On Thursday, Feb. 12, Crane Observatory on the fourth floor of Stoffer Hall welcomed visitors for its biweekly open house, where guests lined up from 6:30-8 p.m. to observe Jupiter and several of its moons.
Karen Camarda, physics professor at Washburn, set up a telescope on the deck that offered views of the Orion Nebula, which she described as “a big cloudy star forming region, which is really beautiful to look at in a telescope.”
Inside the observatory, the main Warner & Swasey telescope offered views of Jupiter and its moons, while another telescope on the deck was aimed at the Seven Sisters.
Because of Earth’s motion and the changing night sky, different celestial objects are visible at different times of the year. Camarda said each semester the observatory offers different views.
“So every year we have different stars up in this fall and in this winter and in the spring,” Camarda said. “The planets also vary, but they can be anywhere.”Along with looking through the telescopes, visitors also enjoyed stargazing under the clear sky. Ashley Castillo, sophomore political science major, said she learned about the event from Camarda’s class and came with her friends.
“There’s nowhere else that you have the chance to look at such a huge telescope and be with people that know a lot about space and astronomy,” Castillo said. “So it’s a great opportunity to take advantage of, especially on a beautiful night like tonight, right before Valentine’s.”
The open house also drew visitors from Topeka, including Elijah Steele, a middle schooler and his father, Chas Steele. For Elijah, the night was full of questions about the planets, the constellations and the telescopes.
“I thought this one was super exciting because it was like, two tons. It’s super heavy,” Elijah Steele said.
Sophie Krammer, a senior mathematics major was assisting with the main telescope, and addressing all the questions from the visitors. She has been volunteering at the observatory since her sophomore year.
“I had taken a physics class with Dr. Camarda and I got an email at the beginning of my sophomore year asking for volunteers and I came one night and they showed me how to use telescopes and I’ve been working ever since,” Kramer said.
Kramer shares her interest in working with the telescope.
“My favorite thing is using the big telescope and getting to work with that, just because it’s a little frightening at first, but it’s a lot of fun to use,” Kramer said.
The Crane Observatory open house continues to draw both Washburn students and community members, with the historic Warner & Swasey telescope and several smaller deck telescopes available for public viewing. The observatory holds open houses every other Thursday when skies are clear. The next public viewing is scheduled for Feb. 26 from 6:30-8 p.m.
Edited by Bidhya Sapkota and Stuti Khadka