Table of Contents
Stargazing at Hotel Rangá is magnificent due to our high-tech observatory. The observatory stands about 150 meters east of the hotel. Red light poles guide people into the small house that keeps the computerized telescopes away from the forces of nature.
Though Hotel Rangá is known as a prime place to view the northern lights, we also offer our guests excellent views of the stars in our observatory. With the push of a button, the roof rolls off, revealing the universe above. The high walls shelter us from the cold wind. Around 20 people gaze up at the Milky Way in all its glory. Some of our guests have never seen so many stars.
We’re always looking back in time when we look up at the stars.
The astronomer starts by telling people about the three telescopes. The largest one is a big reflector, used to see faint and faraway objects, some many millions of light-years away. The other two are refractors of the highest quality offering crystal clear and tack-sharp views of nebulas, star clusters, the Moon, and planets.
Next, we turn our attention to the stars above us. With the unaided eye, we can see roughly 2500 stars. All of them are part of the Milky Way. The closest ones are less than 25 light-years away, others perhaps 2000 light-years away. Some are big and bright and far away — others are smaller and fainter, but closer to us.
The stars are suns, just like our sun, just very far away. So far away in fact that we have to measure their distance using light-years. The light from them takes years to traverse the space between them and us. We’re always looking back in time when we look up at the stars. We never see the stars as they look right now.
Subscribe To Our newsletter
Exclusive Offers & Latest News
Rangá Observatory
- Rangá Observatory
- Northern Lights at Hotel Rangá
- View the Aurora Forecast
- Color a photo of the constellation over Hotel Rangá from our coloring book: Downloadable and Print.
