Name: [October monthly LVAS meeting] Ground Giants: Earth's Biggest Telescopes
Start: 2025-10-02T19:30:00-07:00
End: 2025-10-02T21:30:00-07:00
Location: The Dale Etheridge Planetarium at the College of Southern Nevada

[October monthly LVAS meeting] Ground Giants: Earth's Biggest Telescopes

Join us for the October 2025 monthly meeting of the Las Vegas Astronomical Society at the Dale Etheridge Planetarium. This event is free and open to the public. (Just show up!) We start at 7:30.
Note: FB incorrectly shows the location as an on-campus restaurant. See details at the end of this event post for details on where to go, and where to park for free.
This month, LVAS Club President Mig Ponce will take us on a tour of Earth's biggest telescopes. We'll trace how ground-based observatories evolved from early mountain mirrors, such as the legendary Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory, to today's networked, data-driven giants. We'll see why these are important counterparts to space telescopes, and how their "terra firma" strengths power discoveries across the spectrum. And we'll talk about the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory and its "movie of the sky" approach to time-domain astronomy. We'll then look ahead at the next generation of optical and radio giants and what they can reveal.
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First time coming to a general meeting? We welcome you! Here are some tips to make it easy for you!
--Get there a little early to snag a seat.
--Parking is free in either of the two lots next to the Planetarium.
--And here's how to find it:
1) Navigate/map to "CSN Planetarium Parking".
2) Park in that lot, or the larger lot just before it. Both are accessible from the road after you turn off of East Cheyenne Ave. Parking is free.
3) Next to both parking lots is a drop-off car loop that is near the Planetarium entrance, which is just behind it. You'll see a large letter "S" on a building; go just to the right of the "S" building. Go into the doors that say "SOUTH ENTRANCE" in big letters.
4) You will see a bench seat; the Planetarium door is just a few steps further. Come on in and take any open theater seat.