Since this was my first time going into the observatory, or any observatory for that matter, I thought it was really cool seeing the different parts of the telescope. For example, I didn’t know that these telescopes have a mechanism that turns the telescope with the spinning of the Earth, so that the view through the telescope moves with things in the sky to keep them in view longer. It was really nice that the astronomy student who hosted us was so enthusiastic about the observatory — I learned a lot and had a fun time because his excitement was infectious.

I also really liked the red lights on the deck, even though those lights definitely weren’t supposed to be a main attraction. I wish there were a switch in my room that would let me turn all my lights that color for a bit.