By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
Mountain Skies Astrological Society’s $1.3 million research grade telescope sustained major damage when three high school age vandals broke into the society’s observatory in the dead of night in late April, causing several hundred thousand dollars in damage to the mechanism that rotates the telescope into position for viewing stars, planets, constellations and distant galaxies.
Dr. Lorann Parker, the society’s president, told the Alpine Mountaineer that the damage occurred when the alleged vandals started the electric motor that powers the rotating mechanism. This apparently spooked them and they quickly exited the building, with the motor still running and, eventually, the rotator struck a metal rail, which in turn caused the motor to stall and overheat, destroying both the motor and its gear system. Fortunately, said Parker, insurance will cover the cost of replacing the damaged equipment.
According to Parker, images of the teen vandals were captured by a security camera; however, much to the chagrin of sheriff’s investigators, fingerprints left behind by the intruders were illegible owing to dampness left behind by foggy weather.
The U.S. Air Force donated this projector that will be used in a soon-to-be constructed planetarium adjacent to the observatory.
Despite all the bad news, the astrological society’s Astronomy Village – located on a hilltop adjacent to Rim of the World High School – was reopened to the public for four hours on Saturday, May 25, when two families showed up for a tour of the observatory, gift shop and education building. The visitors from Orange County heard Dr. Parker describe the 33-year history of the organization and its purpose, which is to promote education in astronomy and related sciences by providing resources and educational programs for its members and the general public.
The afternoon program had Dr. Parker sharing pieces of meteorites, metals and fossilized objects that have fallen to earth, such as an oddly shaped rock which had been formed by the heat of lightning striking sand. She also circulated a small ball through the audience and had each child and adult squeeze it to illustrate how an object as large as the earth could be compressed into a black hole.
Nine-year-old Reiner from Costa Mesa (second from right) said he was amazed that poop could be fossilized.
Dr. Parker also passed around a sample of a fossilized brown substance inside a plastic case and challenged people to identify it. One small child looked at it and said, shyly, “It looks like poop.” Everyone laughed, at which point Dr. Parker congratulated the young lad for getting it right.
During the summer months, Mountain Skies Astrological Society offers educational programs designed for families on Saturday evenings, weather permitting. For a schedule of evening programs and their themes, log onto their website at: www.mountain-skies.org.
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