General Meeting

Open to members and non-members alike, the Monthly General Meetings feature club announcements, member observing reports, and a headline guest speaker. Typically hailing from one of Colorado’s many science or technical organizations, speakers share their experiences on a wide range of astronomy topics.

Guest Speaker:
Dr. Phil Kelton,
McDonald Observatory (Retired)

“On the History, Science, and Telescope Innovations of McDonald Observatory”

Presentation Overview:
The University of Texas McDonald Observatory has been one of the world’s major astronomy centers for education, research, and public outreach since it opened in 1939. McDonald built the second or third largest telescope in the world three times, dedicating them in 1939, 1968, and 1997. These are the Otto Struve 82-inch telescope, the Harlan J. Smith 107-inch telescope, and the 10-meter class Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). More recently the HET and its instrumentation have undergone major upgrades specifically for its HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), currently in progress. HET is a partnership with various other universities and institutions, too numerous to mention here. Various other smaller telescopes and projects at McDonald are also of interest. Dr. Kelton was a McDonald employee from 1974 until 2007 and will report on all of this based on his experience with the Observatory.

Our speaker:
Dr. Kelton received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979. He had a 32-year career with McDonald Observatory during which he was a Programmer, Computing System Manager, Assistant Director, and Superintendent. His association with McDonald was primarily with large telescope technology and instrumentation plus observatory and project management. He first took up amateur astronomy in the early 1960s and maintained that interest in parallel with his involvement in professional astronomy throughout his career. After retiring in 2007 he continued to be involved in public outreach as a National Park astronomy volunteer (primarily at Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP), as well as at McDonald Observatory. He has also engaged extensively in astrotourism, especially in France and Europe, and enjoys doing public talks on this subject.

September General Membership Meeting Agenda:

• Announcements
• Special Presentation by Lee Brennan, daughter of the late John Anderson
• Astronomy Minute
• Main Presentation
• Observing Reports

Location: In-person at Regis University’s Peter Claver Hall, Room 315.
Meeting attendees can arrive at Regis starting at 6:30 p.m.
* Park in Lot 4, Lowell Boulevard between 52nd and 53rd Avenue

The meeting will also be available via Zoom for those unable to attend in-person. Zoom link will be posted closer to the event.