.
Greyback Construction was a major player in getting the first observatory set up, supplying both design and construction. Along with the aid of other Penticton businesses, the first observatory was built for a cost of $70 to the school.
The school’s telescope is a powerful reflector type with a 12-inch mirror, making it possible for students to observe and photograph galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. Using the moon as an example, Gow explains that even at low power, only a portion would be visible.
“If you turn it up to the highest power possible, you’re looking at craters inside craters.”
To get the most out of such a powerful and delicate instrument, Gow explains that a stable permanent base is best, so the telescope can be properly aligned.
“Students in the past have done a really great job of taking pictures of planets as well,” Gow said.
Use of the telescope and observatory as a learning tool wasn’t restricted to Pen High students. During the time it was operational, Gow said he had groups from the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts come in, as well as elementary school classes during the day.
“It’s powerful enough that we could look at a few of the planets during the day,” he said, adding that since the telescope was set up in a fixed position, it was easy to line it up with the objects they wanted to view, even in daylight.
At least one of the many students who used the observatory was inspired by what he saw through the telescope to become an astronomer. Patrick Ingram, Gow said, is attending university completing his degree in astronomy.
At the old Pen High, the observatory was shielded from the city lights by the walls of the central courtyard, something the new building lacks.
“We’ve done our best to look for sites on the ground around Pen High, but what we’ve found is there is just simply too much lighting down there. That doesn’t leave us with a lot of options,” said Gow, adding that they have considered possibilities from finding an indulgent farmer willing to set aside some space to relocating the operation to the Glenfir Academy, a private school in Summerland.
However, none of those relocation scenarios offer the ease of accessibility that made the observatory a functional part of Pen High. At present, Gow’s preferred option is to build the observatory on the roof of the school, above the city lights.
However, that idea also has its own set of challenges, including student safety, as well as vibrations transmitted through the structure that can cause problems with keeping it steady for the long exposures needed to photograph the heavens. As well, Gow said, it’s more costly to move it up to the roof compared to what they were doing before.
Trustee Tom Siddon, in particular, has been an enthusiastic supporter of getting the telescope back in action, saying it provides an important addition to the science curriculum at the school. He agrees with Gow that the roof location poses problems, but still thinks a solution can be found.
“He’s aware of the issue and he’s been by to see what we’ve done in the past and the equipment we’ve got,” said Gow. “I really appreciate the effort he’s been putting into looking at various solutions to keep the observatory here at Pen High.”
BlockTalk is your place for your voice to contribute news, events, videos and photos about your neighbourhood and family.
View the Community Map to see what is being said in 
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
All participants will register for an account. It's simple, takes seconds and will keep the comments free of trolls, cranks, and drive-by commenters.
As a community site, we ask that the community help by using the "Report" button on each comment if they feel a comment has violated these rules. You can also use the 'Like' button on each comment to voice your opinion about that particular comment.