Montauk - The Montauk Observatory is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to provide free year-round educational programs, including astronomy lectures and professional planetarium shows for the public, scientists, astronomers and local school districts, as well as to provide discovery programs accessible via the internet. Most importantly the Observatory will house its state-of-the-art professional grade Meade RCS 20-inch, $250,000 telescope to be used for these purposes.

Board member Sean Tvelia.

Pursuant to the Observatory's website "The East End is a unique setting for observing the skies and for building an observatory and learning/research center surrounded by the sea, endowed with vast open space preserves, and protected skies. Opening up the skies of the East End of Long Island with the Observatory's telescope allows everybody to pursue discovery of the skies - making space exploration democratic, open for all who participate in Montauk Observatory programs and visit the planned Observatory building."

The Observatory's mission statement continues, "The leadership of the Montauk Observatory believes that astronomy is a pathway into the study of science which is so often not available to young people and the public today. Our futures are linked to the re-emergence of the love of science and the discoveries that will bring."

Executive Board member Sean Tvelia (Tvelia teaches Geology and Chemistry at Suffolk County Community College's (SCCC) department of Physcial Science. He is also active in the Astronomy program at SCCC and maintains the college's robotic observatory located in Riverhead), who was in attendance at Friday's lecture at the Montauk Library, relayed that, "As a 501(c)(3) organization, all of our funds are privately raised. We [the Board] have been trying to build the observatory for about five years, and finally legislation was passed on a location in Theodore Roosevelt National Historic Park, however, part of business is supply."

Advisory Board member and Montauk school teacher Joe Malvae.

Wondering why there is still no observatory? Tvelia continues, "It became obvious after some time that the Park was not a suitable location as our needs to build an appropriate observatory would not be able to remain in keeping with the guidelines required for an existing historic site, therefore, we have been pursuing the purchase of private land to build on."

The Board is hopeful that by providing scheduled programs, lectures and occasional star gazing opportunities throughout the year that are presented for both amateur and professional astronomers to be able to look through the Observatory's telescope, the viewers world will open up to new possibilities, and the discovery of these programs can be extended to reach into public schools throughout the region.

Tvelia further commented that "Long Island is well lit and suffers a tremendous amount of light pollution, the location in Montauk provides a minimum of that light pollution, however, as scientists we are also very much in favor of the Dark Sky legislation that is presently underway as well."

"There are six people on the board from all over Long Island. Once the telescope is in a permanent home, it is digital and computerized and will have internet capabilities - making it a major resource," according to Tvelia.

The Board, with input from Advisory Board members, consists of:

 • Terry Bienstock - President of the Board, who is the CEO of World Extend, LLC, a distributor of hosted desktop applications and secure remote access services in business and consumer markets. He also manages other ventures relating to new media platforms.
 • David Larkin - Larkin is managing Director of D2C2 - Digital Distribution Content and Commerce which owns, manages and invests in unique entrepreneurial companies that are at the forefront of change in traditional industries.
 • Matthew Putnam - Putnam has a Ph.D. in Applied Physics, and is a Professor and Researcher at Columbia University.
 • David Cohn - Cohn has been Director of the Tupper Planetarium since October 2003.
 • Susan Harder - Harder retired from her former profession as a NYC art dealer and is now the founder of the Dark Sky Society.

Professor and evening's lecturer Dan Davis.

The Advisory Board includes:

 • Eva Growning - An architect and conservationist, Growning is the AIA Peconic Chapter Chair of Preservation, and Director for AIA 150 Blueprint for America "The Duck Project."
 • Michael Inglis, Ph.D.- Author and Professor at Suffolk County Community College, and NASA Solar System Ambassador to Fellow Royal Astronomical Society.
 • Tom Madigan - Educational Program Director- Astronomer at Custer Institute; and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
 • Joseph Malave - Science Teacher at Montauk Public School, NASA Educational Unit Teaching Coordinator. Malave was also at Friday's lecture.
 • Deane Peterson, Ph.D. - Professor of Astronomy Stony Brook University.
 • Dava Sobel - Author of "Longitude," "Galileo's Daughter," and "The Planets."

Professor of Geophysics at Stony Brook University and co-author of "Turn Left at Orion," Dan Davis' lecture "Things That Go Bump in the Crust: Tectonics from Mars to Montauk," was offered to understand model plate tectonics. Davis stated that the lecture "points out the similarities and important differences among the tectonics (the processes that create mountains on Earth) observed on the various solid bodies of the solar system. Plate tectonics are found only on the Earth, but styles of faulting and folding found here on Earth (even in Montauk, especially Hither Hills) have been observed in places as diverse as greenhouse Venus and the icy satellites of the outer planets."

Davis made his lecture humorous, enjoyable and informative. The subject matter was a little 'heady' for some (myself included), as Davis described how "virtually all of the types of tectonic folding and faulting found on Earth have been discovered on the other solid bodies of the solar system as well. Tectonic features are found from Mercury and Venus (where the temperature is over 400° C) to satellites of the outer planets where the crust is made of ice and the temperatures are around -200° C. We have come to realize, though, that the mechanism behind most deformation on Earth, plate tectonics, is found only on our planet. Elsewhere in the solar system a range of different forces are at work. Taking a photographic tour through the discoveries throughout the solar system have led to a renewed appreciation of our own unique world," however, there was no denying his absolute command of and excitement for his subject matter. A few of us were left squirming in our seats, being reminded of distant college science courses, but the Q&A following the lecture was both lively and interesting as well.

Following the lecture, a public observing using some of the observatory's telescopes at Theodore Roosevelt County Park took place, however, once there it became apparent that no star gazing was able to take place as the moon was too bright.

Whether you have your head in the clouds - or only see stars - or enjoy science - the Montauk Observatory deserves a permanent home to house the telescopes and tools that will allow all of us to observe, understand and discover.