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Mercury, July/August 2001 Table of Contents

Image courtesy of John Flaherty/Adam Block/AURA/NOAO/NSF

A Kitt Peak program for amateur astronomers brings out a diverse assortment of visitors.

by Steven W. White

Dream with me: Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a nice, big telescope, maybe a 16-inch scope, fully computerized, with a quality CCD camera? How about a dome to put it in? And we’ll put that dome under some of the darkest, clearest skies in the continental United States. We could do old-fashioned observing at the eyepiece, astrophotography, or even CCD imagery. Some of that high-tech stuff is tricky to operate, so maybe we should have a guide who could show us how it all works.

Wouldn’t that be great? In a perfect world, we could just borrow all that stuff for an evening when we had some spare time, and let someone else maintain the equipment when we’re not using it. If only it were true.

Of course, it is true. The Advanced Observing Program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory Visitor Center has made the dream a reality. And you, dear reader, are more than welcome to join us for a pleasant evening of observing, imaging, and conversation.