| GE Dark Sky Observatory |
|
|
|
|
"I can touch the stars it's so clear!" "Look there's the Milkyway!" The night skies at Apple Ridge are inspirational. With very little ambient light to diminish the sparkle of the heavens, you can see "forever". We offer star gazing programs through the telescopes of the GE Dark Sky Observatory. On overcast nights and for large groups we have classroom presentations.
The addition of the GE Dark Sky Observatory is expanding the possibilities of Apple Ridge to "astronomical" proportions!
Created from the initial vision of Michael Good, who designed and led the endeavor, it was made possible by a generous grant from the GE Volunteer Foundation. The observatory is a partnership between the GE Volunteer Foundation and Apple Ridge Farm who provides an ideal remote dark sky location and access to hundreds of school children and civic groups per year. Volunteers who included members of the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society and GE Volunteer Foundation constructed the astronomical observatory just below the summit of Mt. Lewis (2700’ elevation). This location gives a night sky view with minimal ambient light intrusion. The observatory will be used as a community educational outreach facility and made available to civic groups as well as summer campers. Completed this summer, it contains two Schmidt-Cassegrain observatory caliber telescopes with motorized clock drive computer controls. The larger 12” telescope allows automatic slewing and finding of thousands of objects in the pristine dark skies of Apple Ridge. GE has designed this equipment to work with a solar collector and battery, hence environmentally friendly. Expect superb lunar, planetary, and deep sky objects to come into the view of our students. First light for this observatory occurred in May, 2007. As a parallel to this outreach, we hope to add VGA LCD computer projection capabilities with a large screen to create an electronic classroom downstairs in the Meador Natural Science Building, enhancing our educational outreach to all our Natural Science programs, as well as enhancing presentation capabilities of area businesses renting the Apple Ridge facility. ****Plans also include the development of The Apple Ridge Astronomy Club. Through which members will have monthly instruction and guest speakers in astronomy in addition to access to the telescope facilities when weather permits. We are excited about the development of this new astronomy program for our camp. This facility will serve our camp and interested patrons for years to come. To see more pictures, documentation of planetary storms, and audio recordings, visit the Gallery. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|