Star gazing right in our
own backyard
SUE PAWELK
Reprinted with permission of McLeod Co-op
Power. Article and photos by Sue Pawelk.
Imagine a clear, dark night, away from the city
lights. You look up and see constellations, satel-
lites, the moon, or the International Space Station
with your bare eyes. Then look closer, through a
high-powered telescope to see galaxies, the rings
of Saturn, planets, asteroids, shooting stars, or
the craters upon the surface of the moon. To do
this, you are probably visiting at the Eagle Lake
Observatory, which is the only state-of-the-art
observatory in Minnesota. It is also one of the
premier public-viewing observatories anywhere
in the United States.
The Eagle Lake Observatory is located right
here in our own backyard, in Carver County’s
Baylor Regional Park. Search for 10775 County
Road 33, Norwood Young America and your map
will lead you mid-way between New Germany
and Norwood Young America to Baylor Park.
You probably know the park as a place to camp,
swim, or cross-country ski. It is also home to the
observatory, which is the major public outreach
of the Minnesota Astronomical Society (MAS).
The site consists of the Onan Observatory, the
Sylvia A. Casby Observatory, and the HotSpot
Classroom.
The Onan Observatory has been holding pub-
lic star-viewing parties since 2000. The Sylvia A.
Casby Observatory and the HotSpot Classroom
became operational in 2013.
The observatory is open to the public and
MAS members at scheduled times during the
year, such as the public star parties. They have
upcoming star gazing parties on July 20, August
17 and 31. MAS also offers Camping With the
Stars August 2, 3, and 4. They are offering their
fi rst astrophotography workshop August 10. Visit
the MAS website for times and details on each
event at www.mnastro.org.
In March, I attended a Saturday night public
viewing party to see if it would be of interest to
the general public. The night I attended, about
100 people showed up. It was March and snow
was still melting. It had been a training day for
eight new MAS volunteers. The MAS volunteers
operate the facilities, do the educational presenta-
tions, and conduct the viewing sessions, so quite
a few knowledgeable astronomers were present to
answer questions. Normally, 150-250 people at-
tend a viewing party. Record attendance was 550
people who attended the lunar eclipse September
27, 2015. About 4,000 people attend events at the
observatory each year.
More STAR GAZING on Pg 12
MAS volunteer David Johnson adjusts settings on
one of six telescopes for visitors to the Sylvia A. Casby
Observatory.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A view inside the Onan Observatory, before the roof was rolled back, shows its many
telescopes.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
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