Paul Nohr's work is often over his head. That said, he has a firm grasp of his vocation. As resident astronomer at the Cincinnati Observatory Center in Mount Lookout, Mr. Nohr gets paid to gaze into the skies.

        “From age 3 or 4 I was always interested in aviation and the sky,” the 61-year-old Monfort Heights resident says. “I started building telescopes when I was in the fifth grade.”

        His duties at the observatory include maintenance of the telescopes, using them to record astronomical events, and giving lectures and guiding tours — mostly at night.

THE CENTER

The Cincinnati Observatory, the nation's first professional observatory, was founded in 1843 on what is now called Mount Adams.   The center was relocated to Mount Lookout in 1873.   It houses one of the world's oldest telescopes, bought in 1942.   The Friends of Observatory was formed in 1997 to develop programming for the nonprofit center.   For information, call 321-5186.

        “Good evening,” Mr. Nohr says as he greets about 16 members of Cub Scout Troop 97 from Terrace Park on a recent cloudy December night. “I'm the astronomer out here and I love to answer questions. Unfortunately, you didn't bring good

        weather so we won't be able to look through the telescope.”

        The first question: How many telescopes are at the observatory center? A dozen, Mr. Nohr answers, including two big ones.

        “We use binoculars also. They're good for looking at the moon.”

        “Is there going to be a comet that crashes into the Earth?” another Scout asks.

        “Probably,” Mr. Nohr answers. But not anytime within the next century, he adds.

        Using computer graphics and a projection screen, Mr. Nohr shows the Scouts planets and constellations. He uses a flashlight, golf ball and softball to demonstrate a solar eclipse.

        And then it's time for the tour's piece de resistance — a close-up look at the two large telescopes.

        On this chilly night coats and gloves are necessary in the metal dome that houses the large German-made telescope (16-inch diameter lens). That's because the temperature inside the dome must match the outside temperature to prevent any heat turbulence that would blur the telescope's vision.

        Otherwise, “it would be hazy and unclear,” Mr. Nohr explains as he becomes increasingly animated.

        The mechanized dome — which has about a 4-foot-wide hatch — rotates 360 degrees.

        At one point a shivering Scout asks if they can leave the chilly dome soon.

        “I'm just starting to get warmed up,” Mr. Nohr replies.

        Comets, meteors, stars, planets.

        “There are a lot of things you can look at with a telescope,” Mr. Nohr tells the Scouts.

        Tours are usually conducted at night to provide visitors an opportunity to look at the skies through the large telescope, Mr. Nohr explains. However, in Cincinnati the skies are usually overcast from November to February, making clear viewing of the dis tant skies virtually impossible.

        Come back in six months, he urges the Scouts.

        “Mars is coming close (to the Earth) next year in May, June and July.”

        Mr. Nohr, who worked in the physics department at the University of Cincinnati for 26 years (20 stationed at the observatory center), accepted a permanent position at the observatory three years ago.

        Although an experienced and trained observer of the skies, Mr. Nohr occasionally has seen things he can't readily explain. UFOs, for example, including one doughnut-shaped object he observed with his naked eye.

        “I've seen three of them,” he says. “I don't know what I saw.”

        Does he believe any of the UFOs he and thousands of others have reported seeing have alien crews? He says he finds it difficult to believe — based on information of the time requirements for space travel — that any other beings “would waste time with interstellar travel.”

        But, he adds: “I'm still interested in the UFO question.”

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