The Hidden Valley Observatory turns 50 this month. The facility is located near Saint Martins Monastery just outside of Rapid City. The Black Hills Astronomical Society held a special star party.
SDPB's Charles Michael Ray spoke with the group's president Dr. George Gladfelter, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and spoke about the history of the observatory.
More about the star party:
Erin Green is the Observatory Director she says the party started at dusk.
“We’re going to show a movie called Dakota Starry Nights produced by Richard Walker he’s one of our members and we’re going to show that in the outdoor amphitheater,” says Green. “When it gets really dark out all the members are going to take out their telescopes and we’re just going to start looking at all different objects in the sky.”
Green says the event is great for families and children who want to learn more about astronomy. There are some rules of etiquette at a star party, you can find more on that here.