My interest in astronomy dates back to the time when I, as a third-grader, got a copy of Fred Hoyle's Frontiers of Astronomy. I read it over and over, practically memorizing it, fascinated by the idea that we could actually figure out what was going on inside an object that was just a tiny pinpoint of white light.
It wasn't too long after that that I got a small telescope; later, as a high-school freshman, I got a larger telescope. It wasn't too long after that that I wanted an observatory so I wouldn't have to lug the thing in and out of the house!
Lo these many years later, the time for an observatory has come. After a protracted search of the numerous places in the southwest desert that qualify as near, at, or in the middle of nowhere (so the sky will be nice and dark at night, that's why), but still within shouting distance of utility service, land has been procured. What follows is the chronicle of the transformation of 40 acres of high desert into my vision of astronomical nirvana.
So, like Dorothy, we begin by putting one foot in front of another as we follow the treacherous road to The Emerald City (or at least an observatory with electricity and indoor plumbing :-).
FLASH! (3/17/00): Ten months on the waiting list has finally paid off - I've been allowed to place an order for an Astro-Physics 1200GTO mount. Delivery time is sometime this fall; unfortunately, the observatory will be nowhere near completion when it arrives.
FLASH! (07/26/00): An order was placed today for a 400mm (16") Astro Optik LOMO Hypergraph, which will be the main imaging instrument at the observatory. Delivery time is 10 - 12 months; at the current rate, the observatory will not be ready when the telescope gets here.
FLASH! (08/24/00): I placed the winning bid on Astromart (a used astronomy equipment forum) for a slightly used Software Bisque Paramount GT-1100 mount. This will be the mount for the second pier in the observatory. Now if I only had a telescope ...
Disaster befell the observatory project in late June when a massive rainstorm hit the area and flooded the hole that was supposed to have been a basement by now. The project will have to be delayed by a few weeks to let the water drain off and allow the sun to bake the ground hard again. The hole was dug in early May and essentially nothing has happened since then, and now it'll be a few more weeks before work can proceed.
After the massive downpour, the footing trenches in the basement excavation are a washed-out mess. Note the erosion on the access ramp at the far end. Compare this to the hole as it looked when first dug.
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Terry R. Friedrichsen
terry@venus.sunquest.com