David Lane, the Director of Saint Mary's famed Burke-Gaffney Observatory, hosted a lecture and tour that drew gasps of amazement from this evening's participants.
After a classroom-based whirlwind tour of the universe, students were invited up to the 23rd floor of the Loyola Building to see the Ralph M. Medjuck Robotic Telescope in action. Following a demonstration of how it can be directed at objects in the cosmos using voice commands, Mr. Lane pointed the telescope towards Jupiter. Between passing wisps of fog, students peering into the eyepiece saw the planet's distinctive red bands, while the Galilean moons (the four largest moons of Jupiter—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) were also clearly discernible.
A photo of the Moon taken through the ocular lens of the Ralph M. Medjuck Robotic Telescope. Photo: Yuki
