“REMOTE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORIES IN NEVADA
DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT, AND OPERATION”
ASN MEETING
Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center
1664 N Virginia St, Reno
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
6:30 pm ASN Business Meeting
7:00 pm Arrive early and socialize
7:30 pm Meeting Program and discussion
Great Basin Observatory
Great Basin National Park
Many of us are familiar with the Great Basin Observatory (GBO), located in Great Basin National Park. Paul McFarlane will present an overview of the GBO facility.
The GBO is the first and only research-grade observatory ever built in a U.S. National Park, set at an elevation of 6,825 feet and with no significant man-made light for 70 miles in all directions. The observatory is a state-of-the-art, remotely operated, optical astronomical telescope. GBO is supported by the University of Nevada, Reno, and Southern Utah University as observatory partner universities.
Paul McFarlane
Director, Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center
Paul McFarlane is the Director of Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center. McFarlane is a 1990 alumnus of UNR. Paul was selected as the Outstanding Student Teacher in the College of Education and Senior Scholar of the College of Arts and Sciences. He has studied astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Physics, doing coursework and research using the MacLean Observatory telescopes at the Redfield Campus. Paul also trained at Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers with aerospace and NASA experts in astronomy, engineering, and planetary science.
Togugunde Observatory project
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation
We welcome Ben Rupert to present a new public observatory project, the “Togugunde Observatory” (Togugunde, “Heavens”, pronounced Do-go-gun-duth). The observatory is an eco-cultural tourism project of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation (Sho-Pai). The observatory will be located on the Duck Valley Reservation, near Owyhee, Nevada (north of Elko).
The mission of the Togugunde Observatory will be to enhance Sho-Pai cultural tourism, be an integral infuencer of cultural identity for the Sho-Pai Tribe, Owyhee community, Owyhee Combined School, and for outdoor recreation. The observatory will provide a unique outdoor cultural tourism facility for the interpretation of Togugunde (Heavens).
Ben Rupert
Ben is of Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute and Washoe descent and is part of the Nevada’s Indian Territory leadership team (a marketing arm of the Nevada Commission on Tourism). Their mission statement is “Changing the world through eco-cultural tourism of the Great Basin”. Ben has been the lead on Nevada’s Indian Territory destination development of the Great Basin tribal communities.
