The County won't sacrifice public safety or assets to accommodate dark skies enthusiasts and the City continues to clean up legal issues with ownership and occupancy left by previous administration
I welcome the author, as well as any readers, to attend any open night at the Observatory, every Friday, weather-depending. I genuinely hope to see you there as I don't believe I've seen the author's name on any of the guest log entries. It's an inspiring, educational experience that around 500 visitors have enjoyed in the past year.
Topics and sights are generally astronomical in nature, though I would be happy to discuss whether the snow shovels constitute "observatory equipment" or discuss whether it's reasonable for them to be out as "routinely" as our Spring snows have been. I'll even be glad to discuss whether the picnic table is "furniture," though I would much rather gaze into the cosmos and discuss the science and art that is astronomy.
Furniture: equipment that is necessary, useful, or desirable: such as movable articles used in readying an area (such as a room or patio) for occupancy or use; as in furnishings, the movable articles (such as tables and chairs) in a room.
Equipment:Â the set of articles or physical resources serving to equip a person or thing: such as the implements used in an operation or activity (e.g., sports equipment).
Like I said, come on out on Friday to enjoy the facility and/or discuss your concerns. With May approaching, snow shovels won't be needed on the regular soon anyway, this morning's snow notwithstanding. I'll be glad to give you a full tour.
I'm only concerned with reporting the facts of the situation. I have no concerns about the observatory, people or project. I do have concerns with the government processes, lacking or misused, that were applied to propel the observatory project and the issues that have resulted by not going through a diligent approval process. My purpose is to shine a light so that others may see. The citizens of Red Lodge will decide if these are problems and, if so, how they should be resolved. I live in the county with darker skies and access to telescopes and have no dog in this fight. I wish you and the observatory well.
The invite stands, and hope you're able to make it out since on-site experience would add valuable context, I think. And one doesn't get the opportunity to see galaxies and nebulae through one of the largest free-to-public-use scopes in State all that often. We've come a long way since the initially-donated 8-incher.
Red Lodge Area Community Foundation wrote up a great article on what a night at the Observatory is like for their Spring newsletter. I encourage anyone to give it a read.
The mission of this observatory was commendable in so far as educating and entertaining everyone to the mysteries of the universe above us. Conversely the implementation was done with little adherence to the required steps for any improved property. As mentioned in the article certain parts of the process did not appear to have been properly sequenced, or even addressed at all. It appeared at times that the owner/promoter believed that the end product superseded the appropriate steps to achieve that result. It also appeared at times that the owner/promoter had little regard for adjacent lighting that was safety related. That left a bitter taste in many who might have otherwise enjoyed the facility. There is no doubt in my mind that the current mayor and council will eventually rectify any gray areas that unfortunately were utilized by the previous administration, reminding us all that the ends do not justify the means.
Lights are a safety issue. Lights will be needed especially when there is potential to be up there in 2 day sandbagging for our lives if we flood after we get a lot more rain on Wednesday.
Despite the characterization in the article, no one is advocating for eliminating lights, merely upgrading to appropriate lighting that is, in fact, safer, due to reduced glare. Funding has even been made available.
For general information on what "appropriate" lighting looks like:
I welcome the author, as well as any readers, to attend any open night at the Observatory, every Friday, weather-depending. I genuinely hope to see you there as I don't believe I've seen the author's name on any of the guest log entries. It's an inspiring, educational experience that around 500 visitors have enjoyed in the past year.
Topics and sights are generally astronomical in nature, though I would be happy to discuss whether the snow shovels constitute "observatory equipment" or discuss whether it's reasonable for them to be out as "routinely" as our Spring snows have been. I'll even be glad to discuss whether the picnic table is "furniture," though I would much rather gaze into the cosmos and discuss the science and art that is astronomy.
https://www.herossteam.org/whistlerobservatory
- Jeremy Battles
Hero's STEAM Center
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
Furniture: equipment that is necessary, useful, or desirable: such as movable articles used in readying an area (such as a room or patio) for occupancy or use; as in furnishings, the movable articles (such as tables and chairs) in a room.
Equipment:Â the set of articles or physical resources serving to equip a person or thing: such as the implements used in an operation or activity (e.g., sports equipment).
Like I said, come on out on Friday to enjoy the facility and/or discuss your concerns. With May approaching, snow shovels won't be needed on the regular soon anyway, this morning's snow notwithstanding. I'll be glad to give you a full tour.
I'm only concerned with reporting the facts of the situation. I have no concerns about the observatory, people or project. I do have concerns with the government processes, lacking or misused, that were applied to propel the observatory project and the issues that have resulted by not going through a diligent approval process. My purpose is to shine a light so that others may see. The citizens of Red Lodge will decide if these are problems and, if so, how they should be resolved. I live in the county with darker skies and access to telescopes and have no dog in this fight. I wish you and the observatory well.
The invite stands, and hope you're able to make it out since on-site experience would add valuable context, I think. And one doesn't get the opportunity to see galaxies and nebulae through one of the largest free-to-public-use scopes in State all that often. We've come a long way since the initially-donated 8-incher.
Red Lodge Area Community Foundation wrote up a great article on what a night at the Observatory is like for their Spring newsletter. I encourage anyone to give it a read.
https://indd.adobe.com/view/eb194fd0-c636-487a-b0c7-7d9ba0fdce8c
The mission of this observatory was commendable in so far as educating and entertaining everyone to the mysteries of the universe above us. Conversely the implementation was done with little adherence to the required steps for any improved property. As mentioned in the article certain parts of the process did not appear to have been properly sequenced, or even addressed at all. It appeared at times that the owner/promoter believed that the end product superseded the appropriate steps to achieve that result. It also appeared at times that the owner/promoter had little regard for adjacent lighting that was safety related. That left a bitter taste in many who might have otherwise enjoyed the facility. There is no doubt in my mind that the current mayor and council will eventually rectify any gray areas that unfortunately were utilized by the previous administration, reminding us all that the ends do not justify the means.
Lights are a safety issue. Lights will be needed especially when there is potential to be up there in 2 day sandbagging for our lives if we flood after we get a lot more rain on Wednesday.
Despite the characterization in the article, no one is advocating for eliminating lights, merely upgrading to appropriate lighting that is, in fact, safer, due to reduced glare. Funding has even been made available.
For general information on what "appropriate" lighting looks like:
https://www.herossteam.org/rlds