At the beginning of October, Turner Farm Park held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of its new observatory. Located in Great Falls, the park is far enough away from D.C.’s denser light pollution that visitors will have a prime view of the night sky in one of the darkest areas of Fairfax County.
The community-driven project was initiated in 2007 with the help of the Analemma Society’s direction, funding and equipment donations. The newly unveiled observatory features a roll-top design—notably different than traditional dome-top observatories—that allows for several larger-scale telescopes and preprogramming that allows the telescope to find constellations more quickly.
“The primary telescope will be the 7-inch astro-physics refractor, which is a very good scope for high-powered observation of planets,” says Alan Figgatt, a volunteer with the Analemma Society. “The two other telescopes… are an 11-inch Celestron Cassegrain and a 10-inch Meade.” Figgatt notes the secondary Celestron and Meade telescopes are ideal for locating star alignments. The observatory has plans to eventually add a fourth telescope.
“We’re looking forward to hosting future events for families to enjoy astronomy,” says Judith Pedersen of Fairfax County Park Authority. Those events will begin this spring, including educational events and classes hosted by the Analemma Society. The astronomy and science classes will be held in the facility’s orientation room, which will also be heated during the winter. The public viewings will take place every Friday night from 7 to 9:30pm, when guests can view the night sky from one of the three new telescopes.
