🚀 go-pugleaf

Note crossposting; please direct followups to the appropriate newsgroup.
This announcement is primarily of interest to people in the Dallas-
Ft. Worth area, but I included sci.astro to let them see what we're up to.

Saturday November 6th, The University of North Texas Observatory will be
holding its monthly open house.  If the weather stays clear, we'll be open
from sunset until at least midnight, longer if any visitors are still
around then.  This is your chance to view the sky through moderate-sized
telescopes (Our largest is a 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain).

Objects visible will include Saturn, the Andromeda galaxy, and the ring 
nebula.  The moon will be near 3rd quarter, and rise around midnight.
Later in the evening the Orion nebula will be visible, but lunar
interference may cut in on the view. 

We take requests, so if you've always wanted to see some special celestial
object, we'll do our best to accomodate you.  Dim galaxies amd nebulae
should be easy to find before the moon rises.  Observatory staff will 
be on hand to answer any questions.

Directions:  The observatory is on Locust Street (FM 2164) about 10km north
of the courthouse in Denton.  If you're coming from out of town, take I35
to the north side of Denton, and exit at loop 288.  Go east on loop 288
for about 2km, then exit at FM 2164.  Turn north on 2164.  Watch for the
sign on the right; the observatory's driveway will be on the *left*.
The KNTU radio tower is in back of the observatory; you can use it as a
convenient landmark.  When you turn into the driveway, please switch to
your parking lights, and drive slowly.  Public parking is to the left of
the driveway after you pass the gate.  You can park outside the gate if the
inside parking lot is full.

Helpful hints:  Dress for the weather; the telescope dome and huts are not 
heated.  If you do bring a flashlight, please use a red filter.  If you own
binoculars, don't forget them.  :)  Children accompanied by adults are
welcome; this is a great learning experience.

If you have any questions, you can send email to me or Ray Benge, the
observatory director (email: benge@sol.acs.unt.edu  phone: 817-565-4392).
You can call the observatory at 817-565-2679, but you're likely to get the
voice mail at times when no class is scheduled.  The Physics Department's
number is 817-565-2626.

The observatory is open on the first saturday of each month.  The open
house will be cancelled if the weather is overcast.


--
         __ ____ __      otto@vaxb.acs.unt.edu
 /|/|   / / / / / /  A virtual prisoner of the VAX     // I'm sorry; my karma
/   |. /_/ / / /_/  at The University of North Texas \X/  ran over your dogma
                             Denton, USA