Reach for the Stars in Humacao
Due to COVID- the Observatory is not open to the public. But for those that are interested, they are having virtual web seminars. When the school reopens to in-person classes, they can reopen the Observatory. Check their Facebook page. When they reopen to the public… It looks like Dr Muller is no longer there, but I assume your experience will be similar but with different speakers/presentations.
The nighttime sky has been beckoning people for probably as long as man has been on earth. I think most people have fond memories of their grade school solar system projects. And, many of us still stop to watch a space walk or the launching of the space shuttle.
If you really want to get a closer look at the night sky, and learn some cool stuff, you can go to the observatory at the Humacao campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) for a Noche de Observacion. They have different speakers and talks each time, so there is always something new. It’s a fun and educational evening for the star-gazer in all of us.
Our Visit
The Astronomical Observatory is in the Physics building on the UPR Humacao campus. Upon arriving at the university campus, the guard at the gate gave us good directions on how to get to the Physics building. As we walked in, we met some students and their astronomy professor. After some chit-chat, we all went up to the classroom on the third floor.
I immediately got the feeling I was transported to the set of the TV show Big Bang Theory, with the blackboard covered with all sorts of physics calculations. I was worried that we were in for a lot of information that was way over our heads.
They set up the slide show and Dr. Muller started his 20-minute talk and we were all really impressed. It was an interesting, educational and enjoyable presentation. The majority of the talk was about telescopes and the types of things that telescopes are good (and are not good) for seeing.
I am sure he has given this talk a hundred times, but he still made it fun. Going into the evening, we thought that we knew something about astronomy — but he debunked our theories and told us the real scoop. For example,
- NASA overlays 2 photos in order to get their picture of Jupiter and its 4 moons
- When buying a telescope, magnification is not important. The diameter of the telescope lens is most important (wider is better)
- Telescopes without a motorized base are useless. Since the earth is spinning, you need a motor in the telescope that moves it at an equal, but opposite rate as the earth’s rotation so that you are able to keep an object in the sky within the field of view of the telescope
So, all you people out there that spent a fortune on a telescope at the Discovery Store … go return it!
After the 20-minute talk and some great pictures of planets and stars taken at the UPR Observatory (a couple of which we are using in this article), they usually take you outside and everyone can have a turn looking through the telescope at whatever is interesting in the sky that night. But … the night that we went it was overcast and raining, so we didn’t get to look at anything in the sky.
According to the students that were there that night, planets and the moon are the best things to look at. As Dr. Muller pointed out, stars are boring — they look like white dots of light! We’re planning to go back on a clear night with a full moon to get a good look at it’s swiss cheese surface!
Details
$1/pp donation .
The observatory is open to the general public on the first Thursday night of the month, but not every month. You MUST check their Facebook page for the schedule or call ahead to make sure they will be open on the night that you want to go. They are also closed during school recesses. The talk starts at 7:00pm and it can be in Spanish, English or both (depending on the audience).They welcome questions during the presentation. They also do a daytime Observacion Solar on the first Wednesday of the month at 10:30am.
You want to go when it is a clear night, when there is a moon in the sky, and hopefully another planet visible
You can visit the observatory Facebook page for more information. They keep it updated as to when they are open and when the talks will be happening. A they have a map for driving to the campus in Humacao. There is also a Webpage for more information.
You should give the observatory a call at (787) 850-9336 or 787-850-9381 for more information and to make sure they’ll be open the night you want to go.
The photos in this article were taken by students and faculty at the UPR Observatory in Humacao.
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PuertoRicoDayTrips.com assumes no responsibility regarding your safety when participating in the activities described in this article. Please use common sense! If your mother or that little voice in your head tells you that you are about to do something stupid … then don't do it!
