Welcome to HVO!
The outdoor classroom and observing field are on relatively level ground with minor sloping. Please be aware the ground can be as rough as any open field. Lighting is kept as limited and dim as possible to allow for better seeing in the dark. The dim lighting is to help attendees find the telescopes placed around the observing field, but extra care may be needed to navigate the legs and bases of telescopes and related equipment.
In order to provide everyone with the best possible experience and a clearer understanding of the parameters that make up a great star party, please take a moment to review the following guidelines.
Flashlights: If you wish to use a flashlight, please cover the end with a red balloon or a red filter. You may not realize it, but after about twenty minutes in the dark, eyes adjust to allow seeing much fainter light. It only takes a fraction of a second of bright light (other than red) to destroy the dark adaptation requiring another twenty minutes for your eyes to adjust again.
A video being shown at the observatory prior to a night of observing.
Car headlights: Please arrive before twilight as headlights can temporarily blind other attendees who have accustomed their eyes to the dark. If arriving late, please park between the paved road and nearest parked car to minimize headlights sweeping across the outdoor classroom and observing field.
Photography: Flash photography is not allowed until after all observing has ended. Most point-and-shoot and cell phone cameras will respond to darkness by using flash. Even one flash can rob others of their visual adaptation to the dark.
Observatory Grounds
Cell Phones and other Mobile Devices: Please avoid exposing other people to the bright screens of mobile devices – that light is enough to diminish a person’s night vision and ability to see through the telescope. If you must take a call, be considerate of others and step away from the viewing area. When using a smart phone or tablet to take photos through a telescope, please dim the screen light.
Food and drink: “Sticky Fingers”, crumbs and liquids can damage sensitive equipment. If you need to eat or drink while at a star party, please keep away from the telescopes and clean your hands when you are done. Alcoholic beverages are NOT PERMITTED at our workshops. Please deposit your trash in a waste bin or take it with you. There is no water source at the observatory.
Look with your eyes and not with your hands: Please refrain from placing your hands on the telescope. This will cause the telescope to move and the object you wanted to see will be lost.
Parents, please mind your children: The safety of our children is important to all of us. Children running around in the dark is dangerous. It’s easy to trip on things and we don’t want anyone to get injured or have equipment damaged.
No animals: The observatory grounds are within the Rapid City Limit. Rapid City has a leash law. Leashes and telescopes are not a good pairing. Most animals, lower to the ground than even children, are tough to see in the dark, making them a trip hazard. Particularly the good ones that tend to be quiet. Even a well behaved animal can go at someone with a snarl and teeth, or suddenly bolt, when stepped on or startled in the dark. One animal taking exception to another next to a telescope and associated equipment, or a person, startled and quickly trying to back away from an unknown animal in the dark, could result in thousands of dollars in damage. Please help us protect your animal and our equipment by not bringing them to star parties.
For your comfort: Bench seating in the outdoor classroom is limited. Open space around the benches is available if you would like to bring your own comfy camp chair.
Parking: Please park on the right (west) side of the driveway as approaching the observatory.