Heather Niday
Allegheny Mountain Radio
It was close to standing room only at the Green Bank Observatory August 4 for the showing of the documentary Small Town Universe, a film by Katie Dellamaggiore that was about eight years in the making. Angela Damery, GBO Public Outreach Manager, introduced the film.
“I want to thank you all for joining us this evening, Damery said. “We’re really excited to bring Small Town Universe back home for the local premiere. The film premiered at the Cleveland Film Institute in April; this is our first public showing here in Green Bank.”
Katie, the film’s director, was overjoyed to see the large turnout for a project that has been such a big part of her life for so many years.
“[It] took so long to make this film, so the fact that we’re all here actually showing it to all of you is just the best, best, best thing ever, so please stick around,” she said. “Afterwards, you’ll get to meet some of the subjects in the film whom you all know already, and we’ll answer some questions, and we’ll all chat afterwards.”
Much of the film’s content centered around an uncertain time for the GBO. The National Science Foundation had recently announced a proposal to defund the observatory, putting not only the lives and families of those who worked there in jeopardy, but also potentially dealing a terrible blow to the astronomical community in the loss of an irreplaceable observational instrument, the Green Bank Telescope. With that as the background, the film explores the lives of four main characters: a young woman who aspires to become as astrophysicist, a retired engineer nearing the end of his life, a hobby farmer with a long family history in Green Bank, and a new resident looking to escape the challenges of living in an increasing wireless, hyper- connected world.
There have been a number of television, radio and print stories done over the years about the GBO and the unique challenges of living within the National Radio Quiet Zone or NRQZ. Most film crews would be in Green Bank for a day or two, perhaps a week, then go back home to write stories of widely varying accuracy. By contrast, Katie made repeated trips to Green Bank over several years, forming close relationships with her subjects. The result is a film that feels intimate and almost intrusive at times as you watch the emotions of her subjects played out in real time.
But it’s not just the powerful personal stories that drive the documentary. It’s also clearly about the science at the heart of the GBO and the community that surrounds the observatory. Both have had to learn how to co-exist since the founding of the site in the late 1950s.
Funding continues to be a challenge, according to Mike Holstine, who recently retired as Business Manager for the site.
“As I understand it, the budget is fairly stable for the near future for the observatory; every change of administration, it becomes different,” Holstine said. “It has been worse recently, I anticipate it will get better.”
Current GBO Business Manager Christine Plumley verified that funding is stable, and they anticipate that the most recent budget submitted to the National Science Foundation will be approved.
Our increasingly connected world also poses its own challenges to the GBO, according to Chuck Niday, the Radio Interference “Cop” at the site.
“The biggest problem is satellites right now because there’s no real jurisdiction over them, we have no real protection by any of the FCC rules,” he said. “Fortunately, some of these satellite providers are working with us to try to keep down the noise problems.”
For the record, the company that is working with the GBO to reduce interference is Starlink.
If you missed the showing of Small Town Universe on August 4, you’ll have another chance to view the film on September 22 during the annual family science day at the GBO.