Washburn University’s Crane Observatory hosted its first open house of the semester Thursday, Sept. 4, from 8-9:30 p.m. The telescope was place on the south lawn of Stoffer Science Hall so people can get a better view while they waited to go into the planetarium where a video about black holes was being presented by Jacob Eaton, sophomore physics major and member of the Physics and Engineering Club.
The open houses are a long-standing tradition organized by Washburn’s physics department. The sessions are free and open to the public with telescope viewings planned for clear nights and planetarium shows offered when clouds or haze roll in.
The crowd gathered outside where the telescope was aimed at the moon. Craters and ridges on the lunar surface came into focus as people took turns looking through the eyepiece. Brenda Culbertson, an outreach volunteer with Washburn’s physics and astronomy department, mentioned that the telescope can be fitted with different eyepieces to magnify the view and bring out more detail.
Kirsten Walton, freshman psychology major, said she first heard about the program from her WU-101 instructor and decided to check it out.
“I haven’t ever seen the moon that up close and defined,” Walton said. “Space kind of scares me. I thought it’d be fun to just look at it through a telescope.”
Karen Camarda, professor of physics department, said her favorite object to view through a telescope is Saturn, noting that its rings “look just like the pictures.”
Makayla Johnson, freshman public health major, shared that her interest in the stars began when her dad gave her a telescope in sixth grade. She still found Washburn’s open house to be a new kind of experience.
“It’s just really neat to be able to see it right there instead of just in pictures or on a computer,” Johnson said.
Inside the planetarium, visitors watched a program focused on the science of black holes. The show explained how massive stars collapse under their own gravity, creating regions so dense that nothing, not even light, can escape. It also described how astronomers study these invisible objects and the role they play at the centers of galaxies. The presentation combined vivid visuals with narration to make one of the universe’s most mysterious phenomena easier to grasp.
Lola Stuhlsatz, freshman forensic biology major, said the event reminded her of home, where she is used to seeing skies unobstructed by city lights.
“I think it’s lovely sharing that with other people,” Stuhlsatz said.
She added that she would recommend the open houses to fellow students.
The crane observatory will continue its open houses twice a month throughout the semester. Dates and times are posted on the website.
Edited by Anushma Dahal and Jeremy Ford and Stuti Khadka
