The Centennial Observatory - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What kind of telescope is in the observatory?

A: The main instrument is the Norman Herrett Telescope, a 24" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien reflector on a computer-controlled equatorial fork mount, manufactured by DFM Engineering of Longmont, Colorado, USA. The guide telescope is a Meade 5" f/9 apochromatic refractor. Also piggybacked to the 24" is a Takahashi Epsilon 180ED hyperbolic astrograph (7", f/2.8) for wide-field views.

• A JMI NGT-18 18" f/4.5 Newtonian
• A Questar 7" Maksutov
• Two Questar 3.5" Maksutovs
• A Meade 10" LX5 Schmidt-Cassegrain
• A Meade 8" LX10 Schmidt-Cassegrain
• A Celestron 8" C-8 Schmidt-Cassegrain (on loan from Dr. Alan Frost)

Q: When is the observatory open?

A: The observatory is open for public viewing at the following times, weather permitting:

• Free star parties are held on the Second Saturday of each month from one hour after sunset to midnight.
• Observing is offered to attendees of the monthly astronomy talk, presented on the first Friday after the new moon.
• During the summer months (Memorial Day to Labor Day) free solar viewing is offered each Wednesday afternoon from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
• From November through March, viewing is offered on the first and third Tuesdays of the month from one hour after sunset to 9:00pm.
• The observatory will also be open on a case-by-case basis when special events (eclipses, bright comets, etc.) are happening in the sky.

Q: Why was the observatory built in a place with so many lights around?

A: The primary philosophy of the Herrett Center's new observatory may be summed up in a single word: Access. While a dark-site observatory would offer a greater number of celestial targets to view, its remoteness would limit the number of people who would use it. By locating the observatory at the museum, the easy access and convenience will give many people who might never have had a chance to see through a large telescope an opportunity to do so. Should this experience pique their interest in seeing more, Idaho is lucky to have a public dark site observatory at Bruneau Dunes State Park near Mountain Home, Idaho, one hour to the west.

Q: Are there plans to improve the lighting on the campus to reduce their impact on the observatory?

A: Yes. Walkway lighting on campus is currently being replaced with dark-sky friendly fixtures. The changeover will be implemented over the next several years, after which parking lot lighting may be renovated, although plans for this are still in the very early stages. Lighting from nearby sports venues remains a concern.

Q: Is there an admission fee charged to visit the observatory?

A: Star parties on the second Saturday of each month are free, as are solar viewing sessions (held on Wednesday afternoons, 1:00pm to 3:00pm, from Memorial Day to Labor Day). Viewing sessions following monthly astronomy talks are $1 per person, or free with admission to the talk or a planetarium show. A $1 admission fee is charged for viewing sessions held on the first and third Tuesday of the month, November through March, from one hour after sunset to 9:00pm.

Q: Can the telescope be operated remotely?

A: The telescope is equipped with a CCD camera to allow remote operation in the future. This capability awaits the installation of a weather station to allow the facility to protect itself in the event of inclement weather, as well as some other technical hurdles.

Q: Will there be a fee to operate the telescope remotely?

A: Yes, but the exact fee structure has yet to be determined since this capability is not anticipated to happen in the immediate future.

Q: Is the telescope handicapped accessible?

A: Very much so! The building has an elevator to take visitors to the upper floor. From there, a wheelchair lift is available to access the observing deck. The telescope features a unique optical "periscope" that allows viewing from a seated position.

Q: Are there restroom facilities available?

A: Yes. A unisex, handicapped-friendly restroom is availble to visitors after the museum has closed.

Q: Is the observatory heated/air conditioned?

A: In order to preserve undisturbed air around the telescope, and allow the optics to stabilize at ambient temperatures, the observatory dome and lobby area are not temperature controlled. The restroom and operator's control room are temperature controlled. Please dress for outdoor temperatures when you visit!

Q: Will the observatory be used for astronomical research?

A: The telescope is equipped with a research-quality CCD camera, which may be used for astronomical research.  While light pollution limits the types of research that may be performed from the site, several kinds of astronomical research are possible, including variable star monitoring, lunar occultation studies, and photometric searches for transiting extrasolar planets.

Q: Are star parties rescheduled in the event of bad weather?

A: No. If weather turns bad, star parties are cancelled. Lectures will be presented regardless of weather conditions (unless weather is so bad it causes the college campus and/or local roads to close).

Q: What imaging equipment is available for the telescope?

A: The primary imaging instrument is an Apogee Alta E47+, a 1024x1024, back-illuminated, thermoelectrically cooled, 16-bit CCD camera. Video imaging is possible with an Adirondack Video Astronomy StellaCam II. Traditional photography can be done with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera body.

Q: Can the telescope send an image into the planetarium?

A: The telescope is equipped with a video camera designed for astronomical imaging. Images from this camera can be sent to the planetarium, however, they only occupy a limited area on the dome, since our theater does not have the capability to project a video image that covers the entire dome. This is just as well, as there are no video cameras available in the world today that can capture an image of sufficiently high resolution to look good if spread across such a large projection area!

Q: How far can the telescope see?

A: Light pollution is the limiting factor. So far, observers have been able to easily see 3C273, the brightest quasar. 3C273 lies at a distance of about 1,800,000,000 light years, or 11,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles (17,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers)! The CCD camera can image much fainter targets than the human eye (by at least a factor of 250), so we should be able to image considerably more distant targets. The telescope/CCD's faint limit has not yet been determined, but it is fainter than 20th magnitude.