CLUSTER
Chandra: Loaning UvaS Telescopes to EducatoRs


What is CLUSTER?

The Chandra X-ray Telescope is funding an exciting educational opportunity for teachers and students. The University of Virginia’s Department of Astronomy is loaning telescopes to teachers in Virginia and providing training on how to use them.

Teachers can borrow a kit containing one Meade 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a tripod, and several eyepieces suitable for viewing a variety of celestial objects. Kits are loaned for two months and can be used to host an evening star party at their school, to conduct experiments with their students, and to enjoy other projects.

CLUSTER is managed by Steve Layman, a long time member of the Charlottesville Astronomical Society. Support for this education and outreach program was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through Chandra award GO0-11097X to Dr. Craig Sarazin of the University of Virginia, issued by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, which is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for and on behalf of NASA under contract NAS8-03060.

Additional funding was provided by the Friends of the McCormick Observatory. For information on supporting their education and outreach programs, please visit their webpage.


How To Get Involved

Thank you for your interest in the CLUSTER Telescope Loaner Project. We have 10 telescope kits available for each session. Each instructor checking out a telescope will be required to participate in a six hour orientation session which will be held at the University of Virginia’s McCormick Observatory in Charlottesville. The dates and times for these sessions for the 2011 – 2012 academic year are (all dates are Saturdays):

Sep  15, 20124 – 10 pm
Nov  17, 20122 –   8 pm
Jan  19, 20132 –   8 pm
Mar  30, 20134 – 10 pm


The telescope kits can be transported in the trunk and/or back seat of a passenger car. Telescope kits will need to be returned no later than 3 days prior to the date of the next session.

If you are interested in participating in the project, please send your first and second choice of session dates to Steve Layman.

For teachers already involved with CLUSTER, there is an internal collaboration site (Collab).