"Mars 'aint the kind of place to raise your kids." But, Kitt Peak National Observatory is the kind…read moreof place you want to take someone who is a kid at heart to. (*I know, I know...I just broke the rule about not finishing a sentence with a preposition, and it sounded a bit awkward. My bad. I'll try to write more-gooder from now on.) Captain's Log: Star date May 1st, 2026. The entire crew of the Star ship, "Wait for the Western Wind*" thoroughly enjoyed the experience. (*That's is the name that I christened to the van that we rented) We have now returned safely to home base, and our journey of exploration can only be described as a success. All mission-objectives have been achieved...the goals of having fun, joining together for a little family camaraderie, and fulfilling a quest for knowledge were all clearly met. Sadly, I must report that I did fail at one of the mission's intended targets...that being: my finding a way to work-in a joke about the 7th planet from the G2V star located in the Arm of Orion, in the "Via Lactea" (latin for Milky Way) galaxy. As I get older, I have found that discretion, indeed, is the better part of valor. So, when our guide (Sam--who was wonderful) asked the group that she was leading if there was anything that we hoped to see that night, I pulled my hand back down quickly... realizing, at that moment, that a joke about "Uranus" would most-likely, "land" like the 1967 Apollo 1 tragedy. The carbon-based humanoid life forms that inhabit the rocky crevices of I'oligam Du'ag possess advanced intelligence. As they spoke about the numerous telescopes, history of the area, and shared their deep knowledge of the wonders of space, they all exhibited kindness and patience, as well as a passionate enthusiasm for the work being done there. I also observed, on a number of well-timed occasions, that they were prone to "launching" some corny paternal-space-exploration humor. The one about being careful to not put Saturn in a bathtub--because it might leave a ring...(Ha!) that one would cause a, "super-nova of laughter" from here to Andromeda (M31): "Ground control to Major Tom". Here are two bits of advice to fellow travelers who might choose to boldly go where no human (in your family) has gone before (to the Kitt Peak Observatory)... Dress warmly and maybe bring a blanket. It was a balmy day in Tucson, but at 6,880 ft up, you will find yourself beneath the night sky of the exposed high desert and quick drops in temperatures happen as the Jackson Pollack-painted sky comes to light. Secondly, don't be like the guy who, as the night was wrapping up, got into his car, turned on his car lights, and pulled away from the presentation prematurely. What a, "back side of a black hole" move! There are easy-to-follow guidelines that have been set up to protect the experiments from white lights. If we all show a little cooperation, we all succeed. That kind of behavior is not to be tolerated, so we all agreed that the laser-guided missile launch that followed was completely justified. (I'm kidding!--we just watched as he drove away and his tail lights disappeared on the horizon--wondering to ourselves, "What kind of parents raise a person like that?") I will now close by putting our experience into a, summarized "capsule": "It was was a 'blast'!" The night indeed, was very memorable and enjoyable-- on many levels. And, I am glad that we signed on for the mission. So...fellow Earth beings, Take your protein pills and put your helmet on (Ten) Ground Control (Nine) to Major Tom (Eight, seven) (Six) Commencing (Five) countdown, engines on (Four, three, two) Check ignition (One) and may God's love (Lift off) be with you Oh, one final shout out. Back in the late 1950's, the Tohono O'odham Nation, (meaning "Desert People,") graciously allowed for the construction and use of the observatory on one of their most-treasured and sacred mountains. This should be acknowledged and respectfully appreciated as one travels there.

If you live in Arizona or are visiting, Kitt Peak is a must do at least once. The science and…read moreastronomy community we have here are doing great things! It was fascinating to hear about the history of Kitt Peak and the contributions Arizona has made. The telescopes are huge and amazing to see up close and the docents that lead the tours are all extremely knowledgeable.

My mom and I booked a star tour because we really wanted to take advantage of the clear skies and…read morelow humidity of the Tucson area. Benjamin was great with email and text communication and offered us a time and day that worked for us. The price for a private tour was reasonable and he was generous with his time. He has a really impressive portable telescope that projects digital images on a large monitor. He is super knowledgeable and has a good way of explaining scientific concepts to people of every level of astronomy, from beginner to expect. I highly recommend this experience!

We had the pleasure to have Arizona Star Tours as a guest at a conference dinner. They brought…read moretheir telescope and traveling astronomer. It was amazing to see so many stars even on a semi cloudy night. We learned about Star clusters and other stars. Very cool to have at a party or dinner event.

Optics geek or not, the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab tour is a fantastic way to spend an…read moreafternoon. Even if the only mirror you've ever seen is the one you look at to fix your hair, the tour guides make it very easy to appreciate the astronomical investment in time, money, effort and sheer brain power that goes into creating each and every one of these massive mirrors. We had ample time to ask questions and the tour guides had good answers for everything we asked.

Out of this world! Offered daily, the 90-minute tour of the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab begins at…read moreSteward Observatory, where two university hosts meet the group (12 people in ours) and begin with a quick introductory talk and video session, to describe what you'll see in the lab. Our outstanding guides, Adrian and Sage, were friendly, informative, and engaged, encouraging questions and offering interesting insights about the telescope-mirror production process as well as the U of A's astronomy program as a whole. Next, it's a short walk to the lab, housed within the infrastructure of the football stadium. From various catwalk vantages, visitors can photograph the rotating furnace apparatus used to melt the Ohara E-6 borosilicate glass and also view the extensive grinding, cleaning, and polishing processes. The lab is currently in charge of fabricating the seven 8.4-meter spin-cast mirrors that will form the heart of the Giant Magellan Telescope, which will have capabilities up to 200x more powerful than today's best land-based telescopes and is expected to take images 10x sharper than Hubble. It's amazing to hear about the innovation involved in this project that spans decades, and it's even more dazzling and inspiring to see it in person -- a stellar opportunity that will leave you starry-eyed!

The Mt. Lemmon Sky Center is one fo the "gems" of Tucson! Visitors from around the country, the…read moreworld and locals with them, enjoy viewing many celestial objects through the research grade 32 inch Schulman Telescope from its 9,157 ft. summit is spectacular! The stars, planets, nebula and galaxies come into sharp focus on any starry night! Presentations by very knowledgeable astronomers or serious amateurs on staff who create interesting programs are terrific! Expand your horizons! Definitely, put this on your "bucket list" - of "things to do" when in or near Tucson!

SkyNights was an unforgettable adventure! Credit the breathtaking sky island setting, ideal for…read morewatching both the sunset and the stars, and our engaging and knowledgeable guides Jeronimo and Will. And we got lucky: Clear skies and the first two-comet night these two had ever experienced (including Comet Lemmon, just discovered here). I would recommend this engaging and information-rich experience to anyone.

They had their grand opening today and it was fantastic. The day was filled with hands on…read moreactivities with organizations they partner with, including the mirror lab, the steward observatory, the lunar lab, and sky island. Then when the sun went down they had 6 different high powered telescopes set up to view the moon, stars, Jupiter and Saturn. The clarity was so great that you could see rings around Saturn, moons for Jupiter, and your eyes hurt after looking at the brightness of the moon. They had a ton of people on hand to point all of this out to us novices. They even found the satalite that was launched yesterday and we were able to track it across the sky. So incredibly cool. Currently it is normally just a store, with really neat items including photos, shirts, astronomy pieces and more. They plan on starting to hold events there, including lectures and more stargazing parties. Get on their mailing list so you'll know when it starts to happen. Very excited to have this in our neighborhood