Spring 2001
            Field Trip to Chaco Canyon
    Astronomy
    & Cosmologies

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    		 Looks like we are planning on leaving Sat.5.May and returning Sun.13.May.  Distance = 1300 miles ~ 20 hours.

    We'll drive two days each way in school vans.  Pay for vans in advance at the cashier's window:  $130 into account 111725-5600

    See the WebX discussion for more details...
     
    Itinerary Preparation Food and Vans
    Equipment Projects Reports

    Before we go:
    * pay cashier $130 for vans (#111725), give (Ellie) $40 for shared food, and give (Eliie) $30 for camping (slip it in her window:  T107.  Use an envelope with your name on it.  3rd window - dark curtain - furthest frm the door)
    * get your equipment together
    * plan our on-site observing projects
    * get a college driver's permit from Sherry at the Motor Pool ( x6354)
    * sign the field trip waiver form and give Zita your driver's license number
    * do the Preparations below, as a group
    * send Mom a card before you leave or a postcard from Chaco

    Itinerary:
    Sat.5.May:  meet vans 8:30 am, leave 9 am SHARP.  Drive all day.
      Camp overnight in  Bruneau Dunes, ID (600 miles) or Willard Bay, UT (830 miles)
    Sun.6.May:  drive the rest of the way, to just outside Chaco.  Everyone gets one last shower to last us the rest of the week (I hope).
    Mon.7.May:  morning into Chaco.  Where is the Sun rising?  Set up camp, visit the visitor's center and museum, get the lay of the land.
    Tues-Friday:  Do our research projects.  Do we want to spend a day at Hovenweep or Mesa Verde?
      Hike out to Penasco Blanco to see the Supernova Pictograph.
    Saturday 12.May:  break camp at sunrise, hit the road, and eat breakfast outside Chaco.  Drive halfway home.
      Overnight in cheap hotel or camp in ___ State Park.  Everyone gets a shower, finally!
    Sunday 13.May (Mother's Day):  Drive all day, arrive home late.

    Preparation:
    See the Before We Go list above.

    Reread the Covenant.  Represent Evergreen with dignity - impress outsiders with how intelligent, mature, and responsible Greeners can be.  Remember - absolutely no illegal drugs or alcohol.  No second chances - first violation earns an immediate trip back home, at your own expense.

    __ find out who to call about access to Fajada Butte so Zita can get permission
    __ do we need reservations at Chaco?
    __ do we want to stop at Hovenweep or Mesa Verde?  On the way out or back?


    Food:  (who?) is coordinating vegan meals for us to share.  We can stop at grocery stores along the way for picnics.  If you want meat, you can supplement with your personal stash.  Bring treats to share.  Wash your hands!  We don't want to get sick.  Drink more water than you think you need - it's easy to dehydrate out there, and you won't know until too late.

    Equipment:  tell Keith what you need: freeztar@hotmail
    camping gear
    clothes
    personal
    sleeping bag rain jacket, rain pants, and rain hat toiletries: toothbrush, soap, deodorant, ...
    insulating pad fleece jacket, knit hat, gloves, sun hat prescription drugs, sunblock
    tent (to share) hiking boots, light shoes sunglasses + extra prescription glasses
    2 water bottles pants and shorts gum, granola, hard candy, turkey jerky, ...
    back pack, fanny pack, 
    water carrier    		 2 long-sleeved shirts and 2 t-shirts planisphere, observing notebook, a few good binocs and tripods (we'll also bring a telescope)
    cookstove, pots & pans underwear, wool socks, light socks Audubon guide, SW, Cather, other books?
    your two best research articles
    pocketknife, compass
    plate, cup, mug, utensils    		 sweatpants and sweatshirt biodegradable TP, ziplocs, wet wipes
    cash
    red flashlight AND white flashlight driver's license and insurance ID card

    On-site research projects:

    Penasco Blanco astro info

    In addition to pursuing your own observations for your class research projects, we will undertake several of these as a group.
    Volunteers needed to find or bring:
    * USGS maps showing the difference between true and magnetic north at Chaco
    * Starry Night data on solsticial sunrises and sunsets
    * Starry Night data on the Crab Nebula
    * string, compass, maglite flashlight

    Gnomon and cardinal directions:  put a  stick in the ground and carefully mark the path of the sun with stones.  Find the cardinal directions.

      Then try to construct a square as in Casa Rinconada.  How far off are our orientations?  How can we tell?  Compare to the orientation of CR's postholes (p.37) to about half a degree.


    Solsticial sunrises and sunsets:

      Look up Chaco's latitude before we go and use Starry Night to find the directions of sunrise and sunset at winter and summer solstice.
      Look up the difference between magnetic north and true north at Chaco, using a geological map.  Record the difference so we can use compasses to orient ourselves.
      On site:  use a compass to find the directions of solsticial sunrises and sunsets.  Mark the directions with sticks and strings.
      At night:  shine a flashlight into an observing window from the direction of sunrise or sunset, and see where the beam falls on the wall (Ex:  Pueble Bonito p.35, Casa Rinconado p.37, Hovenweek Castle p.39-41
    Crab Nebula at Penasco Blanco:  what direction does the PB "supernova" site face?  What time of year did the 1054 supernove appear?  Use Starry Night to find out where in the sky the Crab Nebula's source was in 1054:  what direction?  what time of day or night?  Then think about what a Chacoan observer might have actually seen from the Penasco Blanco site.  Bring a compass and check the viewing directions when you're out there.  Remember to correct to true north, using the geological maps.

    Other on-site project ideas?  (Ex:  rising and setting stars....)


    Vans:
    One quiet van (minimal music, soft talk, good place to read or sleep or relax) and
    one noisy van - driver gets to decide how loud the radio plays.
    Drivers:  Zita (quiet van), Sarah, Meagan, Adam, Ellie
    Please get a college driving permit from Sherry Parsons (motorpool x6354) and give Zita your driver's license number by Thursday 26.April  for paperwork.
    Maintained by: E.J. Zita