LOCAL TO KNOW: Adriana Gomez-Buckley remembers the first time she got the chance to look through the University of Washington’s 127-year-old telescope. She first visited the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory the summer after she graduated high school., There, Gomez-Buckley met the head of UW’s Department of Astronomy and peered up into the starry abyss. Four years later, as she wraps up her degree and her time as the Student Event Coordinator at the observatory, she’s making sure everyone in Seattle gets to experience the night sky (and a really old telescope) up close. Meet the keeper of the observatory yourself in our video.
QUOTABLE: “The best thing is when you see that spark of inspiration in a young student, and you just know that maybe they would consider astronomy as a future field.”
FUN FACT: In 1895, the telescope was relocated by horse and wagon from UW’s original downtown campus to its current site near the University’s North entrance.
CHECK IT OUT: The observatory hosts open house nights twice a month through September. Check out the schedule here.