STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – People in Door County will be able to check out stars, and galaxies millions of miles away.
A new high-tech telescope will soon be on the job in Sturgeon Bay.
At the Stonecipher Astronomy Center at the nature area called Crossroads at Big Creek, the 25-year old observatory slowly comes to life. Inside, this state of the art telescope is just about ready to go.
“It will see pretty much anything that you point at,” said Tom Gwilym, Door County Astronomical Society Vice President.
Gwilym says the new Plane Wave CDK 400 can pick up galaxies and nebulas millions of miles away.
“When we took out first images, we just about fell on the floor. We’re just like whoa. That’s amazing. And I was sitting at the next computer, next to the telescope, and my buddy Jim was operating the telescope. And I look over, and see this image show up. And I thought he was on a web page, and I said oh wait, that’s us.”
“Those of us that have seen it, have actually been blown away,” said Dave Lenius, Door County Astronomical Society President.
Lenius says the video camera attached to the telescope will take people on an educational trip to the stars.
“And we can project it, live stream it to the web. We can show it in our astronomy center on our big 80-inch television. So we don’t have to all crowd around one eyepiece in the dark. We can share it with the public through other means.”
As the telescope continues to search the stars, Gwilym says seeing what the machine can do, gives him some perspective.
“We want people to take interest in the night sky. And realize there’s more to the planet than just what they see on the ground, and look up.”.
The $78,000 dollar telescope is scheduled to be dedicated Saturday afternoon.
A bequest from the late Ray Stonecipher helped cover the cost.
Officials say the telescope will be open to the public at least a couple times a month.
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