You saved our ‘scope at the George Observatory! And this is how it happened.

Published by Peggy on April 22, 2014 at 12:01 pm in George Observatory

CliffsNotes: Thanks to all of you, we have done exactly what S.O.S. intended, and we saved our ‘scope!

HMNS is proud to own the largest telescope in the country that is open to the public on a regular basis, the Gueymard Research Telescope. Many of you have come and enjoyed the night skies and looked through this amazing telescope at the George Observatory. But it needed some well-deserved TLC this past winter.

You saved it!

The donations to repair the Gueymard telescope ranged from pennies to $10,000, and came from families, individuals, children, companies and foundations!

Special thanks go to Dr. Reggie DuFour, who launched the campaign with a generous $10,000 donation. We are also extremely grateful to major donations from The George Foundation and The Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation. We were also given a generous donation from elementary students at Shady Oak Christian School, who sent us over the top with their $1,800 donation, which was collected from their annual fun run.

Why is the Gueymard telescope so important to us — and to you?

On a clear night, it is incredible to be able to see with your own eyes the many wonders of the universe. There are other, larger telescopes, but they are far away and they are only available to scientists who apply for time and get their projects approved. These large ‘scopes use cameras which are then fed to an indoor area where scientists “look” with their computers. Here at the George Observatory, we think there is something very personal and magical about using your own eyes to look at Saturn or Jupiter or a galaxy far, far away.

The 36-inch Gueymard mirror and dome were purchased from LSU in advance of the 1989 opening of the George Observatory. LSU had owned and operated the ‘scope for 25 years in highly humid conditions, very similar to the ones in Brazos Bend State Park. Brazos Bend is a swamp and grassland, but it is also located conveniently about an hour away from light-polluted cities in and around Houston.

The unique relationship with Brazos Bend guarantees us a safe, dark place to view the skies. Most telescopes are put on top of mountains or out in dry deserts where the weather conditions allow for more nights of clear skies. When Halley’s Comet returned in 1986, thousands of visitors lined up at the park wanting to see the comet. We knew then, if not before (and certainly now), that there is a high interest level in everything astronomical in Houston.

We believed that because the mirror had already lived in a swamp for 25 years, it should continue to do well in similar conditions. This was true for a long time. However, several years ago we noticed that we really couldn’t see as well with the large scope. The mirror was becoming cloudy. In 2011, it was determined that the mirror surface had lost all reflectivity. After extensive research and phone consultations, the mirror was sent to Marian Schafer at Galco Electronics in Mesquite, TX. Galco, which is well-equipped to put coatings on mirrors, was selected based on its good reputation and, in part, its Dallas-area location – which allowed our volunteers to transport the mirror, saving shipping costs.

Mirrors are supposed to be shiny. This one was not.

Starting in December 2011, Marian stripped, cleaned, baked and held the mirror under a vacuum five times to try to remove contaminants from inside thousands of small microscopic fissures found on the surface and interior of the mirror. In addition, there are numerous other bubbles throughout the glass mirror that can be seen with the naked eye. Galco used a sub layer of chrome as a binder and then put a final coating of aluminum. When this coating failed, titanium was applied as the binder in order to block leeching contamination.

It was understood that if the titanium was put on, the only way to remove it would be to regrind the mirror. The titanium coating failed, and did not bond to the mirror surface. This first attempt helped us to determine exactly what needed to happen next with the mirror.

Time to hit the grind.

The next step to fix the telescope was to bring in an independent expert on a Ritchey-Creiten designed telescope like ours. James Mulhernin, from Optical Mechanics Inc. (OMI) was flown here from Iowa. Mulhernin determined the composition of the glass as excellent quality Pyrex, and also determined that the microscopic fissures were artifacts from when the mirror was originally made almost 50 years ago. Over time, pollution and microscopic “gunk” in the fissures prevented a coating from sticking to the mirror.

Mulhernin’s newer technology will allow us to re-grind the mirror and prevent any of these old issues from coming up again in the future. This is indeed great news for us here at the George Observatory.

The mirror was shipped to OMI and is currently being serviced. Reports are all very positive.

While the mirror is gone, we can still use the amazing 11-inch refractor with near-perfect lenses mounted on the side of the big telescope. But that’s another story as to how we removed a 458-pound mirror and can still remain open on Saturday nights!

Stay tuned for more updates on the repair progress, and start looking forward to the 25th Anniversary celebrations in October here at the George Observatory.

Attention, jewelry lovers: Glam up with new designers at our Museum Store!

Published by Jennifer on April 19, 2014 at 6:38 pm in Museum Store

Spring is a great time to refresh your look and we’ve got some new lines in the Museum Store just in time to help!

ax + apple

Jamie Lyn of ax + apple dabbled in almost every possible visual art before falling in love with jewelry design. Having worked on a few period films in her stint as a props person, she accumulated an assortment of vintage findings, including an array of world coins, various men’s pocket watch chains, and pen knives. She began artfully combining these and other fine vintage components, with a modern eye and an appreciation for “making things like they used to.”

Click here for ax + apple from the Museum Store

Blydesign

Katie Bly of Blydesign started her creative career as a classical pianist before exploring jewelry making. Her geometric line of hand-hammered brass features handmade resin “opals.”

Click here for Blydesign from the Museum Store

Made UK

MADE UK’s designers are dedicated to producing handmade jewelry, crafted from sustainable materials in a fair trade environment. The MADE workshop in Kenya employs over 60 artisans, from highly skilled to novice crafters. Raw materials are sourced locally, at a fair price, strengthening the local economy and small vendors.

Click here for Made UK from the Museum Store

MAWI London

MAWI London is a luxury costume jewelry line based in Shoreditch, London. Inspired by Indian jewels and the British punk scene, MAWI is high-glam and high-attitude. With a flagship store in London, a Montenegro boutique, and a presence in stores like Harrods and Selfridges, HMNS is proud to be only the store in Texas (and the only museum in North America) to represent the line.

Click here for MAWI London from the Museum Store

Celebrate Earth Day 2014 with environmental documentary Trashed at its Houston premiere

Published by Amy P on April 17, 2014 at 2:43 pm in Education

The beauty of Earth from space stands in stark contrast to the view from the ground. There is now more human detritus across the globe than ever before. Industrialization, coupled with exponential population increases, pose a serious threat to the life and health of humans and ecosystems across the world.

A scene from the documentary Trashed, making its Houston premiere Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in celebration of Earth Day 2014.

A scene from the documentary Trashed, making its Houston premiere on Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in celebration of Earth Day 2014.

Vast landscapes in China are covered in tons of rubbish. The wide waters of the Ciliwung River in Indonesia are now barely visible under a never-ending tide of plastic. Children swim among leaking bags; mothers wash in the sewage-filled supply.

On a beach in Lebanon, a mountain of rubbish towers — a pullulating eyesore of medical waste, household trash, toxic fluids and dead animals. It’s the result of 30 years of consumption by Sidon, just one small city. As the day’s new consignments are added to the top, debris tumbles off the side and into the blue of the Mediterranean.

“There is an equally urgent need for the most imaginative and productive solutions to this troublesome subject to be understood and shared by as many communities as possible throughout the world. This is where movies can play such an important role: educating society, bringing ‘difficult’ subjects to the broadest possible audience,” says Irons on the urgent need for addressing the problem of waste and sustainability.

In the North Pacific, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch shows the detrimental effect of plastic waste on marine life. Chlorinated dioxins and other man-made persistent organic pollutants are attracted to the plastic fragments. These are eaten by fish, which absorb the toxins. We then eat the fish, accumulating more poisonous chemicals in our already burdened bodies.

Meanwhile, global warming, accelerated by the emissions from landfill and incineration, is melting the ice caps and releasing decades of these old poisons, which had been stored in the ice, back into the sea.

Each year, we throw away 58 billion disposable cups, billions of plastic bags, 200 billion liters of water bottles, billions of tons of household waste, toxic waste and e-waste. We keep making things that do not break down.

You have all heard these horrifying facts before. In Trashed, you can discover what happens to the billion or so tons of waste that go unaccounted for each year.

The documentary Trashed makes its Houston debut Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

In the award-winning documentary Trashed, Academy-Award winning actor Jeremy Irons travels to locations around the world to see how natural landscapes are now tainted by pollution to discover the extent and effects of the global waste problem. He then turns to hope and searches for solutions. From individuals who have changed their lives and produce almost no waste, to increasing anti-waste legislation, to an entire city which is now virtually waste-free, he discovers that change is not only essential, but happening.

Join Dr. Herb Ward, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University for the Houston premiere of Trashed on Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This is a great way to celebrate Earth Day 2014.

Click here for advance tickets.

To learn more about the film, visit trashedfilm.com or watch the trailer for Trashed below.

Everything at HMNS is yours, Houston, so OWN IT!

Published by Vincent on April 15, 2014 at 3:01 pm in React+Interact

Texans know big. We’ve got a big state where they say everything’s bigger. Of course, there are the stereotypes about big hair, big portions, big hearts (OK, these are rooted in some truth) — but there are also a lot of big families.

The HMNS family definitely fits into that category. Everyone who walks through our doors is a part of our family, so, in fact, we’re a very, very big family. We’re a family that grows every day!

While we’re at it, you should know that we love having y’all as our family. Houstonians are a great bunch, what with their drive, ingenuity and seemingly endless energy and perseverance. And no matter what you’re doing, you OWN IT. You take the resources around you and use them to further yourself, your family and community.

So why would anything be different when you come to HMNS? When you come here and wind your way through our Morian Hall of Paleontology, gazing up at terrifying pterodactyls and massive mammoths … you OWN IT. Really, they’re yours.

How about the mummies in the Hall of Ancient Egypt? Yup, they’re yours too. The sparkling stones you see in the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, the mollusks in the Strake Hall of Malacology, the mesmerizing energy on display in the Wiess Hall of Energy – everything is here for you.

When you’re here, you’re home. We want you to be yourself, to let your guard down and have fun. To let awe and wonder wash over you. We want to teach children and drive them to achieve. We want to bring you incredible, invigorating, inspirational science — because we know what Houstonians can do when given the chance and the tools succeed.

They innovate. They build. They dream. They do everything!

So come to HMNS and OWN IT. Own it all. Everything within these four walls. We’ve got the resources, and you’ve got the imagination and drive. Together, we’re unstoppable.