WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 59Perched more than 9,400 feet above
sea level, this French observatory
offers some of the finest viewing
on Earth. by Damian Peach
THE OPPORTUNITY to use a large professional telescope at a
historic and renowned observatory is the dream of most amateur astronomers,
beginner or advanced. Most of the time, we have to battle against weather
and the limits of our equipment to obtain good results. But we wonder what a
larger telescope would reveal. This well-known aff liction, called aperture fever,
runs rampant within the astronomical community.