Those who are willing to make the drive to the top of Fremont
Peak today and Saturday will get a once-in-a lifetime chance to see
Earth’s nearest neighbor up close.
Volunteers with the Fremont Peak Observatory Association are
giving the public two chances to see the planet Mars as clearly as
anyone has seen it in at least 60,000 years.
Those who are willing to make the drive to the top of Fremont Peak today and Saturday will get a once-in-a lifetime chance to see Earth’s nearest neighbor up close.
Volunteers with the Fremont Peak Observatory Association are giving the public two chances to see the planet Mars as clearly as anyone has seen it in at least 60,000 years.
The FPOA volunteers will hold public observations of the red planet today and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. using the 30-inch Challenger telescope. The viewing is free but the state park has a $3 per car parking fee.
Using the powerful telescope, donated to Fremont Peak State Park by telescope maker Kevin Medlock nearly 20 years ago, FPOA members are hoping to get some fantastic views of Earth’s closest relative.
“If the atmosphere seeing is steady, we might be able to pick out three large volcanoes on Mars,” FPOA board member Ron Dammann said. “We will also be able to see the inner and outer moons of Mars.”
Dammann, who is also FPOA’s director of instrumentation, said volunteers are expecting a much larger than normal crowd.
“Normally, we get a large crowd when there is a special astronomic event such as the Leonid meteor shower we had last year or a comet,” Dammann said.
Dammann’s suspicions were proven right on Aug. 23, during the group’s first public viewing.
“We had more than 300 people come through when we opened it last Saturday,” volunteer David Baumgartner said. “Some people came from as far as three hours away.”
It is suggested that anyone who wants to attend one of the viewings should arrive early because the observatory has limited parking space and fills up quickly.
Because of the high-demand and limited traffic space in the park at the observatory, rangers will be controlling cars at the entrance to the park and access to the observatory will be controlled with numbered tickets. Entrance to the park will be closed at 9 p.m.
“And I don’t think you want to drive up to the peak in the dark,” Dammann said.
