canopus@amdahl.UUCP (Frank Dibbell) (04/30/85)
------- FREMONT PEAK OBSERVATORY UPDATE -------
As requested, here is the latest goings-on with the Fremont Peak
Observatory Association:
Another (administrative) hurdle has been overcome... The State
has approved all our paperwork for tax-exempt status!
The 30 inch is coming along nicely! Kevin finished the tank for
the vacuum chamber, and should be ready to coat the optics shortly.
We lined up a volunteer to do the welding on the declination
housing. It is exciting to watch this scope, which stands twelve
feet tall, nearing completion!
We have contracted with an architect to draw up the design of the
30 inch telescope building. This building will be roughly 20 feet
by 20 feet square, with a roll-off roof. We will then have a few
more administrative things to do, but it looks pretty good for a
late June date for beginning of construction.
Membership cards are in, and we expect to start publishing our
newsletter in June.
The next FPOA Board Meeting will be held on Saturday, May 18th, at
Fremont Peak. If you wish to find out more about our association,
and will be in the area, please feel free to drop by and talk with
the Association officers. Since this posting will also be going
outside the S.F. Bay Area: if you wish more info on the association,
please e-mail me a request, and I will send you our standard
propaganda sheet! [Also, give me a UUCP address with which to
e-mail the info back. If not practical, give me a USMAIL address,
and I'll send you hardcopy]
Clear Skies,
--
Frank Dibbell (408-746-6493) {whatever}!amdahl!canopus
[R.A. 6h 22m 30s Dec. -52d 36m] [Generic disclaimer.....]canopus@amdahl.UUCP (Alpha Carinae) (11/01/85)
Here is the latest information on Fremont Peak Observatory. For
those who haven't seen my previous postings, the Fremont Peak
Observatory Association was formed last January by a group of
local amateur astronomers, whose goal is to build and operate an
amateur-run observatory at California's Fremont Peak State Park.
For further information, contact me at one of the addresses
specified at the end of this article.
PROGRESS REPORT
1. Our contract with the State of California has been approved.
2. The detailed architectural drawings are complete, and have
been turned over to the State of California for final
approval.
3. Association member Charlie Carlson has volunteered his
services to be our general contractor for the building
project.
4. We now have the funds necessary to purchase the needed
materials for the building.
5. The 30" telescope's components are basically complete. It
just needs to be set up and "debugged".
6. The ground has been cleared and staked out at the observing
site.
OBSERVATORY STATUS
The 30" Observatory building consists of two rooms, each 20' X 20'
on a side. The observing room has a sloped roll-off roof with a
skylight to allow natural lighting in the daytime.
The adjacent meeting room can serve as a lecture hall, a place to
"warm up", etc. Our initial plans did not call for the second
room; the State of California strongly recommended it.
The building is supported on concrete piers, since it is a
temporary structure without a permanent foundation. It is
surrounded on three sides by a wooden deck; one side has a ramp
for handicapped access. The current issue of the FREMONT PEAK
OBSERVER (our official publication) has a couple of drawings
depicting the Observatory.
GROUNDBREAKING
Official ground-breaking for the 30" Observatory will be taking
place fairly soon. The date can't be set until we have final
State approval of our detailed architectural drawings. (Approval
is expected within four weeks). The Association's annual general
membership meeting will be scheduled to coincide with the
groundbreaking date.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTE: Those outside of the S.F. Bay Area may skip the COMET
HALLEY section.
COMET HALLEY
Our original, somewhat overly ambitious plan was to have the 30"
scope up and running in time for Comet Halley observing this
November. However, do not despair! We (the Association) own
several smaller, more portable intruments, which will be set up to
view the comet (weather permitting) on the following Saturday
evenings at Fremont Peak State Park:
- November 16, 1985
- December 7, 1985
- December 14, 1985
- January 11, 1986
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
If you wish more information on the Fremont Peak Observatory
Association, please contact Frank Dibbell at either
408-746-6493 (work)
408-735-9597 (home)
-or-
710 Georgia Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
-or-
...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,sun}!amdahl!canopus
--
Frank Dibbell (408-746-6493) ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,sun}!amdahl!canopus
Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA [This is the obligatory disclaimer..]canopus@amdahl.UUCP (Alpha Carinae) (01/30/86)
The Fremont Peak Observatory Association is a not-for-profit, tax
exempt organization whose goal is public education in Astronomy.
Fremont Peak Observatory is located within Fremont Peak State Park,
just outside of San Juan Bautista, California.
From time to time I post our Association's progress in building our
Observatory. The following articles are excerpts from our official
publication, "The Fremont Peak Observer". Questions, comments, etc
concerning the FPOA should be directed to me.
Observatory Groundbreaking (by Denni Medlock)
---------------------------------------------
Mild temperatures and a weekend break in the rainclouds gave the
FPOA a dry day for its Groundbreaking Ceremonies on December 14th.
Over 40 people (roughly half our membership!) attended the
afternoon event at the Association's site on the hill behind the
Ranger's house. Groundbreaking itself was handled by our shovel-
wielding Association President Bob Fingerhut, who was spurred on
by the applause of the assembled group.
Kevin Medlock had come up earlier that weekend to prepare for the
Groundbreaking, and spent Friday evening determining the all-
important North-South line using Polaris and a transit. On
Saturday morning, Kevin and fellow Association members Frank
Dibbell and Charlie Carlson layed out and tagged all 39 foundation
and two telescope pier locations, using the line determined from
the night before and the Observatory blueprints.
Upon completion of the Groundbreaking Ceremonies, Association
members were invited to warm up with coffee provided by the Park
Rangers in the equipment building, and to view the Observatory
drawings and blueprints on display there. For most of those
present it was the first look they had had of the plans for the
building.
A no-host barbecue followed at Coulter Camp Group Picnic Area, and
for those brave souls who didn't mind the cold, chances to view
Comet Halley were provided. John Gleason, an Association Board
Member and Astro- photographer Extraordinaire, captured the comet
on film using a 40 minute exposure with chilled Konica 1600 color
negative film. This beautiful shot will join the FPOA archives,
commemorating the date of our Observatory's Groundbreaking.
30" STATUS REPORT (by Denni Medlock)
-------------------------------------
The 30-inch telescope is facing its last stages of assembly, much
to the relief of everyone associated with it. This one ton beauty
has reached a point where it can no longer be worked on in the
Medlock garage!
Jack Peterson has generously donated a 12' x 12' x 14' area at his
place of business, where the telescope will undergo final assembly
and remain until the Observatory building is complete.
Movement of the sub-assemblies to the warehouse, located in
Milpitas, took place on Sunday January 12th. It took nine
Association members five hours to transport all the components to
the warehouse.
The telescope now sits in the warehouse, on wooden piers, with all
major sub-assemblies put together. Kevin reports that it will
take about 20 pounds more of weight to balance it properly, and it
will still need to be fine tuned for movement. The painting of
the tube assembly and the polar housing will take place here
(instrument white and midnight blue).
Recently completed on the telescope was the declination assembly,
which included the cutting and welding of the cradle assembly and
its matching pieces on the tube. The declination gear is in
place, and the clutches have been made for both the R. A. and
declination gears. The worms for these gears are the only major
components left to machine.
The secondary holder is an indexing piece; that is, the diagonal
may be rotated to either side of the tube to facilitate viewing
objects that otherwise would require the viewer to lean far over
the tube. That would be a very precarious position from the top
of a 12 foot ladder!
The rest of this article pertains only to local area residents...
Tours of the partially assembled scope can be arranged by calling
Kevin or Denni at 415-654-6796. This is a very impressive
instrument; it is well worth the trip out to Milpitas to see it.
April Star Party & Cometwatch
-----------------------------
An FPOA sponsored Star Party will be held on Saturday, April 12th,
at Fremont Peak State Park beginning at dusk. A no-host barbecue
will precede the Star Party, behind the Ranger's house near the
Observatory Site. A Halley Cometwatch will commence around
midnite.
Summer Public Programs
----------------------
The FPOA will be running a public observing program this Summer at
the Peak, beginning in May. The dates and program titles have not
yet been set.
--
Frank Dibbell (408-746-6493) ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,sun}!amdahl!canopus
Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA [This is the obligatory disclaimer..]