UNM-Taos develops plans for massive public telescope
UNM–Taos recently began planning the installation of the largest publicly-accessible telescope in New Mexico in an effort to take advantage of the area’s dark skies.
Chancellor Mary Gutierrez said the telescope was donated to the campus by the late Melinda King and will be named the King Telescope in her honor. According to a feasibility study outlining the details of the endeavor, the nearest facility to offer something similar to what is planned for UNM–Taos is in Flagstaff, Ariz.
According to the feasibility study, the device will be 12 feet high and will utilize a 36-inch mirror. According to Gary Zientara, an amateur astronomer who owns his own observatory, the larger the mirror, the more light a telescope can collect. More light, he said, means more detailed images. He went on to add that a telescope of this size would be able to see objects 400 million light years away.
Due to the massive size of the telescope, the campus has been gearing up to construct its housing: A new on-campus astronomy facility, which will be “used on a regular basis for exhibitions and astronomical observing sessions and will become an attraction for visitors and tourists alike,” according to the feasibility study.
The current plans for the new facility — which is set to be built on the west side of campus — include a space of 300 square-feet to house the telescope and a 30-foot observatory dome under which it will rest. East of the observatory, beams will be constructed to serve as screens to block light that could interfere with the new observatory. Once complete, the telescope and surrounding facilities will be ADA-compliant. Plans also include a weather station where students can study climate conditions.
The exterior of the design is set to include a 1,700-square-foot “observation pad,” which will include a planetarium/amphitheater that will be able to seat 50 people, so that astronomy courses can be taught or events can be held outdoors. The amphitheater will be built in relation to the topography of the area.
Colin Nicholls, an astronomy professor at UNM–Taos, is very excited for the new facility. Something Nicholls communicates to his students is how studying the cosmos can drastically change one’s perspective, noting that “challenging perspective is always a good thing for educators to do.”
“The whole thing was to develop an opportunity to reach out into the wider community and show them the things that you can see through a big telescope in a dark sky area,” Nicholls added. “Very few people in the developed world get to experience truly dark skies.”
The feasibility study noted that less than one percent of Europe and the U.S. populations are able to experience dark skies, and those nocturnal observers on UNM– Taos’ campus are able to view the Andromeda Galaxy — 2.5 million light years away — with the naked, unaided eye.
According to Nicholls, protecting the night sky is crucial not just to astrological studies, but also for preserving the natural ecology, adding that preserving a dark-skies environment can positively affect sleeping habits of residents. And Zientara said that light pollution can harm nocturnal animals.
“We want to say this is something that’s precious and we need to look after it for our own enrichment, for cultural connections and for the benefit of the wider ecological system,” Nicholls said about light pollution. “If we can advertise that both to residents in Taos County and students both K-12 and also at the college, and on top of that share it with visitors to the region, then that will help get the message across.”
Zientara and Nicholls both agree that the educational benefits of this telescope will be fruitful. To Zientara, understanding and observing the cosmos caters to mankind’s innate desire to explore, which enriches our ability to innovate.
“When we learn more about the cosmos, we can learn more about our scientific understanding of what the universe is like. That leads to all kinds of discoveries and inventions, anywhere from being the first to control fire to nowadays, where we have computers and artificial intelligence,” Zientara said, adding that “anything that can expand our view of the universe is not only educational but, I think, necessary to understand who we are and what our environment is.”
The current estimated cost of this endeavor is currently just over $3 million, and the college is seeking state, federal and private funding for it, according to Gutierrez. No dates have been provided as to when construction will begin or end.