HAL's Future Astronomical Observatory at Alpha Ridge Park

Observatory Chair - Joel Goodman (Contact info at bottom of "About Us" page)

Purpose

HAL typically holds over twenty public outreach events annually at Alpha Ridge Park and supports additional public events at other Howard County venues.

The observatory will be the centerpiece for supporting HAL's public outreach programs. These programs provide the community with direct, hands-on astronomical experiences. We believe these experiences are crucial in helping people enjoy and appreciate one of our most valuable natural public resources - our beautiful night sky. Direct astronomical experiences are crucial for inspiring people of all ages to learn more about space and astronomical science. HAL's programs are the perfect hands-on complement to the scientific theories and concepts being taught in our public schools. Seeing the glowing remains of a dying star in person, through a telescope, helps bring astronomy textbook subjects to life.

The observatory will provide one large permanently-mounted telescope plus storage space for support equipment. One of the structure's four walls will be used as a projection screen, for educational presentations to the public as well as for projecting live video images captured by the observatory's telescope. Public outreach events will be supplemented with additional telescopes supplied by HAL members.

Structure

As detailed in its organizational history, HAL was founded in part to establish an observatory for the Watson telescope. The structure's design is a 15 foot diameter dome on a square, 18x18 foot structure, 8 feet tall. Inside the observatory will be an observing platform, an independent concrete pier for the telescope and the Watson telescope. Although the telescope was originally housed under a 12 foot diameter dome, HAL's larger dome and large 18'x18' supporting structure will provide the observatory with space around the telescope in order to allow the building to hold larger groups of people. In addition, the structure will include two entrances/exits in order to facilitate the smooth flow of visitors through the building.

Observatory Drawings

The drawings that have been shown here for the last couple of years are obsolete. The final, approved obervatory architectural drawings will be displayed here soon. They are nearing finalization.

Budget and Timeline

HAL is in the process of determining the costs of several observatory components and is also exploring financing sources. While external funding sources are being sought, much of the funding is being provided by member donations even though the observatory is intended for shared public use. The construction timeline is not yet established though it is expected to be less than two years. The prospect of creating the very first publicly-accessible astronomical observatory in Howard County is quite exciting. If you or your organization is interested in getting involved and helping to accomplish this, please feel free to contact us.

HAL Has a Dome

HAL purchased a 15 foot fully-automated ProDome from a seller in Columbus, Ohio. It was then transported to a storage area here in Maryland. The ProDome is manufactured by Technical Innovations in Gaithersburg, Maryland (http://www.homedome.com). It is made of thick fiberglass, has a base diameter of 15 feet, an inside height of 8’6”, and weighs a total of 650 lbs. It includes rotation and slot opening motors, as well as Digital Dome Works software, which automates these controls.

The current factory list price for this dome with the included accessories is over $20,000. HAL was fortunate to find one on the resale market. Domes of this size rarely become available. HAL was doubly fortunate to find one for the below market-value price of $7,000. With transport, the total cost to HAL was about $7,500.

Help Us and Help Yourself to a Nice Tax Deduction

Donations are appreciated and can be made on-line is less time that it takes to read this page. Go the the Building Fund page and click on the PayPal Donation link. Information on the tax deductible nature of your donation is listed on that page just below the PayPal link.