GREEN BANK, W.Va. (AP) - While driving through Pocahontas County, it’s hard to miss the Green Bank Telescope, which sprawls across a two-and-a-acre site. Less obvious is the world-renowned research occurring inside the observatory.
Green Bank was the birthplace of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory system and has since attracted astronomers and engineers from around the world. It has been the focal point of numerous discoveries.
The observatory’s goal is first education and exploring the unknown about the universe. The facility has been instrumental in the study of gravitational waves, black holes and star formations throughout the galaxy. It also recently revitalized its 1960s project that searched for extraterrestrial intelligence.
As of Oct. 1, however, that research is at risk after the National Science Foundation started pulling its funding to the facility in a move announced in 2012 to tighten its budget beginning this year.
As a result, Barboursville resident Deana White, with the help of her family and friends, has created a grassroots group to bring awareness to the possible closure of the facility and to ask the public to voice their opinions.
“We are trying to raise awareness about this issue and flood the NSF office with as many testimonials as we can about the importance of the Green Bank Observatory to the scientific community, to STEM education, and to the state of West Virginia, as well as all of the United States,” she said.
The “Go for the Green Bank Observatory” group can be found on Facebook and provides every detail a concerned citizen might need. The group compiled everything from a skeleton letter to guide citizens through the process of submitting concerns to the National Science Foundation to a contact list of politicians throughout the state who could be notified.
Although the site was dedicated in 1957, construction on the iconic Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, which is about 300 feet in diameter, did not start until 1991. It is the largest fully steerable telescope in the world. Seven other telescopes, although less visible, are also on the site.
The observatory declared its independence in October after the National Science Foundation, who funded a majority of the facility’s operations until October, reduced its allocations to the facility. In 2012, NSF provided 95 percent of the site’s funding. The funding dropped to 60 percent this year and could be 30 percent the next year.
The 60-year-old observatory provides 140 jobs throughout the world, and is responsible for about 5 percent of Pocahontas County’s workforce. Through salaries and about 50,000 yearly visitors, it is estimated the observatory contributes just under $30 million to the West Virginia economy each year.
More than 40,000 visitors tour the site yearly, not including more than 3,500 students who participated in Green Bank’s educational programs last year.
White said the observatory is important to educate and inspire a young generation of students in the state and country.
White said her family became involved with the observatory after her 16-year-old daughter, Ellie, who had a passion for art, turned toward physics and astronomy. Two years ago, Ellie started hand-sewing dolls of scientists she admired. She sold more than 60 dolls to the observatory at the cost of labor for them to sell in their gift shop for profit.
She and her brother, Josh, participated in a “radio astronomer for a day” program in 2015 where they learned high-level science. The White children also made videos for the observatory to promote the funding predicament.
Ellie was offered the opportunity to work with a college student this spring. She studied radio frequency interference and statistical analysis under the wing of astronomer Richard Prestage and an undergraduate student from Oregon Tech.
White said her daughter met students and astronomers from all around the world.
“Of course we love it down there, as most people do. They are the nicest people (and) they are wicked smart,” she said. “They are very easy to talk to and are very enthusiastic.”
White said the observatory is a gem often overlooked by the community around it.
“Our state has some challenges it is facing. We are facing a declining coal industry, heroin overdoses (and drug abuse),” she said. “This is a perfect example of a world-class facility. The pride of having something like that is lost.”
The public comment period regarding the future of the observatory will end Nov. 19. On Nov. 9, the NSF will host two public scoping meetings as part of the public comment period for an environmental impact statement and the planned changes to observatory operations. The sessions will be from 3 to 5 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m. at the observatory science center.
According to the observatory website, preliminary proposed alternatives would be to continue full NSF investment, collaborate with other parties, cease operations by creating a technology and education park, suspend operations with the possibility of resuming in the future or deconstructing the facility.
Written comments about the changes can be mailed to Elizabeth Pentecost at 4201 Wilson Blvd. Suite 1045, Arlington, VA 22230. It should be noted on the envelope it is in regard to the Green Bank Observatory.
Readers with questions can contact White at go.greenbankobservatory@gmail.com.
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Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, https://www.herald-dispatch.com
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