The Ashcroft Observatory is open Monday nights to the public. Our largest scope is the 14-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope in the dome, but there are many, many other telescopes for outside use during star parties and group events.
Right now (5/14/2012) Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons, Io, Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa are starting to set, Venus is going down, Saturn is rising, and Mars is up.
Apart from the wonderful views you can see through the telescope, the observatory is also equipped with educational materials, multimedia, images from past NASA and Soyuz missions, videos on astronomy, and star charts for those that want to learn how to identify constellations.
If you have any questions, please email us at ashcroftobservatory@gmail.com. To schedule a group event that is not on a Monday, call (435) 586-1409. If we do not pick up, please leave us a message. Right now (and pretty much for the rest of summer) we are open from 9-11 pm Monday night.
Astronomical Events in 2012:
There are some wonderful things going on this year you won’t want to miss! Number one is the solar eclipse that will be visible in Kanarraville, UT this upcoming May.
We missed a lot of would-have-been great meteor showers last year thanks to the moon, but this year we look forward to some the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December. The best way to watch meteor showers is in a dark open area, out in New Harmony, Kanarraville, or up Cedar Mountain. You can find a list of meteor showers in 2012 here.
Remember, not every astronomical event is best seen through a telescope, but some are. Anything involving planets, deep sky objects, and a less than full moon are wonderful to look at through observatory’s telescope. Keep up on what’s coming up this year, and don’t miss anything!
