On March 8, the PA Wilds Astronomy Club donated three additional telescopes to Tioga County, PA, libraries. Included were the Elkland Area Library, the Knoxville Public Library, and the Westfield Public Library. These telescopes join those already delivered to the Blossburg Memorial Library, the Mansfield Free Library, and the Green Free Library (Wellsboro). Combined with the four telescopes that DCNR supplied the Potter County libraries, this means there are ten telescopes in the two counties that can be checked out similar to a book.
All of these telescopes are of similar design. They are table-top 4.5 inch reflecting telescopes. The best surface to use them on would be a heavy picnic table. They are equipment with a zoom eyepiece for a wide field of view while looking for an object, and a narrow field with higher power for zooming in for a closer view. A set of instructions is provided with the telescope when you sign it out. If any questions or issues arise, contact us (astro@ptd.net) or the library.
We will give a brief talk on using the library telescopes at our planetarium show on Friday, March 21. If clear, we’ll also have telescopes (including a library telescope) set-up in the parking lot for views of planets and deep sky objects before and after the show.
If you enjoy using one of the telescopes, you may want to consider joining our group. We meet the fourth Wednesday of the month, at 7:30 PM, at the conference room of the Grand Canyon Regional Airport (in the administration building). For more information, contact us at astro@ptd.net
