Whitehall students gain access to New Mexico RC telescope

Students in Whitehall will soon be able to take advantage of a 16” RC Optical Systems telescope hosted by the New Mexico Skies at the Pérez Observatory near Mayhill, NM.

According to science teacher Zachary Kozicky, he was enrolled in an online course offered through MSU in cooperation with the Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry called, “Classroom Observatory – Astrophotography.” He said the course taught teachers how to use one of the remote-use telescopes for classroom operation, and teachers enrolled in the course that earn an 85% or higher will gain unlimited access to and a lifetime of free use of the telescope to use in the classroom.

He said thanks to the generosity of Christian Pérez and Mike and Lynn Rice of New Mexico Skies, Whitehall Students now have the opportunity to access this amazing resource that is located 7,300 ft above sea level.

Kozicky added that Ryan Hannahoe, the telescope remote manager and director of the Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry, said it costs roughly $30,000/year to maintain the telescope and would normally cost institutions or individuals about $1500/month to use.

“So, we’re getting a fairly expensive opportunity totally free. I’m very excited to bring this resource to our students here in Whitehall. Hopefully, this will be something students looks forward to using the whole year. I’ve already assigned the first homework assignment to our Earth Science students. It will take some time before we begin receiving our first astrophotographs but it’ll be worth the wait,” he said.