Re: [ATM] Graham mountain observatory

[Jacob R Lauser <jrlauser@U.Arizona.EDU>]

Bob,

I apologize for your reception, but there are politics involved you
probably aren't aware of. BTW, it's Mount Graham, not Graham Mountain. I
do feel badly that you drove all that way for nothing though. It is quite
a treacherous drive. I used to work for Steward Observatory and spent a
couple weeks working on the scope and its systems last year as a
technician. The LBT site was rather controversial when it was built 15 or
so years ago, The mountain was supposedly a sacred site to Indians and the
earth first people were riled up about the squirrels too. There were
attempts to vandalize and destroy the telescope during early construction,
so everyone is still very on edge. You have to sign up in town, and then
you have to sign a card where you get your "squirrel stamp" (an inside
hunting joke) saying you won't harm them in any manner or leave the path.
The entire site is surrounded by orange mesh fencing to keep you in. If
you would like, I would happily share some pictures I took last year and
tell you anything you want to know about the place. There is also a great
website available about the scope with a live webcam. I hope this helps...

- J. Lauser


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