I found out about a week ago that the Elginfield observatory, located nearby, will be closing down in the next few months. This decision was apparently made about six months ago, mostly based on the fact that the person who maintains the building and telescope will be retiring next summer.
There are a number of reasons why it should (?) be shut down. The telescope isn’t exactly top-of-the-line. It was built in 1969, has a 1.2m primary mirror (Keck has a 10m mirror), and there are a few different instruments that can be attached (CCD cameras, spectrographs, etc.), most of which aren’t exceptional. The high-resolution spectrograph is one of the best in the world, but because of the weather here, it is not used a lot. The skies in Southwestern Ontario are far from optimal: it is cloudy from November until March, and very humid in the summer. The southern sky is lit up by city lights, making it difficult to observe anything in that direction.
That being said, it would be a wonderful facility for teaching and outreach. A few other telescopes in Canada have been modified to take on such a role. The DAO near Victoria, BC, has numerous open houses and even a visitor’s centre with a planetarium. The RAO near Calgary, Alberta, was on the verge of shutting down, when it was revamped and now used as a teaching and outreach facility. The Glenlea observatory near Winnipeg, MB, is used for teaching undergraduate students.
There are no such facilities in Ontario – the most populous province in Canada. There was a telescope near Toronto (the DDO), but it was decommissioned a couple years ago. There seems to be support to keep the telescope running from the department, the university, the local astronomy club (RASC London), and the public.
The problem comes down to a) money and b) personnel. Maintenance costs aren’t much, but to restore or revamp the telescope would be in the hundreds of thousands. Plus, although people seem to support the idea of keeping it open for teaching and outreach, no one has stepped forward to spearhead the project.
It breaks my heart to think of this telescope being shut down and never used. It seems as though I might be the last line of defense.
I propose that this particular telescope must start seeing UFOs all over the place in the near future in order to promote the interest of the
mobpeople, and so gain public support for its continuation.Hmm…I suppose I could rig something up :)
Good luck with the campaign if you decide to go for it!
I’ve been wondering recently where I might be able to have a peek through a real telescope in the UK. Does anyone know of this kind of outreach?
Stephen – not sure how close this would be for you, but the Institute of Astronomy seems to do a lot of outreach. Click here for a link to the general outreach site, and here for the public open observing sessions. Hope that helps!
Oh, and I should add, if that’s not close to you, then just Google “astronomy outreach UK” – many universities there seem to have some sort of outreach program.
You know, I’ve driven by the entrance to the DDO many times and never made any effort to go and have a look. Next time, for sure.
I was sad to see the ROM’s planetarium shut down too, some years ago. I suppose some of those types of things have been picked up by various IMAX movies to some extent, but there’s something quite fun about an honest-to-goodness piece of planetarium machinery (there must be a name for that gizmo I guess).
P.S. Slightly embarrassed to realize that you’re so nearby… *waves down the highway
Richard, I’m not sure what the deal is with the DDO now – if it’s still open to the public, or if it’s completely closed. The last I heard, the town was trying to get it designated as a heritage site. Not sure what has come of that. If you find out, let me know!
PS: we are pretty close! How’s the weather up there? :)
Many thanks for the links to astronomy outreach Alyssa – that was extraordinarily helpful!
Carolin Crawford of the Institute of Astronomy is going to speak at an event we are running at the Nature Island Second Life on Monday 12 October, 6.15 UK time. She is one of our ‘women of outstanding achievement’. All very welcome! More info here: http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/html/news-and-events/events/?event_id=1306
The event venue is here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Elucian%20Islands/93/218/22
@Stephen
The University of Bradford has been doing outreach and internet/robot telescope work for a long time. See their Robot Telescope site for information.
Stephen – you’re very welcome!
Ruth and Brian – thanks for posting about these events!
@Stephen Greenwich Observatory is entirely outreach. They have the biggest old school telescope in the UK, I think, and open it up for observations of the moon, Saturn, etc. every winter.
Hampstead Observatory also runs regular observations for the public over winter, but I’ve never tried it.
Excellent – thanks Matt. Your message sent me back to their web-site and I’ve now found the the bit about “Observing Evenings”. Must have been half-asleep last time I looked…!
Thanks for posting that info, Matt!
I booked. I got excited. And we went – last night.
But it was cloudy and we saw nothing but a blurry patch of light – the moon hiding behind thin cloud.
It’s not the Royal Observatory’s fault but I was deeply disappointed.
Now thinking of getting my own telescope (could be cheaper in the long run compared to gambling with the Observatory!)
Oh you should so do it Alyssa! You’ve got the perfect space and everything. (see my other comment)
Stephen – If you want a North London venue, try the University of London Observatory that also has open evenings.