Telescope was free, but building to house it isn't

One of the state's largest telescopes has landed in Eden Prairie's lap.

The gift from the Minnesota Astronomical Society promises to put a broad, detailed view of the night sky within easy reach of west-suburban residents.

But before deciding to become a city for viewing the stars, Eden Prairie is investigating what it would cost to mount and house the the 16-inch Cassegrain telescope, which stands 9 feet tall and weighs more than 1,000 pounds.

A telescope of that size would allow Eden Prairie to offer a unique night experience at its Outdoor Center at Staring Lake, said Jay Lotthammer, director of Parks and Recreation. "You would see the moon in a way you will never see with even a nice telescope that somebody has at home."

But cost is an issue. The city has $60,000 budgeted for the design and construction of a building the size of a one-car garage. It would have a retractable roof and space for a horseshoe of benches around the scope and the potential for a group to see the telescope's view on a wide screen TV.

Architects have been hired to present a design and cost estimates within about a month.

"We have not at this point determined that we are moving forward with the building," Lotthammer said. "The question remains, what will the council be willing to spend in order to facilitate the gift?"

The telescope is in pieces in storage.

The astronomical society, a club of about 400 amateur astronomers, acquired the scope from the University of Minnesota Duluth about 30 years ago.

"At the time it was a professional-level scope," said Bill Kocken, secretary of the association. It is not computerized as more modern scopes are, but it's very sturdy, he said.

"It makes a good scope for a public outreach kind of thing where it can be mounted permanently."

Originally, the society used the telescope at the Onan Observatory in Baylor Regional Park in Norwood Young America. When the group got a new computerized scope, it decided to donate the old one to Eden Prairie because the city's nature program already includes a once-a-month astronomy program led by one of the society's members, Jon Hickman, who uses his own portable telescope.

The larger telescope is a logical fit for Eden Prairie, said city naturalist and outdoor center coordinator Stan Tekiela.

"Our push is to get people more in touch with nature. We have offered astronomy programs here for seven or eight years."

The Outdoor Center would be a convenient place for people to come and see celestial events -- for example, the recent eclipse of the moon, Tekiela said.

Kocken said the astronomical society did not specify how its gift should be used and would not want it back if the city decides not to mount the telescope right away.

The new 16-inch telescope the society bought for the Onan Observatory cost $13,000, Kocken said. He estimated the sale value of the one given to Eden Prairie at between $5,000 and $10,000.

Hickman, a resident of Plymouth, is excited about the prospects for promoting astronomy by making the telescope available in Eden Prairie.

"I just love having the opportunity to get people to look up," Hickman said. "There is a sense of awe and wonder when you look up and at the eyepiece of a telescope, see Saturn and realize it's not just a dot in the sky -- it's this incredible three-dimensional object that has beauty you don't see every day."

If the Eden Prairie City Council OKs the building, Hickman said he would hope to have it open almost every clear weekend, year-round.

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711