Kearney Nebraska                                                    Director - Mark Urwiller                                    Assistant Directors:  Jay Rasmussen, Kay Wolf, and Dan Glomski Visitation Page                School Is Starting Back Up, But Don't Forget To Come See Us! Boldly Go Were Few Have Gone Before! The Observatory Has 4 Computers With Wireless Internet Access!  Visitations/Activities For August Summer is upon us and that along with daylight savings time makes dark sky observing for the public pretty late - after 11:00 PM in midsummer!  Seven Hills Observatory is teaming up with Dan Glomski to run special sessions at the UNK Planetarium this summer!  These sessions are free. We will start handing out tickets (at the planetarium) about 6:00 PM for shows starting at 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM.  If it 's clear outside we will have scopes set up with filters for safe solar viewing.  Later the same evening - 10:00 PM - we will offer a tour of Seven Hills Observatory and viewing if it's clear.  Join us for a star studded evening of free fun!  Bring the mosquito repellant to the observatory though. If you want to be informed when unexpected astronomical phenomena appear; you should join the listserv described on the PVAO site - www.pvao.us Viewing sessions are free of charge.  Call 293-5776 until 10:00 PM daily or e-mail us at the link near the bottom of this page. Friday August 20th - 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM:  Solar observing and planetarium show at UNK, then an observatory tour and viewing if conditions allow.             Please call before coming out to the observatory if the sky condition aren't perfectly clear or it's windy!  We will still offer a tour and NSN activities by request, but if it's important to you to view through the telescopes; that might not happen. For more information on more astronomy events free to the public in the Tri-City Area of Nebraska, go to this link: http://www.pvao.us/clubnews.html As usual, please register and get directions by calling us at 308-293-5776 before 10:00 PM daily or by e-mail.  As always, these events are free of charge!  We look forward to seeing you! When visiting the observatory, here are some rules/recommendations you should consider: 1) Please stay on mowed trails and roads only. The site is visited almost daily by pheasants, and during much of the year, deer also visit.  We would like to keep the area as undisturbed as possible. 2) Please, while in the observatory, don't touch anything unless you ask and/or have been instructed as to the proper use of the instrument! 3) When coming to the observatory, please come to the headquarters (my home) first, unless you have received previous instructions. 4) Bring a lawn chair for each member of your group, that is if you plan on staying a while, as we hope you will. If it is clear, please keep in mind that it often takes a while to find objects for you to look at. Often there are others in line to see these things as well. If it is cloudy, you are welcome to pull up a chair and ask as many questions as you like. We have some chairs, but not many. 5) Bring a flashlight for dark-sky observing sessions! You will need one of these to safely navigate from your car to the building. We purposely don't have any lights in the area of the facility. Once in the building, we generally ask that you don't use your flashlight (with its white bulb) unless you ask. We have red lights which will help you see where you are going inside the building! 6) No smoking is allowed in the building! 7) In winter, please bring plenty of warm clothing! This can't be over stressed. Standing still in the cold is nothing like being active in it! Wear several layers and don't forget those gloves/mittens and something for your head. There is no such thing as glamour when it comes to staying warm!  There is no heat in the observatory! 8) In Summer - don't forget the mosquito repellant! 9) Be advised there are no bathroom facilities in the observatory! 10) No boisterous behavior within the observatory will be tolerated! Worried about the threat of light pollution in your area? For more information on it and how you can help educate others to enjoy lights AND the night sky - check out our light pollution page and the link page!   Send comments to: mark.urwiller@kearneypublic.org Mark Urwiller - Web Page Administrator Home  Introduction  Visitation Dates  Observatory Equipment  Links  Observatory News  Photos    Light Pollution  Earth and Natural Science Club   Trackers