You gotta be kidding - observing for the blind?

Astronmical observing for the blind?

Does that sound like a cruel joke to you? It did to me when I first heard it and before I gave it much thought. Yet a few weeks from now I hope to be providing the opportunity for blind members of the public to view the universe and the effort is being promoted by Astronomical Society of Southern New England as an innovative part of their Astronomy Day observing.

But getting back to the basic idea – blind people looking through telescopes at faint objects - I mean, most amateur astronomers strive mightily to get every little advantage they can to see something. Afterall, we're frequently trying to perceive detail in objects totally invisible to the naked eye and thousands – sometimes millions – of light years away. To do this we try to obtain the largest telescopes with the best optics we can afford. And then we train ourselves to see well in the dark. But . . .

. . . it has slowly dawned on me over the past couple years as I attempt to teach observing that we really see very little with our eyes. The amount of information we can squeeze out of a faint blur of light 15 million light years away is infinitesimal. At best the object we rave about tends to look like a faint chalk smudge – a blurred thumb print perhaps – on the blackboard of the universe. We pride ourselves on having found it, but we're like the kid who threw his hook in the water and caught a whale – we're not always sure what to do with it.

Oh some of us are. I don’t mean to discredit serious observers. But I think most of us are cosmological tourists on our own special star trek from our backyards to - well, as Buzz Light Year liked to say – "infinity and beyond!" But then last fall I asked members of the Yahoo Group "VideoAstro" to tell me how they used their video cameras for astronomy – what special thing they could do with them.

And that query lead to this note from Frank Busutil in California who eventually supplied me with the images you see here of one of his club's star parties for the blind. His club is the Pomona Valley Amateur Astronomers:

I am involved in quiet a bit of public outreach and for this video observing is fantastic. I find it has a bigger impact on a viewing audience who is very comfortable observing in front of a monitor and not timid about hurting our telescopes. Part of my outreach is to blind individuals. 80% of legally blind individuals can still detect some light. With video observing, the controls of the video camera, and the monitors controls we can accommodate a wide range of vision acuity. Many blind individuals, who can detect some light, can see more through our video systems, deep in space, than they can in everyday life on earth. Some are brought to tears.

If the rest of the note hadn't been so sincere and obviously genuine I would have thought he was pulling my leg. So I wrote back and asked for more details – as well as permission to post this on the blog. Frank's response:

You had asked for more information on my work involving blind individuals with video observing. In 2004 I began to wonder what concept a blind person would have of the universe and if they could intellectually comprehend it to enjoy it. I contacted the Los Angeles Braille Institute and spoke with Don Weitzman. Don informed me not only could they comprehend it many could actually see it.

There are 10 million people blind and visually impaired people in the United States. Out of that number 1.5 million are legally blind. To be legally blind a person must have corrected vision of no better than 20/200 in their strongest eye or a field of view of 20 degrees or worse (10 degrees radius). 80% of legally blind individuals can still detect some light. Thus they can enjoy many astronomical objects. What they need to do so are the proper optics, something they seldom get. With this information I obtained the support of my astronomy club to sponsor star parties for blind individuals. Amateur astronomers everywhere have the proper optics needed by blind individuals. With just moderate sized telescopes, 8" - 16 " Many blind individuals are able to "see" solar system objects through the eyepieces. The Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn are the favorites.

In 2006 I started to incorporate Video observing of deep sky objects for this group. The combination of astro video cameras available,with their ability to control signal, and large monitors, with their set of controls, makes for a perfect combination for legally blind individuals to see and study many deep space objects.

At our star parties we wanted to replicate the amateur astronomer experience of dark sky observations. We decided that our star parties would be at beautiful, semi-isolated locations. We chose Joshua Tree National Park, a Desert location at an elevation of 3,000 feet 30 miles from the nearest city. Our attendees get a great outdoor adventure, a beautiful sunset barbecue and a night of observing many astronomical targets at the telescopes and on our monitors. Solar system objects are observed at the eyepieces and the deep sky objects are observed, live, on the monitors.

Some of our attendees are seeing the universe for the first time since going blind, others are seeing it for the last time before going completely blind. Totally blind individuals attend our events to hear the universe as it is described by their more sighted friends at their telescopes and monitors. For some, who are severely limited in the amount of light that they can see, simply seeing a 1.0 magnitude star being transmitted by a astro video camera on a monitor as a live 8.5 second exposure is a beautiful sight, as they can sense (see) al ot of light. Others whose world is one of dark shadows and shapes, seeing the moon through a 16" Dobsonian, can actually see bright structures such as craters, and lunar mountains and the difference from the lunar highland to the marias. Others who are seeing the universe for the last time before going completely blind are registering mental notes that they will carry for life.

Amateur astronomy and blind individuals is a great mix.

Wow! This exchange, btw, took place in the fall of 2006. It's taken me this long to act on it simply because I'm having enough to do just figuring out how to use the video equipment well for instructional situations and I wasn't ready to take on another assignment just yet. But Pete Petersen, treasurer of ASSNE, stumbled across Frank somewhere as well and Pete turned to me and said why can't we do this? I tried to hold him at arm's length, but with little success, so we're giving it a try April 21. Wish me luck! ;-)

Meanwhile, if you're wondering why any one would even think about astronomy for the blind, so was I. So I asked Frank that as well. He responded:

You might find humorous how I came to think "outside the box"..... I was imaging the Ring Nebula at a dark ,cold ,desert location. I was using a Nikon Coolpix 4500 digital camera (prior to purchasing Stellacam II) and projecting a live image on to a 4" color monitor. All I was getting was a blank screen. Cables, exposure times, aperture settings, and iso settings where checked and re checked. finally I noticed that the brightness button of the monitor was not turned on. One click of that monitor and there it was, the Ring Nebula. I remember saying to my self; "sure glad I figured that out. I thought I was going blind". That one thought led to me to pose the question.

By the way what some of our legally blind observers are seeing with Video observing are large bright globular clusters such as M13 Galaxies such as the Sombrero, and M82, And Nebulas such as the Orion Nebula. The monitors make a huge difference for this group, although the wonders through the eyepieces, while at the telescope, are also a favorite.

All of which led to this brief exchange with Frank today:

Hi Greg

I peeked at you web site this morning and wanted to thank you for the great job you did presenting the possibilities of amateur astronomy for blind individuals.

For your information during a recent interview for our local newspaper regarding our next event the reporter asked me for the name of our project. I did not have one. So I put the old brain into warp speed and came up with, Project Bright Sky, Visual astronomy for blind individuals. We normally need bright sky objects for this group for eyepiece observations and or a bright monitor for DSOs.
I also decided as we expand our work to disabled people in wheel chairs that project will be called Wheels To The Stars, in case I get asked in the future I'll be ready.

Keep up the good work and congratulations for stepping up to work with this group of amateur astronomers

Frank

Just wish me luck Frank - I don't want to screw up the good thing you've started ;-)

Oh - and Frank did have some very practical advice he got from the Los Angele Braille Institute, about working with blind people. here it is:

WHEN YOU MEET A BLIND PERSON....

Many people are uneasy when thinking about assisting a visually impaired person. The following suggestions will help you feel at ease with blind persons, and are based on thoughtful courtesies you might extend to anyone, sighted or blind.

There are many ways in which you can be helpful to a blind person in everyday situations, but always ask if the person wishes assistance. If help is needed, they'll be grateful. If not, they will thank you for asking.

Speaking upon entering a room where there is a blind person is very helpful. Identify yourself and let them know when you're leaving. Don't exit without informing them and leave them talking to thin air.

When greeting a blind person if others are present, use a name or provide some cue so the blind person can tell for whom your greeting is intended. Remember that blind people can't see when you're looking at them.

Address a blind person directly, not through someone else, and use a normal tone of voice.

When giving directions to a blind person, be specific. Pointing will not help, nor will "over there." Phrases such as "do you see what I mean" or "let's look at the numbers" are a normal part of everyday conversation, so you needn't censor your conversation.

Remember, too, that nods and shrugs do not take the place of words. If the blind person chooses to accept assistance with moving through an environment, it will be easiest for him or her to hold onto your arm just above the elbow when walking. This will position you about half a step ahead, and the individual can easily follow your movements.

Pause briefly before ascending or descending steps and inform the individual as to whether they are going up or down.

When providing assistance to cross the street, stay with the person until the opposite curb has been safely reached. Avoid the temptation to pet a dog guide. The dog is a working animal responsible for leading a person who cannot see and should not be distracted or treated like a pet.

When escorting a blind person to a chair, place his or her hand on the back of the chair or if approaching from the front, guide the individual to a position where he or she can contact the chair with his or her leg.

If you take them to a car or bus, guide their hands to the door handle. They'll manage the rest.

When you dine with a blind person it can be helpful to describe the table setting. The location of food servings can be described as numerals on a clock face, I.E. "your mashed potatoes are at 7 o'clock."

If you have a money transaction, identify the denomination of the bills so that he or she may fold them according to the individuals own method for identification.

The most important things needed when you meet blind individuals are your good will and common sense. Remember that blind people think, feel and make decisions just as you do. A blind person is an individual who has usually lost only one sense-the sense of sight. Be natural and enjoy one another.