Starry Nights Telescope Tour
Telescopes invoke wonder like you've never experienced! Imagine viewing a galaxy of a trillion stars as it looked 25 million years before hominids even appeared on Earth, or a star that ripped itself apart in a supernova a millennium ago.
Take advantage of dark skies as we view beautiful astronomical objects through one of the largest telescopes available on the non-professional market - our 14-inch Celestron Edge-HD telescope.
We are 5 minutes from downtown Murphys, a small rural community in the Sierra Nevada foothills with Bortle Dark Sky Class 3 skies (rural). Our observing site is extremely dark. We will observe from our rocked telescope pad in our field. Reclining chairs will allow you to view satellites and the occasional shooting star while we discuss the constellations and astronomical objects we're viewing.
Hosted by Joe Guzzetta
I have been an amateur astronomer since I could look through a telescope, and have been observing the night sky in Murphys for almost 40 years. I am passionate about astronomy, physics and science in general, and love sharing the joy and wonder of astronomy with others. I carefully research each object to ensure you see the most impressive clusters, nebulae and galaxies currently visible, and to ensure you understand what you're looking at, including the sizes and vast distances involved.
A Unique Experience
We view a variety of astronomical objects - approximately 15-20 each session. Depending on the season, you may see the surface, polar ice cap and clouds on Mars, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn with its rings and moons, Uranus, Neptune, double stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae and other galaxies.
You decide how much time you spend with each object-small groups mean you never have to wait to look into the eyepiece.
Tours average approximately 2.5 - 3 hours.
Viewings are $75 per guest.
Guests must be age 12 or older.
Availability
The light from the moon washes out most of the faint objects we view. Accordingly, we do not hold viewings between 2 days before the 1st lunar quarter and 5 days after the full moon.
Weekdays and weekends are available.
The following dates are unavailable due to the phase of the moon:
Feb, 14 - Mar. 1, Mar. 15-31, Apr. 13-29, May 12-28,
June 11-27, July 11-25, Aug. 10-24, Sept. 9-23.
Email me for more information.
(RIGHT - Actual Image of Jupiter and its
moon Io through our 14-inch telescope).