Throckmorton County is just a short drive from Fort Griffin, so the two of us are teaming up to offer dark skies to practice night photography, enjoy the stars and a hospitable community. Throckmorton is a designated Dark Sky area, so it provides a unique experience to view the stars. In fact, The Swenson Ranch, where will be doing the local sessions, boasts eight telescopes onsite from major universities all over the country studying the stars.
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View our business directory for places to stay, eat and shop while you are in the area.
RSVP for March 20th Swenson Ranch Messier Marathon
We will look through telescopes to see all our solar system planets in a line. This will include a lecture that features pictures from deep space by:
Bruce Morrell
Bruce Morrell is retired after a 40 year career in IT. Growing up in Colorado during the 60s, where the night sky is something to behold, sparked my interest in Astronomy.
It was not to my later years after raising 2 kids that I finally had the time and money to indulge in my passion for exploring the universe. I have an observatory at my home in Weston, TX and a pier at SOFAR observatory as well. The SOFAR Observatory is where I have been most productive in Astrophotography because of the exceptional quality of our night sky.
I have worked with Southwest Research Institute in Austin performing Occultation measurements internationally for the NASA Lucy Mission as well. I am currently the owner of Astrofactors.com which supplies professional and amateur cameras for astrophotography.
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Erik Tarbell
Erik Tarbell is a passionate amateur astronomer with more than 15 years of experience under the night sky. His pursuits span a wide range of disciplines within the hobby: classic visual observing, deep-sky astrophotography, and night-vision astronomy.
Before transitioning into a career as a software engineer, Erik co-authored three academic papers published in The Astronomical Journal, focusing on the high-resolution spectroscopy of Lambda Boötis stars.
Erik resides in Richardson, TX with his wife Hailey and two young sons (2 years old and 8 weeks old). He and Hailey enjoy adventuring to the darkest skies and most pristine observing sites in the United States.
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Event Address: Meet at Lazy T Hotel at 202 College St, Throckmorton, TX 76483 at 4:45 p.m.
Contact us at 940-550-4432 with questions.
*Liability forms will be required upon arrival with a $10 entrance fee.
*Children are welcome from 8 to 16 years old, free of charge.
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