In addition to traditional laboratory exercises covering the celestial sphere, optics, optical telescopes, spectroscopy, use of CCD cameras, and error analysis, Teacher Associate meetings have included practice in using equipment such as an interferometer for optical alignment. Teacher Associates are drawn primarily from central Texas, but attend from throughout the state. At the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, the team that's developing the High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations instrument, has also started its own EPO program. The instrument team has added a talk by Dr. Gerard P. Kuiper, a pioneer in the field of airborne astronomy.
Occultations occur when a planet, asteroid, or moon moves between the Earth and a distant star.
As the light of the star fades or blinks out, astronomers can measure the rings and atmosphere of a distant planet, or the size of an asteroid, moon or comet.