Eye on the stars

By: Caitlin Doran

Posted: 11/5/07

On Friday evening, telescopes on top of the Rockhill parking structure were pointed at several astronomical sites, including Jupiter, Andromeda and a comet officially referred to as the P17 Holmes.

"Few people know about the telescopes on the roof of Royall Hall or that they were handmade by Stan Warkoczewski himself," said Joe Wright, President of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City (ASKC).

While the majority of the telescopes on top of the Rockhill parking structure were privately owned, the two telescopes that compose the Warkoczewski observatory and are on top of Royall Hall, eight and 16 inches in diameter, are owned by UMKC.

According to the ASKC Web site, Warkoczewski's telescopes have been open on clear Friday nights for decades, since the 1940s, when Warkoczewski built the telescopes by hand.

"The mirror on the eight-inch telescope was recently cleaned for the first time since 1972," Wright said. "Unlike mirrors you find in your home, telescope mirrors are coated on the front side, which can wear away over time."

Although the Physics Department is responsible for the use and hours of the observatory, members of the ASKC meet somewhat regularly at the observatory to hold observing sessions. The objects observed vary in nature from planetary, lunar to deep sky objects.

Many members of the ASKC are award winners several times over. Steve Kranz is the proud recipient of 26 awards.

"The awards are given out by the ASKC to members who have shown skill in observing and submitted a logbook of objects observed," Wright said.

The group is also the home to nine master observers and boasts of 300 members across Kansas City.

Every fourth Friday of the month, the group hosts a guest speaker to promote astronomy in the Kansas City area. Recent speakers have included David Levy, known for hunting comets, and James Amett, who is associated with NASA's Spitzer telescope.

"Summertime is the busiest time of the year for the observatory, but wintertime allows for a longer observation time because it gets dark so early," Wright said. "UMKC turns the lights off in the surrounding buildings so there is less light pollution in the telescope mirror. The telescope works similarly to an eye, when the mirror is exposed to bright light, it acts like a pupil and less light is able to be seen through the eyepiece. When there is less light, the reflection is more clear and more light is able to be seen through the eyepiece."

Even though the observatory is close to downtown, the telescopes are strong enough to view astronomical objects.

Every Friday between May and October, the observatory is open to the public from dusk until 11 p.m. During the winter months, the observatory's hours are subject to the weather and cloud coverage, which obscures the amount of light needed to clearly view the night sky.

cdoran@unews.com