Building a club observatory

I really think our club, if not any club, would benifit
enormously from having an observatory.
I'm just curious have any of the clubs in IFAS
ever built one or had one?
I've set the wheels in motion at SAC
to at least discuss it and then take it from there.
I've seen mid sized clubs in the UK & elsewhere do this
and they have all said it was a pivotal point in their
clubs history.
Again, it's embryonic stages but
something big to aspire to.

Hi Frank,

In MAC, when we were Tullamore Astronomical Society, we built an observatory in 1995/6 on a half acre piece of land we bought in 1993/4. It is a modest one in need of refurbishment now but was done all by hand. It is an 10 foot diameter round concrete block base up to almost 5 feet with an aluminium-skinned dome made from 3/4 inch box iron on top that can rotate. The dome came from Bob Campbell, one of the founding members who had built his own home observatory some years before. He donated this dome to TAS as his own observatory needed refurbishment and wanted to make a new one anyway.

It was 'fun' to build the observatory. We spent a few evenings in the summer with shovels and pickaxes to dig out the foundation and floor. It was 'fun' because after about 10 inches of soil was a solid layer of grey clay... We had to go down almost 20 inches or so before we could pour concrete in. Then the dome had to be transported early one Sunday morning from Bob's house when there was no traffic on the roads because of the sheer size of it - it barely fit down the lane at times!

We erected a solid pillar mount of 10 inch steel tube filled with concrete from the bottom of the foundation with a brass and steel equatorial mount on it that can take up to something like 45 kilos if not more. We used it in the early days with the clubs modestly hand-built 6". The plan (and permission granted) was also for additional construction of a meeting room and larger observatory with a 22" reflector.

I have pictures taken from the days spent doing this. I must dig a few of them up and put them online (again) somewhere. We got the money from shopping centre flag days and a sponsored 17 mile walk completed in one day across the Slieve Bloom mountains.

I think it would be a great project for SAC to undertake. You have the land already, right? Do some fundraising, lots of outreach and a little perspiration but be willing to allow the project to take a year or two unless time and money is not a hindrance and you'll get a great reward at the end of it.

I can't offer much advice, only encouragement, but if I can help out in anything then let me know.

Seanie.

Jeeks, Fair play t'ye!
It sounds fab!
Do ye use it at all?
I've never heard ye talk about it.
I think now is a good time to be
A- looking to buy land &
B- building something.
Being in the trade as they say I see
So much value out there now both in property
and construction materials.
We don't have any land at all but
the advice I've been given is to work on
a plan anyway because if something comes up
either donation wise or other then we may need
to act quickly.
I'm all for dreaming and believing in the impossable.
Feck it, you get nowhere if you don't!
It's a tough undertaking for sure.
Our observing god that is Dave built a cracker of
a home observatory a few years back and after
being in it and seeing his talk on how he built it..
It's NOT for the faint / fickle hearted.
That's for sure.

Well Frank, it's not for the faint/fickle hearted but if you have a staunch base of members who are always ready and willing to help out in the club then anything is possible. I thought SAC already had some land. As it does not, then this has to be the first option. You will have to do your homework on this, such as see if any members in the club own land and are willing to sell a small piece to SAC for a small price to help get an observatory off the ground. That's how TAS/MAC got the land - one of our members (Trevor Rainsberry) owned/owns some land and used it mostly for his bees and as grazing for cattle for another farmer. He was a member and when talk came up about getting land and building a dome he happened to be the right person at the right time in the club. If you have such a person then you will have to get some funding.

In old money, we bought the land for £1,500. It was raised through memberships, Christmas raffles (by taking some cards and selling lines/tickets door to door), shopping mall days and the sponsored walk. This took the best part of around 3 years to build up the money. Maybe that's how long it will take SAC, who knows. You may not get funding for anything like this from any body or organisation except for the National Lottery (as in their communities fund, not the lotto draw!). Back then we applied but were turned down by them and it was the only way to apply for funds too. Today, with arts councils, science councils, town councils and so on it might be a little easier, but you got to do the sleuthing yourself - such funds are not always made plainly visible.

Seanie.

That would be hard work but a lot of fun. Looking at the club I am in now, the observing site is a great facility. A dome is not even necessary to start with. A few concrete slabs, a place to park, some security and some portable electrical power and you are off to the races. In one of the clubs they used old caravans for sleeping over in , cooking and making tea/ coffee or a BBQ. Mind you this might have a different meaning in Ireland:unsure:
Where you you buy the land?

well, the land is out biggest stumbing point, we have a few possibilites we need to trash out, if one of them comes up trumps, the rest if very feasible, been there done that.
We have the telescopes, knowledge, and means to build this, all we need is a definite good site.
The club went through pangs of building one several times in the past 25 years, but I think this is the most serious attempt at really doing this, time will tell.