Will the objects I see through the Lone Star Observatory telescope look like those from the Hubble Space Telescope?
Ah, no. That would be a stretch. First, you are not in a spacesuit, miles above the earth’s atmosphere, looking through an eyepiece of the very large Hubble telescope with a mirror that is 8 feet in diameter. Second, everything you see from the Hubble is a photograph. Although the light collected is certainly greater in the Hubble, you are not looking at that light. You are looking at a photograph. Hubble photographs are stunningly beautiful, but the images are recorded in black and white and often adjusted for color and special highlighting at NASA’s Hubble headquarters.
There is another type of magnificence in seeing the actual object (though smaller in size) and knowing it is not a photograph. It is the Real Thing! When you look through the eyepiece of an earthbound telescope, the photons of light coming from that object are the actual photons that left the object as many as millions and millions of years ago. Think about it. What a marvel to see this! And remember that you are looking at an object that less than one-tenth of 1% of human beings have ever actually seen.
What if I already know a fair bit about astronomy and just want the opportunity to view through a large telescope at a dark-sky site?
Come ahead! We would love to have you! Book a night, and if you would like, bring a list of the objects you would like to view, and we will get to as many as we can. Or you can decide what you would like to see upon arrival. Either way, we will have a great night of viewing.
Will I be able to operate the telescope?
Our members operate the scope, given their knowledge and experience. But we just might be able to let a budding astronomer have a go at it.
I have a spouse who cares nothing about astronomy. Must I leave him/her at home?
Bring your spouse along. We have a comfortable clubhouse with a TV for non-astronomers. And who knows—a one-time look at Saturn, the Andromeda Galaxy, or the Hercules globular cluster has brought many a hold-out into the fold.
May I bring my 3-year-old?
We don’t recommend it since your 3-year-old will take nothing from the experience and will probably keep you from fully enjoying the evening. We do welcome and indeed greatly encourage children to come. But we have found that children under the age of 8 may have difficulty looking through a telescope. Here’s a test. Have them look through a pair of binoculars and learn to focus on distant objects. Then, very importantly, have them view and focus on objects using only one of the eyepieces (telescope eyepieces require one-eyed viewing). If they cannot accomplish this, their evening will be a bummer and so will yours.
Since Outreach for Education in Astronomy is a non-profit, is the cost of my evening tax deductible?
Well, no. It’s like going to a museum or the symphony. You pay for the ticket. But, if you would like to donate additionally to our organization, feel free to do so. We will happily provide a receipt with our tax ID number for you to take a deduction for the additional amount. More important, however, is that you come, view, learn, and enjoy.
What happens if the weather forecast for the night I have booked for viewing begins to look grim?
This is the astronomer’s bane. It is not an uncommon event. We will, of course, re-schedule the evening at no added cost. In addition, if you arrive at the site for your evening’s viewing and the clouds roll in unexpectedly or the seeing or transparency of the skies is especially poor, we will re-schedule your evening at no added cost. We keep a close eye on the weather at the site, however. If we see that the weather is not running in our favor prior to your coming, we will contact you for setting another date. We want you to have a great experience.
Spiral Galaxies
Galaxy in Andromeda
Whirlpool Galaxy
Spiral galaxies similar
to the Milky Way.
The galaxy in Andromeda is seen edge-on. The Whirlpool galaxy (and its smaller companion) is seen face-on