Summer Fun in Houston -- The George Observatory -- Part 2. This huge tree dripping with moss is near the entrance to Brazos Bend State Park. It is a very peaceful setting.
Underneath the observatories is a theater and an exhibit room. Here is one of the exhibits on a computer screen. It is interactive for those young and young at heart.
They also have posters with information on them, like this one. It has some great colors to capture people's attention.
Here is the 24" telescope mirror that is no longer in use. There is a sign above the mirror saying to "Try to shake your own hand". This is where the theater part of the hall is. There was a short slide show at about 7:00pm about the telescopes and astronomy topics. Then we went up to the telescopes.
Here is the dome my brother Bob was working in last night. He was in charge of the 18" telescope.
Here is Bob with the telescope. Notice the head lamp on his head? It is a special one for use in astronomy -- it has a red light feature to illuminate objects without causing the pupils in your eyes to dilate.
Here Bob was trying to decide what to look at. He also has the computer to help with declination, ascention, etc. of the telescope. He showed me Venus, Saturn, M13 and two nebulas last night. He would actually turn the telescope to where it needed to be and then adjust the dome. I must tell you that when he spun the dome around to open to a particular slice of the sky it was the coolest thing.
There was a private party there last night for a star party, but most Saturday nights are open viewing for the public. If you happen to go for a public viewing, just tell them Liz Flint the Realtor told you about it.
Here is another emblem from one of the many astronomy clubs that use the observatory.
This great bench was in front of the visitors center at the entrance to Brazos Bend State Park. For more pictures and information about this great place, see part 1 of this blog post.
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Liz Flint
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