“Astronomers and astrologers love the wide-open desert for its dark night skies, but you need not drive deep into the Mojave or spend thousands of dollars on gear to explore the cosmos. The Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory offers five free-to-the-public, astronomer-led stargazing parties every month.
The state-of-the-art observatory unfolds as a two-dome structure, one containing a 27.5-inch, research-grade PlaneWave CDK700 telescope, with an outdoor viewing deck with four telescope pads. The metallic dome over the CDK700 revolves and retracts with the touch of a button, revealing the portion of the night sky where resident astronomer Eric McLaughlin trains the telescope…”‘
