Observatory Upgrade and Open House

Tomorrow, Saturday April 21st at 3pm will be the ribbon cutting ceremony for the upgraded Prairie Winds Observatory. There will be an open house that night (weather permitting) between 8:30 and 10pm. From the News-Gazette today:

C-U Astronomical Society ready to widen its window to the sky

On Saturday, the prairies of East Central Illinois will seem a little closer to the stars.

On its lot just southwest of Willard Airport, the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society will cut the ribbon on the Prairie Winds Observatory.

It's been a four-year project for Dave Leake, director of the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College, and astronomer James Wehmer. But now, they've got the ability to bring more people into their observatory to look at more stars in the sky and have room to expand in the future...

They will also make astronomical research easier and allow analysts to search for near-earth asteroids, monitor lunar crater formations, follow the path of stars and more. It's all ADA accessible now, too.

For Wehmer though, refurbishing the group's 100-year-old 16-inch telescope named "Ruby" was the true test; it's now the pride and joy of the society.

"That's our prime instrument; the flagship telescope," he said. "It's the biggest GoTO 'scope that we've got, and I get to put my name down in the history of it. I did that."

Building the structure was mostly done with contract work, volunteer hours and about $36,000, mainly coming from society members.

Full article here.