Observatory
Join us May 3 for Family Earth and Sky Night
This event is a celebration of Earth (Earth Day on 4/22) and Sky (National Astronomy Day on 5/3). Events include planetarium shows, hands-on activities, night-sky viewing, and viewing utilizing the Bechtel Telescope.
The Bechtel Telescope
Visit the Bechtel Telescope after evening public planetarium shows. The observatory is open on Saturday evenings after regularly scheduled planetarium shows, weather and dark skies permitting.
The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center Observatory is on the roof of the Center. The observatory houses the Bechtel Telescope. Bechtel Savannah River Inc. and the Bechtel Foundation donated $30,000 to purchase the telescope for the observatory. Because of this generosity, the telescope now bears the company’s name.
Coordinates
81° 46' 10.73198" W
33° 34' 29.14440" N
See location at what3words
.
Equatorial Pier Angle = 33.59°
About the Bechtel Telescope
The Bechtel Telescope is a 16 inch, Meade LX-200GPS, Schmidt-Cassegrain, catadioptric telescope. What does all of that mean?
- The telescope's main mirror is 16 inches in diameter.
- Meade is the name of the company that manufactured the telescope, although the telescope was purchased from Camera Corner in North Carolina. LX-200 represents the specific type of telescope the company manufactures. Meade also makes LX-200 scopes that are 8", 12" and 14" in diameter.
- Schmidt-Cassegrain and catadioptric refer to how light is gathered. This type of scope uses mirrors and lenses to form the images. (See table below for telescope comparisons)
The observatory building was manufactured by Observadome in Jackson, Mississippi. It is five meters in diameter and has a rotating domed roof.
On June 18, 2009, The RPSEC observatory was struck by lightning and the Bechtel Telescope was damaged beyond repair. Through generosity of the company and support from insurance, a new Bechtel Telescope was purchased and installed in May 2010.
Visit our sister observatory, the Boyd Observatory
See pictures of the observatory installation and the telescope installation.
| Telescope Light Gathering Comparison | |
| Reflector | Main light gathering source is a mirror |
| Refractor | Main light gathering source is a lens |
| Catadioptric | Uses both mirrors and lenses to gather light |
There is a good description of how telescopes work at Meade Instruments Corporation.
This page has some diagrams to help explain how the telescopes work.