Written by Mackenzie Tatanani, Dailymail.Com
21:48 02 December 2023, 21:48 02 December 2023 Updated
- Stay nightly at Kitt Peak National Observatory with unparalleled views of the cosmos
- Groups of four guests are invited to use one of four powerful telescopes and receive assistance from expert scientists.
- You could potentially see celestial bodies like Jupiter, Mars and Pluto all in one night
The Arizona Observatory offers unparalleled views of the night sky as part of a $1,000 package that provides guests with a complete astronomy experience.
NOIRLab, a federally funded National Science Foundation research center, has been hosting guests for nearly 30 years.
This custom program, which starts at $945 on Eventbrite and can total up to $1,350 including fees, names four guests as “visiting astronomers” at one of four designated telescopes. To do.
“Enables both visual observation and imaging of amazing deep-sky objects,” the listing says. “If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be an astronomer, this program is for you.”
Trekking to the Kitt Peak National Observatory, 60 miles outside Tucson, allows visitors to familiarize themselves with the location and then hunker down until dark, when the real fun begins.
Visiting hours are from 3pm to 11am the next day. Upon arrival at the visitor center, guests are introduced to the telescope operator and taken to a dormitory in a rustic building that resembles a 1950s motel.
After dinner in the cafeteria, visitors are unleashed into the night sky as soon as the telescope becomes available.
Telescope operators use powerful scientific instruments to help find specific deep-sky objects.
Sometimes this expert will create a list of observations, other times it will be up to the guest. Depending on conditions, you may be able to observe celestial bodies such as Jupiter, Mars, and Pluto in one night.
NOIRLab advises prospective visitors in advance whether they will be able to see certain celestial objects during their trip, as “portions of the sky will not appear above the horizon that night, and some celestial objects will be too faint to see.” We encourage you to contact us.
However, “no experience in astronomy is required to participate.”
Kitt Peak was previously closed due to the pandemic and the 2022 Contreras Fire, which scorched trees and burned the road leading to the observatory.
The blaze knocked out the power grid and caused internal damage that took months to investigate. Additionally, one dormitory, one cabin on the southwest ridge, and one cabin behind the fire barn were also lost.
NOIRLab facilities reopened to the public in June 2023, including facilities in Hawaii and Chile.
The overnight program at Kitt Peak, launched around 1998, has been particularly popular, with all dates currently sold out through the end of the year.
This facility is located on land belonging to the Tohono O’odham Nation, atop a mountain at an altitude of 2,096 meters.
Guests have access to the Levine 0.4-meter and 0.5-meter telescopes, which are enclosed in a dome, and a roll-off roof observatory with stunning views of the Milky Way.
Bob Davis, a former senior editor at the Wall Street Journal, wrote an article about his experience.
He said the group included retired rocket engineer Mike Murray, who led a campus tour and explained in painstaking detail how the telescope worked.
“Before we arrived, he sent us something like a 40-page menu with pictures of galaxies we could see, including giant spheres, spirals, and star clusters. ” Davis said.
“But once we got there, dwarfed by the sky, we let him take the wheel and choose his favorite highlights.”
Davis and his friends began stargazing under clear, moonless skies. Although he enjoyed the experience, he noticed that on several instances his telescope malfunctioned and stopped working.
But when a partial refund was sent to him, “I explained that there was no complaint and refunded it,” he said.
Representatives blamed the failure on the observatory’s rapid ramp-up of visitor services after the pandemic shutdown.
If a property is forced to cancel the program itself due to unpredictable weather or “other safety concerns beyond our control,” you will receive a full refund minus Eventbrite fees.
Other telescopes guests see on the tour are some of the most impressive in the world.
One of these, the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter telescope, is famous for discovering Pluto’s methane ice.
The giant WIYN 3.5-meter telescope is designed to allow NEID instruments to measure star motion with extreme precision and is the most advanced exoplanet hunter.
The McMath Pierce Solar Telescope has been decommissioned, but for decades it was the largest solar telescope on Earth.