Prince Albert Town Observatory update
[Source: mnassa, 2002 December, vol 61, 11&12, Letters, p 153-154]
Albert Jansen of Prince Albert, writes:
"About seven years ago I announced (MNASSA, 1995, 54, 112-113) the estab-lishment of a private observatory on a farm near Prince Albert, intended to be an ideal dark site for inland and overseas amateur astronomers. Since then, I could welcome around 40 visitors each year, only a handful of them being knowledgeable amateurs. This made me decide to aim at a different market: last year all instruments were moved to a backyard observatory, and doors are open now for tourists who spend one or more nights in our beautiful town. During ten months, already 500 people had a first-hand experience of the night sky.
Although the sky is certainly less dark in town than on the farm, European visitors are still surprised to see the Milky Way. On moonless nights, even its faint parts in Orion are obvious. It is important to realize that such skies are an invaluable tourist asset and therefore, ESCOM should guard against lighting our continent too much. Fortunately, the Karoo climate is ideal for astronomy, and air pollution is an unknown notion here.
A 4-inch SCT on a Great Polaris mount is used by day for solar observation. A 10-inch Meade LX200, equipped with a video camera, shows the telescope image on a TV screen. A 16-inch Meade Dobsonian, now on an equatorial platform, is used for visual observing. Three mounted binoculars are on stand-by for larger groups. All these instru-ments are housed in a simple 6 x 6 m building, from which the roof can be rolled off by hand.
Normally, an evening program will take 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the interests of the visitors. Sky orientation is a good starting point, with special attention to zodiac and Milky Way, daily and yearly changes, as well as differences between European and South African skies. Planets and planetary systems are put in contrast to stars and stellar systems, and a quick impression of distances is given in the form of light-times.
Next is 10-inch video astronomy: Moon, planets, double stars and open clusters. Watching a TV screen has many obvious advantages: anyone can do it, while many have trouble with peeping into an eyepiece. The image on the screen can be discussed, and even a large group of visitors can see quite a lot of objects, using the LX200's GoTo facility. Last but not least: during moments of good seeing, images are recorded for later use.
The final part of the program is visual deep-sky observing, for which the 16-inch is ideal. Showpieces like M42 and Omega Centauri are rendered bright enough that even the most unexperienced observers are deeply impressed. These observations can start a discussion about stellar evolution, cosmic recycling and chemical element production. To demonstrate the telescope's light gain, a glance of dazzling Sirius is convincing.
Special arrangements are still made for those who can handle the instruments in order to do their own programs. Some amateurs bring a CCD and a laptop to image the sky. For further information or to make an appointment, contact me at: Prince Albert Town Observatory, 3 Market Street, Prince Albert 6930, tel. 023 541 1871 or send an e-mail to [ agjansen@cybertrade.co.za ].
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