Malaquite Observatory Padre Island

These photos show the recently built Malaquite Observatory. The observatory was built in response to a need to protect the telescopes used by amateur astronomers at star parties held at the park from the elements, which include wind, saline sprary from the nearby Gulf of Mexico, and the glare of headlights of visitors coming to attend the star parties. To combat these problems the park built this observatory, which has (1) a wall/fence made of closely-placed alternating slats to break up the wind (to minimize stress on the structure), but minimizing headlight glare (2) a concrete foundation to provide a steady support for the telescopes (3) benches placed around the inside perimiter for the comfort of people waiting to peer through the telescopes. Minor modifications will soon be made to allow some slats to be removed to allow telescopes to view objects lower than the top of the wall and a white section of the inner wall to act as a screen for slide shows. This facility will also be used during daylight hours as a teaching area for environmental education programs.