|
|
VII. SAFETY & COMMON SENSE
Darkness is necessary for good astronomy but conducive for
accidents. It's easy to hit your head on a telescope knob, fall
off a tall ladder, or trip over a power cord strung across the
floor. Examine the accident potential for your observatory and
make sure there are no uncovered sharp protrusions at eye level,
wires to trip over, and ladders with steps about to break.
VIII. LOCKS
Locks keep honest people honest, but they are a good source of
secondary, unexpected problems. ALWAYS have a spare key or the
lock combination available. Store an extra key in your glove
box. Obviously, don't hide an extra key under the doormat but
put it were you will remember it. Club keys and combinations
must be tightly controlled. Clubs often require members to sign
in and out for the observatory key, and, in extreme cases, let
members use the observatory only if they are accompanied by a
designated club officer. More than once, this type of control
has backfired when the "key" officer went out of town and took
the keys with him or her. No matter what you do, make it
impossible to lock yourself out of the observatory.
IX. RULES and REGULATIONS
Rules, formal or informal, are necessary anytime more than one
person is involved in the use of an observatory. For an active
club with a large observatory complex, there should be a formal
set of regulations. For two persons sharing an observatory, it
is probably a simple understanding. Nevertheless, there always
has to be a clear understanding about rights and
responsibilities. There are a number of issues that have to be
addressed: Who pays for any damage that might result? Who
determines the observing schedule (What are the priorities for
prime "dark" times)? Is there insurance? Is there a checkout
procedure for the telescope and building? What are the rules for
public star parties? Don't write a set of rules that would
overwhelm even a government bureaucrat but do make sure all
parties clearly understand their responsibilities.
X. THE OBSERVATORY: WHEN IT ALL WORKS
A functioning observatory is an integrated system consisting of
three main parts: the telescope, the building, and the support
equipment. These have to be coordinated with each other, and
when it all comes together, it is marvelous. There is absolutely
nothing more enjoyable (with a couple of exceptions) than
spending a night with a good telescope under a dark sky. An
observatory makes it possible. There is less set up time, and
there is easy access to books, charts, eyepieces, cameras, CCD's,
computers, and most importantly, food and warmth.
An observatory, if done right, will give you a lifetime of
pleasure. The secret is to carefully plan ahead, prevent common
pitfalls in observatory design and construction, and learn from
others mistakes. It never hurts to get plenty of advice. Do your
research. Visit as many observatories as possible, read relevant
articles in Astronomy, Amateur Astronomy, Sky & Telescope,
old issues of Amateur Telescope Making Journal, and search the web for help. Then, when ready, build your observatory
and look forward to years of enjoyment.
First posted January 1, 1999; Revised June 29, 2014
|
