Hey, Answer Girl --

After living in Douglas for about two years, I wonder: There is a small building on I-25, going south to the right, that looks like a sombrero. It's between Douglas and Orrin Junction. What is that thing?

-- Patrick

That little sombrero-shaped building is a navigational system for aircraft going to and from the Casper-Natrona County International Airport, according to Gordie Dunn, the Federal Aviation Administration coordinator for Wyoming.

Inside the little building is an antenna -- that's why it's shaped like a sombrero, to form the base and still have room for the antenna. The antenna emits a signal that the aircraft picks up. The signal helps planes measure distance for the aircraft. The aircraft can follow the radar signal degree by degree, and can fly to it or near it from anywhere. That helps them know how far away from that station they are, and what degree they're on.

According to Dunn, these radar systems were installed in the early 1950s, since commercial plane travel became common. Similar structures can be found near Boysen, Worland, Riverton -- pretty much anywhere there's an airport. They're used all over the place, worldwide, for airplane communication.

Answer Update

Two readers came up with the same rumor for how Dead Horse Hill got its name. According to Jacqueline W., who lives in the area, the hill may have been named Dead Horse Hill because, from an aerial view, the hill looks like a dead horse lying on its side. Airplanes approaching the airport used the hill as an orientation object.

"You can take it for what it's worth," she wrote in an e-mail. "I just heard this from my neighbors, but I kind of like this story better than all the poor horses scattered all over the place."

Me, too!

Lee S., who grew up in the area, also suggested that Dead Horse Hill looked like a horse's head lying down.

So, readers: Any aerial-view photos of the hill that we can print to decide together if that's how the hill got its equine-related name? Also, keep sending rumors and theories about the name, and we'll discuss them all.

Ask Answer Girl

Answer Girl tackles questions about Casper, the universe and everything else. Submit your questions by e-mail to megan.lee@trib.com, or call Megan Lee at (307) 266-0616. Write to Answer Girl, Box 80, Casper, 82602.