The Stars

The Stars (and the Moon)

The nights at the observatory are fun. Usually several vehicles are waiting at the gate when it opens at 8pm. The evening program begins as soon as the cars are parked and the visitors have entered the building. First on the agenda is a review of the history of the Goldendale Observatory. The telescope was built by four gentlemen at Clark College in Vancouver, WA. Once it was built, they went in search of a place to put it that would assure that the telescope would be for public use. They visited Central Washington State College, but were told that the telescope would be used by graduate students for research. On the return trip to Vancouver, they spotted in Goldendale for lunch. The owner of the restaurant convinced the gentlemen to consider Goldendale as the site for their device. The Goldendale Observatory was dedicated in 1973. Financial issues caused the city of Goldendale to close the observatory and so after a visit to the state capital, the observatory was sold to the State of Washington in 1985 allowing it to become a state park. I like to tell our visitors that GO State Park is the largest in the state of Washington. On the ground it is only 5 acres but looking skyward it goes up to more then 30,000 light years.

After learning about the observatory, the program covers the ways to determine if it is a good night to stargaze and the visitors are lead outside to rate the night. This is followed by a walk into the telescope room. During the time the visitors are in the auditorium, I have been opening the dome and checking the settings of the telescope to assure it is aimed correctly at the first target, the planet Venus. In July, Venus is the bright “star” low in the western sky. Through the big telescope, it shows up well enough and large enough to see it “in phase” just like viewing the phase of the moon. At this time (July 12, 2010) Venus is the same distance from Earth as our sun. (93 million miles) and its orbit will be bringing it yet closer. Keep watching Venus on its evening travels because as the month comes to an end the planets of Mars and Saturn will both come in close proximity to it. This will be something to view. An now the moon is coming into view in the evening. These shots were taken by putting the lens of my Canon up to the apperature of a 8inch reflective telescope one evening. Not bad for the type of arrangement. Try just putting your binoculars in front of your camaera. You will be surprised at what you will get.