Returned to the observatory in August to attend a ...

Returned to the observatory in August to attend a star party during the Perseids Meteor Shower. The start party started off with a constellation tour and general stargazing talk in the outdoor theater area. It was really informative and even entertaining. I learned quite a bit even though I'm not a complete newbie to stargazing.

After the constellation tour, there were several telescopes (around a dozen or so) set up for everyone to look through. There are astronomers attending each telescope, adjusting and refocusing as needed, as well as explaining each object you're looking at. It was way less frustrating than using my own telescope, as I didn't have to do any of the work! Saturn was in the sky when we were there, so they had a couple telescopes in the domes aimed towards it to help cut down on lines. We waited in line maybe 10-15 minutes to view Saturn. The other telescopes had even shorter lines. We looked at several deep space objects through a variety of Dobsonian telescopes, and one crazy telescope that I can't recall the name. The astronomers manning the telescopes were all very friendly and helpful.

There seemed to be a fairly large crowd at the observatory that night, but the lines and waits to look through telescopes went pretty fast. We went on a Saturday night during a new moon and a meteor shower, so I was pleasantly surprised how quickly we got to see everything.

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Ended up here after a scenic drive from Marfa - it was not as far as I thought. Nice scenic drive up the mountain from Fort Davis. Disappointed I did not make plans to do a star party here - will definitely be making a return visit in the future. Very nice facilities. Spectacular views.