This morning, Kathy & I spent time walking around the grounds of the historic Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. It’s a beautiful old building but unfortunately is closed to the public. We chatted with the caretaker there who told us that a group is negotiating with the University of Chicago to take over management of the facility as an educational center. The telescopes are being used as part of the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network.
The observatory evidently became less relevant to the university due to declining interest in astronomy as a college subject and increasing competition from other observatories. The university has been attempting to sell the property for many years with no success, and it is hoped that a non-profit organization will be able to take over management of the facility in the near future. It’s an interesting story if one wants to learn more.
Wow, it is so ornate. Interesting article you linked us to. I hope they can open it and allow us to experience it. It must be in a location with little night lights near and looks like the grounds are quite large.
As I understand it, light pollution is a big problem everywhere. As remote as this place is, they get a lot of light from Chicago and Milwaukee. Almost to the point of rendering it unusable.