Rainwater Observatory
and Planetarium
After
spending most of the day at the Pink Palace Museum
in Memphis, we will drive approximately 160 miles to the Rainwater Observatory
in French Camp, Mississippi. The facility is located on State Highway 413
just off of the Natchez Trace Parkway in central Mississippi. We will arrive
early in the evening. We will participate in an evening "Star Party" and
a morning session which will take place both indoors and outdoors. For
more information about our activities at Rainwater, click "Star
Party".
The Rainwater
Observatory is an educational ministry of French
Camp Academy. While the facility has some research-grade equipment,
the mission of the 
facility
is primarily educational. Rainwater Observatory is open to the public by
appointment. They hold observing and educational sessions for amateur astronomers
in the area, scouts, church and civic groups, school groups and teachers.
Our contact person for this trip is the director of the facility, James
Hill.
On site at the observatory are 16 telescopes, all housed
in small buildings or mounted on outdoor piers. There are also a number
of outdoor celestial exhibits demonstrating such things as the Earth's
motion, axial tilt, and the prediction of eclipses. The visitor's center
holds a small planetarium, library, hands-on demonstration tools and a
variety of instruments used by more serious observers.
References
Photos
Rainwater Observatory,
planetarium and telescope photograph, as Retrieved from the World Wide
Web, (July 18, 2003).
