UPEI dedicates observatory to former astronomy professor - Action News
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PEI

UPEI dedicates observatory to former astronomy professor

UPEI has dedicated the observatory located on top of Memorial Hall to Professor Earl Wonnacott, to honour his legacy and efforts in the field of astronomy on P.E.I.

Earl L. Wonnacott Observatory honours the professor who helped make it possible

An inside look at UPEI's observatory and the man who made it happen

4 years ago
Duration 2:43
UPEI's sky-studying structure has been dedicated to former professor Earl Wonnacott, who taught students on P.E.I. for more than 50 years and was instrumental in getting it built.

The motor kicks in, slowly raising the viewing hatch to reveal the celestial bodies shining on this crisp January night ready for their close-up from the Celestron CPC 1100 telescope mounted in the University of Prince Edward Island observatory.

The silver dome-shaped tower sits atop Memorial Hall on the Charlottetown campus.

Megan Glover, a laboratory technician in the physics department, controls the direction of the telescope using a computerized control pad to find the bright cratered surface of the first quartermoon.

Even though the opening of the dome and telescope can swivel in all directions, Glover said they are still somewhat limited as to what a group of students can see in the artificially illuminated city skies.

A Celestron CPC 1100 telescope with a Schmidt-Cassegrain optics design type can be swiveled around to see different celestial bodies. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

"We're still able to show them things like planets, some star clusters, nebula, the occasional galaxyif the weather is cooperating enough," Glover said. "It's just a way for them to have a firsthand view of something rather than just seeing it as a picture on a textbook or a website."

Behind her, placed on a wall near the exit ofthe 2.5-metrediameter dome, is a newly added plaque.

"The Earl L. Wonnacott Observatory," it reads, dedicatingthe structure to the former professor who was instrumental in getting it installed in 1980.

Professor Earl Wonnacott from a CBC archive video explaining a solar event from Oct. 2, 1986. (CBC)

'Just a tremendous experience'

Wonnacottbegan teachingat Prince of Wales College in the 1940s. He continued as a PWC professor with breaks to upgrade his own education, as well as serve in the Second World War untilthecollege merged with St. Dunstan'sUniversity to form UPEIin 1969.

The Earl L. Wonnacott Observatory is located on top of Memorial Hall. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

There he taught physics andastronomy and was the chair of the physics department in the 1980s.

Bill Whelan, current chair of the department, took one of Wonnacott's twoastronomy courses as an undergrad and calls it "just a tremendous experience.

"He had a very soft-spoken, very gentle manner and such an enthusiasm for physics and astronomy. He just sort of brought you right in and helped you experience the wonders of looking up at the sky."

A photo that was found in the files of Professor Earl Wonnacott shows him standing in front of the observatory in 1980 before it was lifted on to the concrete pad atop the new section of Memorial Hall. (Submitted by UPEI )

In 1980, Wonnacott was able to get funding for the new observatory. It would consist of a telescope, a dome to cover it and all the infrastructure to support itin a sheltered space on top of a new wingbeing built atMemorial Hall.

"He said that he and his student assistants often got very excited about what they were seeing and they hoped that the people that were visiting would get just as excited and he thought that it would rub off a little bit on them," Glover said, recalling a paper Wonnacottwroteabout the observatory in the early 1980s.

"I think that's what we continue to do, is let people see some of these astronomical sites for themselves and get interested and it's a great way to get interested in science."

A photo of moon taken by Earl Wonnacott and student assistant Brian Glendenning in 1981. (Earl Wonnacott/Brian Glendenning)

Wonnacott was a founding member of the Royal Astronomical Society, Charlottetown Centre.

After he retired, the ProfessorEarl Wonnacott Prize in astronomy was established in his honour in 1998.He was named a Founder of the University in 2001 for his contributions to education in the province.

Professor Earl Wonnacott is seen in a still image from a CBC archive video from May 9, 1994, explaining how people at home could see a solar event safely. (CBC)

He continued to teach astronomy into the early 2000s, and would still show up at public viewing events to join in spreading knowledge about astronomy.

Whelan recalls a 2017 solar viewing event, when the university partnered with the Charlottetown chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society to set up devices and telescopes to help the public safely take in the event.

They were expecting a couple dozen people to show up, but hundreds of community members attended, including Wonnacott.

Bill Whelan, chair of the physics department at UPEI, was a former student of Professor Wonnacott at UPEI. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

"Ican tell you that itelectrified a lot of people who attended because many hadn't seen him in a number of years," Whalen said.

"We were very pleased to see him there. He has always shared his knowledge about solar eclipses in these solar events and he just elevated the entire event."

Wonnacott died on October 18, 2019.

A telescope inside an observatory dome overlooking a university campus
The observatory dome can be rotated 360 degrees to allow the telescope to be aimed in any direction. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

To commemorate the 40th year of the Observatory, in 2020 thephysics department proposed to the university that it be dedicated in Wonnacott's honour.

The university agreed and the dedication was made in October.

Megan Glover, an engineering/physics laboratory technician with UPEI, uses the observatory for teaching and public engagement. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

Sharing the sky with the public

Over the years, the observatory has been used often for public viewings, either for the general public or for community groups. Glover said that continues to respectWonnacott's original intention of helpingpeople see things in the sky with their own eyes.

The observatory has been sitting on Memorial Hall since 1980. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

It also letsthose leading the public viewings to share in the magic of someone's first-timerdelight.

"It can be a bit like getting to see it yourself again for the first time," said Glover.

"When someone else gets very excited about seeing it, it's a little bit kind of getsyou caught up in it as well."

A new star gazer filter will be used with a digital camera as students with UPEI physics department study the skies. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

New camera equipment, including a special filter, will help students collect the different spectrum of light from the stars.

"Our hope is that students will be able to get a spectrum froma star themselves and study it and learn what they can about the star," Glover said.

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