The Highland Road Park Observatory will celebrate its’ 20th anniversary this month. The observatory was built in 1997 with help from the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society and the Baton Rouge Recreation department. The purpose of the observatory is to foster learning and curiosity.
The observatory is open to the public and they provide tours and events on Friday and Saturday nights. “Most observatories are only used for research purposes,” said Amy Briet, the education curator for the observatory. Both the public and students use the observatory for entertainment and learning.
The observatory holds classes on Saturday mornings to teach children about astronomy and about preserving the sky. The sky and its’ beauty can be taken for granted more times than not. The anniversary of the observatory should be a time to observe the world around us and look at the beauty of the sky.
Unfortunately, the celebration of the anniversary is being overshadowed by light pollution. The bright lights of downtown Baton Rouge and the residential neighborhoods are corrupting the view of the sky. The brighter the sky, the less visible planets and stars will be.
Light pollution has already corrupted the small observatory on top of Nicholson Hall. Briet hopes that the Highland Observatory does not face the same fate. “Our goal is to educate people,” said Briet, “the sky is free for everyone to observe.”
Briet outlined several solutions to combat light pollution. Residential and commercial areas can cap their street lights so that the light flows down. Energy efficient lightbulbs and lower wattage bulbs can also help solve the problem.
The observatory wants to teach visitors to respect the sky and preserve it for future enjoyment. According to the observatory website, 180,581 people have enjoyed the observatory since a counter was installed in 2003. For their 20th Anniversary, the observatory hopes to get light pollution down to 20 on the pollution scale. With this goal in mind, the observatory hopes to educate and facilitate learning for many years to come.