Rancho Mirage will soon have an observatory.
The city approved a contract for almost $3 million with Sea West Enterprises to build the dome structure next to the Rancho Mirage library, reports the Desert Sun.
Construction is set to begin next month and should take 6 to 9 months to compete.
The dome will feature a $275,242 PlaneWave CDK700 research-quality telescope that is almost 28 inches in diameter and an outside deck will be built for people to bring their own telescopes.
“What the observatory will do is give us a hands-on look at the sky and one can go up to the eyepiece and look directly or we can broadcast from that eyepiece into our community room and on our website. So, I mean, this digital age just gets better every day,”Library Director David Bryant told KESQ.
Councilman Dana Hobart, who originally presented the idea two years ago to the council, told the Desert Sun that the observatory will be great for people of all ages.
“It will be an academic tool for all of the kids of the valley, even if those kids are in their 90s.”
