11/04/2023
Hello stargazers!
Welcome to the Astronomy Club of Virginia Tech page — we’re glad you’re here!
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Below is some general information about our Open Houses for your reference:
We hold weekly Open Houses at Nicholas R. Anderson Observatory on Fridays at 8pm, clouds or (star)shine! If it is raining, we will not hold an Open House due to potential loss of traction on the hill leading up to our observatory.
Written directions to Nicholas R. Anderson Observatory will be included at the bottom of this post.
When arriving at the location at or after 8pm, the gate at the bottom of the hill will be closed but unlocked — just unwrap the chain and come on through, but please be sure to close it behind you! The observatory is located on a Virginia Tech livestock pasture, and we would like to keep our cows :^) While officers will of course always aim to be at the observatory before Open Houses begin, please remember that all of our officers are full-time students, and that many of our members carpool to events, as the observatory is outside of the BT bus routes. If you arrive to the Open House early, look for red/green lights on the observatory visible from the gate — if they are on, the gate will be unlocked and you are free to come on up! If you do not see any lights on, no keyholders have arrived yet, but they will be there soon & we appreciate your patience & grace.
When visibility is favorable at these Open Houses, we will have a 10” motorized Dobsonian and an 8” manual Dobsonian (both standing telescopes) in addition to a couple of (handheld) Galileoscopes and occasionally some astronomical binoculars. For the sake of time, club officers will do all the necessary maneuvering of the telescopes so you can look at as much space-stuff as possible before bedtimes arise. For any extra eager astronomers, feel free to request us to point the telescopes at anything you want to see, and we will try our best to work with visibility conditions!
Should visibility be poor, we will have prepared a beginner-friendly information session inside the observatory, including some astrophotography taken by ACVT members, information about what to look for in the sky this season, a little bit about what we do as a club and as astrophysics students at Virginia Tech, an opportunity to learn more closely about how our telescopes work, and a welcoming atmosphere to ask any questions you may have!
We will occasionally be taking some pictures at Open Houses for social media and our website — if you do not wish for yourself and/or your child to be included in any pictures posted, that is perfectly fine!! Please let us know ahead of time so we can be sure to keep you out of frame, or feel free to let us know at any point during the Open Houses and we can discuss what you are comfortable with (censored face, fully censored person, photo deleted, etc.) Do not hesitate to communicate any uncertainties with us — we are here to give you all a fun, comfortable, and safe environment to learn about the stars!
If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out & we will get back to you as soon as we can! If needed, our email address is [email protected]. May the skies be clear & the stars be bright!
(directions from within Blacksburg)
1. Travel west on Prices Fork Road, past the 460 bypass, towards Radford.
2. Pass the Foxridge/Hethwood area, Hethwood Shopping Center, Fire Station, Kipps Elementary School, and Blacksburg Middle School (in that order).
3. At the next traffic light turn right onto Old Mill Road. (On the left at that light is the entrance to Blacksburg High School.)
4. Travel about 1/2 mile on Old Mill Road. (Be aware that a portion of the road becomes narrow, with wooded areas on both sides -- watch for deer!!)
5. Come to a gate on the right, beyond which the observatory can be seen. It looks like a short silo.
6. Please close the gate after driving through!
