Kitt Peak National Observatory is one of the largest optical observatories in the world. There are 26 telescopes on this 7000 foot peak including one with a 4 meter (156 inches) mirror.
I had made reservations for the Nightly Observing Program at Kitt Peak several weeks ago. We received a call from the Observatory at about 1:30 pm telling us it may be cloudy but they were going ahead with the program. As we drove out to Kitt Peak it remained partly cloudy, but by the time we got on top of the mountain, the clouds were clearing.
We first viewed the sunset and then when the sky darkened, we went into an observatory with a 20 inch telescope. Through the telescope we viewed Saturn, a double star cluster, and another galaxy that was 10 million light years away. A computer was used to move the motorized telescope to find these in the sky.
We then went out and the guide pointed out some constellations in the sky using a laser pointer. It was like being in a planetarium, except the night sky was being used instead of the display on the ceiling of a planetarium. This could only be done in an area such as the top of a mountain where there was very little light pollution. The sky was filled with stars. The stars in the big dipper were at least 4 times brighter than what we see in Concord. As young man from Wisconsin stated several times, "It's Sweet."
We also used a pair of binoculars outside to view some of the stars and groups of stars. The only drawback was that it was cold, in the thirties, and windy.
When we left the mountain at about 10 pm, we had to follow one of the guides down in a van, using only our parking lights for the first mile. This would prevent the light from out headlights from interfering with the astronomers who were using the telescopes to conduct there research.
A great experience.
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