These two telescopes contain original 16-inch (left) and 18-inch mirrors owned by Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto. They’ll both see first light September 20. Tony Cowdrey, who stands between them, assembled both of the scopes.
Credit: Pam Price
- Lunar Base Alpha, a four-acre simulated lunar landscape in Animas, New Mexico, will be unveiled on September 20th, featuring habitats, rovers, and educational opportunities.
- The project incorporates two telescopes from the estate of Clyde Tombaugh, allowing public viewing of celestial objects through his original 16-inch and 18-inch Newtonian telescopes.
- The event will include daytime solar observing and nighttime viewing of celestial objects, such as the Whirlpool Galaxy, Ring Nebula, and Saturn during its ring-plane crossing.
- The event, commencing at noon Central Time on September 20th and concluding at 9 a.m. on September 21st, is free and includes meals for the first 50 RSVPs via the “Mars NM – The Off-World Experience” Facebook page (active September 5th).
On Saturday, September 20, an ambitious project will be announced and celebrated in Animas, New Mexico, which lies near the Arizona border. And you’re invited. Dubbed “Lunar Base Alpha,” it will replicate the lunar landscape and feature rovers conducting science experiments and habitats that you’ll be able to stay in. The initial project will cover four acres with lots of room for future expansion.
The designers will offer both on-site and remote learning opportunities for schools, but adults who visit Lunar Base Alpha will also be able to explore its many aspects. And the community around it — already beginning to grow — will become a hotspot for astronomy, art, native American history, mineralogy, and more.
Terra Mars Productions, led by Pam Price of F5 Theming and Design, is crafting the first prototype habitats using cutting-edge 3D printing technology. Price is well-known for creating spectacular destinations around the United States, including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida.
If this isn’t enough, Price has plans for a similar martian landscape once Lunar Base Alpha is up and running. It’s called Mars, New Mexico, and will cover eight acres. As with Lunar Base Alpha, there’s plenty of land to expand in the future.
Astronomy, too
As if the Lunar Base Alpha and Mars, New Mexico projects weren’t enough, there’s a tie-in to another planet at the location. Several years ago, the creators acquired two telescopes from the estate of Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto. And although the telescope structures were in a condition that didn’t allow them to be saved, the large mirrors that Tombaugh used — one 16 inches in diameter and the other 18 inches across — are perfectly usable. In fact, if you come to the event on September 20, you’ll be able to view celestial objects whose light will be collected by those mirrors — the same ones Tombaugh used to scan the skies from his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. What a thrill!
The 16-inch Newtonian telescope contains an f/10 mirror ground, figured, and polished by Tombaugh himself. The 18-inch Newtonian scope uses an f/4.5 mirror given to Tombaugh by New Mexico State University. Both telescope kits were constructed by Tony Cowdrey, an artist with F5 Theming and Design, and are mounted on new AstroSystems Dobsonian mounts.
But even such large telescopes don’t show much unless they’re at a good location. And Lunar Base Alpha boasts one of the finest skies in the nation. Not only is it dark, but the air above it is remarkably steady, a necessity if you hope to see details in galaxies and nebulae.
And, provided it’s clear, we’ll see plenty of showpiece celestial objects. Among them will be the Whirlpool Galaxy, the Ring Nebula, and Saturn. If you’ve never seen Saturn through a large telescope, this sight alone will be worth the drive. Currently, the planet is undergoing a ring-plane crossing, when, from our point of view, the rings appear edge-on. This won’t happen again for another 15 years, so come out and see it.
On the 20th …
If you’re navigating by GPS, the event will take place at 10 Washburn Drive, Animas, New Mexico. It will start at Noon Central Time and conclude at 9 a.m. the following morning.
Special guests include David Eicher, Editor Emeritus of Astronomy magazine, David Levy, co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy and Tombaugh biographer, and the New Mexico State University Astrophysics Department.
There will be tours of the various sites, tours of Tombaugh’s telescopes, daytime solar observing, and, of course, nighttime observing through both the 16- and 18-inch telescopes, along with lots of other fun activities.
Lunch and dinner on the 20th, and breakfast on the 21st will be provided. RSVP on the “Mars NM – The Off-World Experience” Facebook page. That link will become active on September 5. You’ll even be able to book an RV site, tent camping, or a cabin (if available).
This is a free event, and that includes the food. That said, camping spaces and meals are limited to the first 50 who RSVP.
I’ll be there, probably pointing out constellations and bright stars. I hope to see you, too.
