2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 9
Region’s largest telescope coming to county Yancey County is dark, and that’s what amateur astronomers like about it. The county’s distance from urban lights, and the fact that its tall mountain peaks block ambient light from the surrounding area, means some of the best night-sky viewing on the East Coast is available right here. Amateur astronomers are flocking here from the piedmont, and at least a few have bought property to build their own observatories with top-of-the-line telescopes. They say areas in Pennsylvania or Virginia have officially ‘darker’ ratings than Yancey, but the pollution in those places makes night-time viewing more difficult. Two local astronomers compared photographs taken at the same moment in Yancey and in the darker locations to the north, and they say the Yancey images are sharper and show more of the cosmos. The county is about to secure its spot as a top stargazing destination with the installation of the state’s largest telescope, which will be housed at the Blue Ridge Observatory and Star Park, locaetd off N.C. 80 North. “This is going to be the largest telescope in North Carolina, and the largest ‘dark sky’ telescope in the southeast,” said Bob Hampton, a local astronomer. “There is one larger telescope (in the southeast) in Atlanta, but with the (urban) light pollution they are limited to the moon and the planets.” The telescope in Yancey will measure 34 inches in diameter, Hampton said. “The dimmer things; the galaxies, the nebulas, we’ll have a front row seat for those.” In honor of notable local efforts to preserve the natural nighttime landscape of Western North Carolina, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has designated the Blue Ridge Observatory and Star Park as the first International Dark Sky Park in the southeastern United States. The Yancey telescope will be a one-
of-a-kind, custom made Dobsonian-type, computer-controlled observatory telescope. In addition to direct viewing at the eyepiece, astronomers will have the ability to show live video from an ultrasensitive camera system attached Mayland’s Jon Wil- to the telescope. “This telescope mesherr will collect more than 16,000 times as much light as a dark-adapted human eye, and is guaranteed to give crisp, sharp images all the way up to 1700x,” Hampton said. A star park area will be built adjacent to the observatory for hosting star parties – a place where visiting astronomers can set up their own telescopes and enjoy our night sky. Star parties attract crowds, whether locally or internationally. They can last just one night or for a week or longer, and many amateur astronomers schedule their vacations to coincide with the gatherings. Nationally, star parties attract hundreds of thousands of people, but the key is the availability of a dark night sky. Many here have voiced support to promote Yancey County as a star party tourism destination, and the construction of the new telescope is key to the proposal. “I think we’re in a fine spot” for stargazing tourism, said Hampton. “As astronomers, it’s just wonderful, and the community has been very supportive. “My understanding is that the mirror is complete,” said Jon Wilmesherr, director of Learning Resources Center and Distance Education at Mayland Community College, which is building the observatory. “The telescope will be built and the mirror installed See next page