Rancho Mirage Observatory
The Rancho Mirage Observatory has reopened after being closed during the Pandemic. September 26-30, 2022 they will be holding evening Stargazing Events.
The observatory allows public access, in the vein of a public library’s purpose, not only to words and thoughts, but to the sky itself. The Observatory, was architecturally designed as a compliment to the Library.
In today’s densely populated world, simply looking up to see the stars has become increasingly more difficult to do. The city of Rancho Mirage Observatory sets out to solve that problem by building their own Observatory and staffing it with a bona fide astronomer, Eric McLaughlin. The observatory allows us to see what our acestors saw by simply looking up.
They offer daily tours and educational programs with topics ranging from Our Relatively Strange Universe, to Red Sky at Noon Life’s Boon? Exploring Red Dwarfs and the Surface of the Sun and Space Weather. McGlaughlin’s quirky sense of humor combined with his wealth of knowledge make them both entertaining and inoformative.
On the Observatory deck, there are four telescope pads that are powered and linked to a server in the “Cosmic Office”, and feed images to the Library for public viewing. At the skywatching event, the four pads are occupied by telescopes focused on planets and stars transiting the night’s sky above. McLaughlin points them out, as well as notable constellations, with an intense laser pointer, so that visitors can learn what the pinpoints of light in the dark sky above them are. The whole time he is showing planets and stars in the sky, he is also educating. “Think of a constellation as a region of the night sky,” he said while pointing out Sagittarius above, and “You’d think that the red stars are the hottest, but they’re not. White stars are more hot, and blue even hotter than white.”
After the tour on the main deck, visitors move to the telescope room with the main telescope, a reserch grade telescope that is fully automated. The telescope sits on a 120,000 lb concrete footing. Quietly the roof opens, and the telescopoe rotates around to different objects. Visitors are introduced to objects millions of light years from earth. Viewing galaxies, costellations and planets spinning out of their celestial patterns isn’t part of most people’s daily experience, but once seen it’s unforgettable.
Rancho Mirage, known as the Playground of Presidents – has hosted eight US President’s from Dwight D Eisenhower to Barrack Obama, Queen Elizabeth and many international heads of state who have visited and played golf at the Annenberg Sunnylands Estate.
On addition to the Rancho Mirage Observatory, construction has started on a new development in Rancho Mirage, Cotino – A Disney Story Lving Community featuring over 1,900 residences, a swimable lagoon including shops and dining. Scheduled for completion sometime in late 2023 – 2024.
November of 2022, Larry Ellisons plans to open his new Sensei-Porcupine Creek Resort, a 6 Star Wellness Resort for the Ultra Wealthy.
Rancho Mirage is a community on the move with something for everyone and would make a great choice for you if you’re thinking about moving to the Desert! See all of the Beauiful Homes available in Rancho Mirage.
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