1971 to 2011 - Four Decades of Arkansas Sky Observatory

Arkansas Sky Observatories
Harvard MPC H45-ASO Petit Jean Mountain Facility
Celebrating Four Decades of Public Service and Outreach in the Sciences

PUBLIC INVITED TO RECEPTION FOLLOWING THE COMMEMORATION CEREMONY! MONDAY, August 22, Conway County Courthouse, 7 p.m.

When the Arkansas Sky Observatories (ASO) began in 1970 located outside the northern
outskirts of the city of North Little Rock and from the south brow of Petit Jean Mountain,
P. Clay Sherrod studied astronomical data from telescopes that at that time were
considered "high tech." Computers were not in use in 1970, there was no Internet and
research was done "the old way" by actually observing celestial objects with a lens at one
end of a telescope and an eyeball or camera at the other.

Communications of discoveries and observations to the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory in
Cambridge, MA, were done either over a rotary dial telephone or by actual telegram if
urgency dictated. ASO was one of the first five contributing observatories (in 1970) to
the Harvard/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory network and continues to be a major
contributor to the Harvard Minor Planet Center today.

This four decade relationship has resulted in over 50,000 contributed orbital measurements
of comets and asteroids (Near Earth Asteroids, NEO's) that potentially could strike the
earth; NEO orbital study at ASO encompasses thousands of NEO's - objects that pose a
danger of impact at some point to planet Earth - monitored yearly from the four robotic
observatories that now comprise ASO. In all, there are over 35,000 dangerous large
objects orbiting in space that ultimately will cross Earth's orbit, and those potential
impactors are the targets of ASO research and efforts.

In 1971, black and white photos were taken on glass plates for accuracy, developed, scaled
and plotted to known stars in the universe to plot the location of a particular asteroids
and comets followed by ASO. This process could easily take several hours to complete;
today, with the addition of modern technology at the observatories, the same data can now
be gathered and transmitted in a matter of seconds. The newest of the four ASO locations,
the Petit Jean Mountain facility, was constructed in 2003 and maintains state of the art
equipment and computer-video-digital data gathering capability.

In one night over three decades ago perhaps two comets or asteroids could be
measured..today, more than two hundred can be plotted in the course of one night, with new
orbits instantly computed thanks to custom computer programs developed for the
Observatories.

Today, ASO serves as the oldest privately funded observatory still active in research and
outreach in the State of Arkansas, boasting cutting edge astronomical equipment privately
designed and custom built for the ASO research and educational protocols.

In addition to pure scientific research, community outreach has been a primary focus of
ASO, devoting over 40 years of serving astronomers, educators and enthusiasts worldwide.
The ASO website today is one of the world's most visited space resources.

In four decades over 10,600 presentations have been given free of charge to schools, civic
groups, churches, colleges and universities, state, national and city parks, communities,
etc. An estimated over half million people have been reached through these presentations.

Athough retired from the lecture circuit, this year Sherrod will be presenting major
lectures in astronomy and environmental sciences to the Texas Astronomical Society (the
largest organization of its kind in the world), Florida Western University and Escambia
County Commuity College, the state meeting of the Office of Emergency Management, Memphis
State, and others in early 2012.

ASO annually contributes significant science equipment to schools in impoverished or rural
districts across the USA as part of its educational outreach mission.

ASO's P. Clay Sherrod has authored 17 books in astronomy, archeology and environmental
/biological sciences, and has numerous inventions and processes in space, environmental,
alternative energy and biological sciences. One such project - the Solar Powered
Electro-hydrodymanic Saline Generator - is now experimentally operating in the sands of
New Mexico, generating thousands of kilowatts of electricity daily.

Data is gathered by computerized telescopes, downloaded to dozen computers that are
coupled together to calculate precise locations of NEOs and comets. This data is so
precise that it has the accuracy to see a pin 33 miles away as it would appear to the
naked eye. Sherrod states that digitization and computers have made the gathering of
information much faster, more accurate and precise. Data can then be plotted to give the
direction, speed, and present orbit for any object being tracked.

ASO Petit Jean Mountain is one of 300 Harvard designated astrometry measurement
observatories in the world and currently ranks highly on the number of
observations, surpassed only by largest, professional astrometric observatories. In 1975
there were 83 observatories gathering information for the Harvard Minor Planet Center and
in 2011 there are more than 300 observatories, few of which make more than a dozen
observations per year..in the case of Petit Jean Mountain facilities, the observations for
the year 2010 alone numbered in excess of 5,500.

The location of the observatory being atop the high mountain of Petit Jean Mountain allows
it to be located in dark, but ever-brightening skies; the Arkansas River wraps around the
northwest side of the mountain which makes the location ideal for stargazing, forcing
earth's blanket of air up which reduces the heat waves that the telescope sees.

In addition to exploring the heavens, Arkansas Sky Observatories now operates a
computerized seismograph-heliograph for Conway County, Arkansas, in cooperation with the
Arkansas Office of Emergency Management and the County Judge's office, monitoring
continually the dozens of earthquakes that have recently made the news in both Faulkner
and Conway Counties.

Those interested in astronomy or simply the night sky can visit the ASO website at
www.arksky.org , where there is a multitude of research data,, monthly celestial
calendars, the most recent discoveries and news, current listings of upcoming events of
public interest, as well as the incredible portraits of celestial objects captured by the
telescopes of Arkansas Sky Observatories.