Loines Observatory — Attraction in Nantucket

Open house night was great and well worth the $10 entry! Antique refractor telescope (used by Maria Mitchell) was set up for Moon viewing, showing dinner detail of craters and shadows. Research telescope showed a globular cluster of stars in the Milky Way. A smaller mobile telescope showed both Jupiter (accompanied by its four Galilean moons) and Saturn (rings included). Several undergraduate students ran the show in an efficient and knowledgeable manner. Mitchell history, a constellation tour, and more galactic factoids were shared. Time your visit around New Moon for darkest viewing conditions. Milky Way was barely visible from 9-10:30pm near First Quarter. Open twice a week during summer. About a mile walk from town, depending on where you are staying, but the historic sidewalks will slow you down. Bring a flashlight if you are walking to open house. Take an Uber to avoid...

The amount of time left per attendee was less than 1 minute per telescope because the gentleman that was giving the tour took a bit too long to answer every single question and speak about what we were going to be looking at. And at the end we really only had about 20-25 minutes to walk in each observatory, and at the telescopes ( felt rushed). I think it's best to cut off the questions from visitors at some point. Even though it was cloudy, he didn't even turn the large microscope.on. it would have been nice to see it in action, even if we could not...

Maria Mitchell was an advocate of hands on learning, so it is ironic how much time was spent lecturing. The unexpectedly cloudy sky was clearing so both telescopes were prepped for viewing but our guide talked all the way through the window of opportunity and we never saw them in action. I am writing this review because I have since learned it is a pattern.

Another row of benches on the viewing platform would also be a gift for those with mobility issues. Thanks for...