Tucked away behind the usual house and barn on an acreage 20 minutes northwest of Lincoln sits a jaw-dropping surprise.
That’s how executive director Matt Anderson describes visitors’ reactions when they visit the for the first time.
“It flat blows them away,†he said.
The Midwest’s premier sky park, which draws its name from the nearby Branched Oak State Recreation Area, is condensed in 1½ acres at the back of the 5½-acre property.
Eight buildings house 18 telescopes and related equipment, allowing world-class views of the universe and far beyond.
The latest addition, the $500,000 Kunkel Family Multi-Purpose Center, includes a 1,000-book astronomy library for the beginner to serious researcher. Visitors can hold a meteorite.
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“We educate and entertain and give people an experience like they have never had before when it comes to astronomy,†Anderson said. “Very simply, we bring the night sky down to earth.â€
The observatory is one of 70 stops on , which encourages Nebraskans and others to visit a variety of attractions, parks, coffee shops, restaurants, stores and more across the state. Each week, we’re highlighting one or more of the locations.
Passport participants collect physical or digital stamps at each stop, and qualify for prizes based on how many places they visit during the program, which runs from May 1 to Sept. 30.
The observatory started by chance 10 years ago on what Anderson said was an overgrown farm field.
A friend, Michael Sibbernsen, had just started a new job as a lecturer of astronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and needed a place to put a telescope that was close, safe and dark.
The two found an open spot on Anderson’s property and set up the telescope for the class. Afterward, Sibbernsen asked Anderson what he’d think about creating an observatory.
Thanks to many supporters, Anderson said they now have about $1 million invested in buildings and equipment.
The Boller-Sivill Roll Off Observatory with its retractable roof includes a Coronado hydrogen alpha telescope that allows visitors to safely view the sun and its solar flares.
The Everts S. Sibbernsen Memorial Observatory, a classic domed observatory, houses the organization’s largest optical instrument, a 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that can see any night-time object in the heavens.
“This coupled with a state of the art control room that would make NASA proud allows for remote control and viewing,†Anderson said.
The Buhrman Radio Studies Center has a Radio JOVE telescope, the only one in the world at a public observatory. With it, viewers can study and record the electronic signatures of Jupiter and the sun. It also has a cosmic ray detector that shows cosmic rays as they hit the earth.
Until recently, the pair called the observatory the Midwest’s best-kept secret. However, 6,000 of its 27,000 visitors over the past 10 years have arrived since January. There’s been an engagement held there and a few weddings are in the works.
Visitors often have an emotional reaction when they look through the observatory telescopes. For many, it brings back memories of their childhood.
Anderson, a 62-year-old self-proclaimed “geek,†received a Montgomery Ward telescope for Christmas when he was 8 or 10. That first sight of Saturn’s rings blew him away. Sibbernsen, co-founder and director of education, had a similar experience as a boy.
The equipment Anderson looks through now is much more sophisticated, capable of seeing galaxies millions of light years away. The Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain 10-inch folding optical design telescope can detect other planets, nebulae and star clusters.
Coming soon is the Miller Astrophotography Research Center, which will host a twin-domed building that will feature two top-of-the-line telescopes from Takahashi, the best optical instruments made in the world.
“Thanks to an amazing donation by Tom Miller, a local astronomer, this will make the Branched Oak Observatory the No. 1 destination in Nebraska for astrophotography and top five in the Midwest and a top 10 in the nation,†Anderson said. “Simply spectacular.â€
Before you leave, you can reach out via amateur radio to satellites and even the International Space Station. You also can send your voice to the moon and back, making you a vocal astronaut.
“An amazing, out-of-this-world experience,†Anderson said.