June 15, 2005
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
or Jocelyn Collado
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COUNTDOWN CONTINUES FOR BISHOP MUSEUM’S
COSMIC “COMET COLLISION” VIEWING PARTY
HONOLULU – The course has been set, the spacecraft has been launched, and the countdown to a comet collision has begun. The NASA mission, “Deep Impact,” is on schedule for a collision between a NASA space probe and Comet Tempel 1 on Sunday, July 3, 2005 at 7:52 p.m. Hawai‘i Standard Time. The mission is the first of its kind, and Hawai‘i is one of the few places in the world where this event will be visible. Bishop Museum will be an optimal place to watch this historic occasion.
Stargazers and space explorers alike are invited to bring their binoculars and telescopes to Bishop Museum’s Great Lawn from 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. for “Comet Collision Countdown.” Space experts from the University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy and members of the Hawaiian Astronomical Society will be on campus to point guests in the right direction and give them access to use their state-of-the-art telescopes.
Event-goers can also enjoy a selection of space adventures and fun with hands-on activities, planetarium and StarLab shows, ono food and more! Astronomers from the UH Institute for Astronomy also will present special lectures every half-hour beginning at 5:30 p.m. Presenters and topics featured include:
- Toby Owen - “Did Comet Showers Cause Our Flowers?”
- Gareth Wynn-Williams – “Deep Impact – An Overview”
- Mark Willman – “Searching for New Earths”
- Jeff Morgan – “Pan-Starrs: A New Way to Search for Near-Earth Objects”
The historic NASA mission was designed as an attempt to collect information that may reveal answers to the formation and evolution of our solar system. The copper-fortified probe is designed to obliterate itself without the use of explosives after it collides with the comet at 23,000 mph, creating a crater in the comet’s surface that could swallow the Roman Coliseum.
Before the impact, the comet will be too faint to see without a telescope or good binoculars, but it will be near two bright objects, the star Spica and the planet Jupiter. At impact, astronomers anticipate that the impact will probably be visible to the naked eye. The impact itself should produce a brief flash while the ejected material should remain illuminated by the sun for hours or even days.
Admission to “Comet Collision Countdown” is $3 and free for Bishop Museum members and children under age 3. For additional information about Bishop Museum programming, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
A treasured resource of Hawaiian history and heritage Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop as a tribute to his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty. Located at 1525 Bernice Street, the Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $14.95 for adults; $11.95 for youth 4-12 years, special rates for kama‘āina, seniors and military; children under 4 years and Bishop Museum Members are free. For information, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org