You can stargaze the skies over Sturgeon Bay like never before this weekend, thanks to a state-of-the-art telescope upgrade by the Door County Astronomical Society. Last week, a new 17-inch PlaneWave CDK 400 telescope was installed at the Leif Erickson Observatory on the astronomical campus located off Utah Street at Crossroads at Big Creek. Dave Lenius of the Door County Astronomical Society says it cost over $75,000 to install the new equipment, replacing the original Ritchey-Chretien telescope erected in 1996. According to Observatory Solutions, the design of the new telescope far exceeds the off-axis performance of most commercial telescope designs, including the Ritchey-Chretien. The Door County Astronomical Society is allowing public viewing of the new telescope this Saturday, starting at 7 pm.
