Saturday evening, members of the public gathered at the Harry D. Powell Observatory to glance through one of the high powered telescopes to see the different planets and stars that fill the night sky.
Observatory Director Gary Henson said during the open houses, one of the department faculty gives a brief, 20-minute lecture on a topic of astronomy.
“And if weather allows, we set up some of our telescopes and allow people to look at some planets, the moon and deep sky optics,” Henson said.
During the open house, attendees were able to look at Jupiter, Saturn and the moon. Employee Peter Wagstaff said what people look at during the open houses depends on the time of the year.
“At different times of the year we might look at deep sky objects,” Wagstaff said. “Other galaxies … objects that are farther away.”
Wagstaff said that one of his favorite parts of the open house is seeing the reactions of the people who look through the telescopes.
“It’s kind of nice sometimes,” Wagstaff said. “Because not everyone has seen that kind of thing, so it gives everyone an opportunity to see that.”
For ETSU senior Courtney Ayers, it was her first visit up to the observatory.
“It’s pretty cool,” Ayers said. “It’s really nice up here. It’s secluded, it’s calm, I really like it.”
Henson said that the observatory has had open houses since it was first opened in the spring of 1999. He also said that the open houses are hosted once a month on Saturday evenings, and they are free and open to the public.
“It may not be a once in a life time experience,” Henson said. “But if you’ve never actually witnessed a view of the moon up close or have actually seen the rings of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter or have seen a galaxy that’s 2 million light years away from us, we have an excellent facility here, and it’s a great opportunity to experience that.”
The Harry D. Powell Observatory is located at 1101 Narrow Lane in Johnson City. The next open house will be Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m.
