Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- "Urban" light pollution is making it hard to see planets and stars at Stargate Observatory in Wasilla, the only public place to glimpse distant galaxies in the state, according to its founder, teacher Tim Lundt.

Lundt left his longtime teaching post at Burchell High School last year to teach physics and physical science at the new Matanuska-Susitna Career and Technical High School.

The observatory remains at Burchell.

It has been closed to the public since Lundt left. He said he wants to move it to his new school, both to escape the light pollution and to open it back up to the public.

Not so fast, says Burchell principal Robert Picou.

"It's property of Burchell High School. There's a process by which this move would take place," Picou said. "We have a plan to use it here. We have a teacher that's been working with it."

He's talking about George Chapman, a science and math teacher at Burchell for six years.

Chapman is teaching an astronomy class this semester and said he's been learning to use the two large telescopes at the observatory. Chapman said his students are working with personal telescopes right now. He'd like to let them use the larger scopes, too, he said.

But the commercial lighting around the school is definitely a problem, Chapman said. His students tried to use the smaller, personal telescopes outside on school property recently. It was too bright to see much, he said. They had to move to a nearby ball field.

"The viewing has definitely been diminished," Chapman said.

Burchell High School is in a former car dealership at 1775 W. Parks Highway, across from Spenard Builders Supply. Lights from that business, and from the Parks Highway and other nearby buildings built recently brighten the night sky, he said.

Lundt said all that light makes it hard to pick out distant galaxies and nebulas.

It was darker in 2001 when the observatory first opened, after two years of grant writing by Lundt and other Burchell staff, and with an outpouring of community support for the project. The Newtonian reflector telescope, made by Butte star hound Jim Egger, was taken from Wasilla High School, where it was in storage. An observation hut with a sliding roof was built to house the scope, and Lundt made several other improvements, such as computerizing the telescope and adding a second, smaller scope, purchased with a grant.

Along with the lost darkness, a stipend to operate the observatory after school hours or on weekends has "dried up," Chapman said. It's not likely the observatory will open to the public this year, he said.

Lundt said the Career and Technical school at 2472 N. Seward Meridian Parkway is considerably darker. It's away from streetlights and commercial development. Fields and subdivisions are nearby.

Lundt estimates that with $4,000 in materials and a lot of donated labor, the observatory could be moved to a spot about 100 yards away from his new classroom at the vocational high school.

Career Tech students in August could build a foundation for the observatory and maybe even build a new, smaller observatory hut for the smaller telescope, he said. He is trying to secure donations for a solar-powered setup to avoid the costly proposition of running electrical lines under roads to get to the new spot.

Peter Burchell, founder of the alternative school that bears his name, said he backs Lundt's plan to move the observatory. It should be where it can be used, he said. But he wants to guarantee that Lundt trains others to use the high-tech piece of equipment.

Chapman said he'd like that, too. He believes the observatory should be available for any teacher to use.

Right now, talk of moving the observatory is just that -- talk. No formal meetings have taken place to discuss a move, said Picou and school district spokeswoman Catherine Esary.

Lundt said he's lining up community support, and then plans to get final site approval from the two schools.

"We need to get our ducks in order first," he said.

Find Daily News reporter Rindi White online at www.adn.com/contact/rwhite or call 352-6709.

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