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Big Island Tours
The sunset tour of the Gemini Observatory and the
Fredrick C. Gillett
Gemini North Telescope will begin at the
Gemini Observatory
Headquarters in Hilo. Our Gemini
"Insiders"
tour guide will be Scott Fischer who is an astronomer & Public
Outreach
Scientist
at Gemini North
See Important
tour information below
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Robert Scott Fisher
Outreach Scientist at the Gemini Observatory
Scott is a staff scientist at the Gemini Observatory where he
splits his time between instrument support, scientific research,
and outreach to the public and the scientific community. Scott
obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2001 after
working his way through the Florida state school system
including a stint at Lake-Sumter Community College. Scott’s main
area of research is searching for and studying planet-forming
disks around young stars. We believe that our own planetary
system formed out of such a disk approximately 4.6 Billion years
ago. Scott is also involved with the design, construction, and
use of thermal-infrared camera systems that are used on the
biggest telescopes in the world.
Scott moved to Hilo directly after graduation from the
University of Florida in early 2001 and has been working at
Gemini even since. He has spent approximately 200 nights
observing from the summit of Mauna Kea since his first trip to
Hawai’i in 1996. In addition to his love of astronomy, Scott is
an avid amateur photographer and a hopelessly addicted Geocacher.
When he is not on-island Scott can often be found in Las Vegas,
Monte Carlo, or any other city with nightlife full of bright
neon lights, poker cards, and casino chips.
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
| The summit of
Mauna Kea is just short of 14,000 feet. It is spectacularly
beautiful but it is cold and the air is very thin. Touring
the telescope under these conditions can be very strenuous. One
in twenty visitors succumb to altitude sickness. There are
several important safety and health items to consider:
1. You must be in
good health, with no heart or breathing problems.
2. You must be at least 16 years old.
3. You must fill out, sign, and return the Gemini Observatory
Visitors Form TO GEMINI HEADQUARTERS The form can be found on their website. This
form must be received by Gemini staff in advance or you will not be permitted to
tour the telescope.
4. Those who cannot or do not wish to tour
of the Gemini telescope are welcome to join in all the other activities of
the day.
You will need to provide you own transportation. The
public is welcome to drive private vehicles to the top although
4-wheel drive is required and the observatories can only be
viewed from the outside. |
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The Gemini Staff
can accommodate a maximum of 20 persons on the tour. Reservations for the tour will be taken on a
first-come, first-served basis. We will fill the Wednesday
Jan 7th tour first and then fill the Thursday Jan 8th, so you
may need to be prepared to stay through to Friday. You can
alternate the Gemini Tour with the Volcano Adventure Tour.
1. You must register for the Gemini Tour and pay the fees to
reserve your space on the "Insider's Telescope Tour"
2.
You must download, fill out, and return the Gemini visitor's
form BEFORE you arrive on the Big Island.
CLICK HERE
to download the
form. MAIL the form to the address on the first
page, C/O Scott Fisher in time for it to arrive before you do!
(Ignore the
instructions to give it to your tour guide.)
3. You will need to bring a warm (down or comparable) jacket,
and a warm cap and gloves. (No surprise to an astronomer!)
4.
The fee for the Gemini "insider's" tour is $75 and includes:
● Transportation (a reserved seat on the tour van)
departing from Hilo (Uncle Billy's Hilo Bay Hotel),
● The Gemini headquarters tour
● Dinner at Hale Pohaku
● The "insiders tour" of the Gemini Observatory and
Telescope
● The VIP star gazing
program at the Visitor's
Information Station (VIS).
It does not
include admission to the Imiloa Astronomy Center or lunch.
These are optional.
5. For family and guests who would like to join a conference
participant for everything except the "Insiders Tour" of
the Gemini Observatory and Telescope, the fee is $25 which
includes:
● The Gemini headquarters tour
● Dinner at Hale Pohaku
● The VIP star gazing program at the Visitor's
Information Station (VIS).
It does not include transportation, The "insiders tour"
of the Gemini Observatory and Telescope, or admission to the
Imiloa Astronomy Center or lunch. The center and lunch are
optional.
6. Admission to the Imiloa Astronomy Center is $17.50 for adults
& $9.50 for children 4-12, paid at the door.
Imiloa
Astronomy Center
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Back to Conference Home
Reservation and Cost
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Tour Schedule
Wednesday December 7
9:30 am
Depart from Uncle Billy's Hilo Bay Hotel
10:00 am Visit to the
Imiloa Astronomy Center
across from the Gemini Headquarters
(Optional)
11:30-12:30 pm - Lunch in the Astronomy Center
Sky Garden Cafe.
(Optional - Everyone
pays for their
own meal)
1:30 pm
- meet at Gemini
Headquarters - visit
observatory remote control room.
2:30 pm - Leave Gemini Headquarters for Mauna
Kea Observatories
4:00 pm - Stop for early dinner at the Hale
Pohaku Astronomers hotel & restaurant
at the 9000 ft. level. This is a necessary
stop for altitude
adjustment.
Dan Gray, Chris Carter, Russ and Cheryl
Genet have lunch at
Hale Pohaku
during their 2008 tour. Clouds meet mountain
(Mauna Loa) in the background.
5:30 pm - Those taking the "Insider's" telescope
tour (in the tour van) will follow the
Gemini night crew to the
summit arriving
on the mountain top at
sunset as the
domes open for
the night's viewing.
Insider's Tour of the Gemini
Observatory and Telescope - from
bottom to top!
Cheryl & Russ Genet
& Chris Carter
under Gillett Telescope
7: 30 pm - Leave the
summit and return to
Visitors Information Station at 9000 ft
to rejoin group for VIP star gazing.
10:00 pm - arrive back at
Hilo headquarters and
return to Uncle Billy's Hilo Bay Hotel)
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To
reserve your Gemini
Observatory Tour, pay by
PayPal below or send a check or MO (USD) made out to
Galileo's Legacy to:
Galileo's Legacy
Conference
C/O Dannielle Tassell
705 Sherwood Dr.
Payson, AZ 85541
Gemini "insiders" Tour including telescope tour - $75 per
person (includes transportation and dinner but not lunch
or Imiloa admission - see description on left side). ↓
Gemini Tour from Headquarters to Hale Pohaku and the
VIS - $25 per person (includes dinner and VIP Star
Gazing at the VIS, but does not include inside telescope
tour, lunch, Imiloa admission, or transportation - see
description on left side).
↓
To "check
out" simply stay on the PayPal tab (webpage) after last purchase.
Use browser back button to return to the Galileo's Legacy Webstite
We look
forward to sharing this
great adventure with you!
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