What a night at the observatory with our fellow EDC Rotarians! Assistant Governor Kurt Raffetto called our joint meeting with the Placerville Rotary Club to order and President Cathy Dugan and Adam Marshall were presented with a special recognition certificate for our club’s efforts at the Veteran’s Stand-down event last weekend.
Laurie Edwards briefly discussed the history and background of the observatory and acknowledged two members in our midst, Doug Bisbee and Bill Ettlich for their vast contributions to the planning and building of the original observatory. She reported our dedicated members volunteered nearly 10,000 volunteer hours to the original observatory project, which was followed by many more hours in its expansion to include the G. Arthur Cort Sky Theater, and the solar and weather stations. Our EDCOE and FLC partners were thanked, as well as the incredibly talented group of docents who have transformed the Observatory into one of the most visited attractions in our county.
After we enjoyed pizza, it was time for the docents (Carl Romanik, Anthony Telford, LuAnn LePere and Brian Halkett) to show us the stellar night sky. Suddenly and unfortunately, a rare event occurred – we had a complete and unpredictable power outage! (It was determined the next day that a frog caused the wires to short, which flipped a circuit in the main power box.)
When our electricians were not able to restore power due to the issue being with the Los Rios system, Adam Marshall came to the rescue with his truck that had a generator so that guests could view the Andromeda galaxy on a screen fed by a camera hooked up to an electronic telescope. Guests were also able to observe Saturn from two outdoor telescopes. Anyone who stayed late was able to view Jupiter!
A docent led solar system tour that followed in the G. Arthur Cort Sky Theater was a highlight for many. We learned about stars, galaxies, and constellations, and how the night sky is used for navigation. We also learned how astrologers use 12 western zodiac constellations to make predictions. We were thrilled to see the Milky Way, Pleiades and Andromeda galaxies, and four meteorites!
.png)
