Astronomy Programs
Reserve A Telescope
Beyond the Big Sky
WEATHER
Fantastic Night Programs
Our astronomy programs give stargazers an inside look of the beautiful skies above Canyon Ferry Lake. We offer group and individual programs.
Beyond the Big Sky
Join us this summer at Montana Learning Center’s state-of-the-art astronomical park to gaze at the wonders of the universe through Montana’s largest telescope. Public stargazing series wil be available once a month from June – August.
OUr newest telescope
Reserve a Telescope
Two telescopes are available for you or for groups up to six people. If you haven’t used a telescope of their quality, you won’t believe your eyes!
You can reserve our 14-inch robotic telescope for the night. Our telescope is equipped with a HyperStar unit and a 12M pixel color camera making it great for photographing deep-space objects fast. It features high sensitivity and extremely low read noise, making it suitable for imaging.
Cost: $600 an evening
Instruction: $75/hour (first two hours included in nightly rental)
With our 25-inch telescope, Montana’s largest public-use telescope, you’ll see nebulae and galaxies like you have never seen them before. It’s great for cruising the Milky Way and large deep sky objects. Your guide will help you travel the universe.
Cost: $500 an evening
Instruction: $75/hour (first two hours included in nightly rental)
Skynet Robotic Telescope Network
The 16” RC Optical Systems telescope is hosted by New Mexico Skies at the Pérez Observatory near Mayhill, NM. Thanks to the very kind generosity of Christian Pérez and Mike & Lynn Rice of New Mexico Skies, our students and teachers have the opportunity to access this amazing resource that is located 7,300 ft above sea level.
Local Weather, All-Sky Cam, and Clear Sky Predictions
We have our very own weather station located on the MLC campus which provides us with the most up-to-date and accurate weather and night clear sky predictions. Click on the link below to find our various weather links and to access our 24 hour live view camera that includes aurora predictions, constellation overlay, night timelapse, keogram, plus star trails.
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