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solaryellow
member
Reged: 09/28/09
Posts: 51
Loc: New Milford CT
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The McCarthy Observatory, IAU932 is constructing a scale model of the solar system, with beautiful bronze sculptures going on SS pyramid piers in various places in town.
This scale model was precisely calculated by our Observatory founder and many members, and utilizes the school's locations and public areas in our town for proper placement.
Most areas are calculated to be pretty accurate, and from what I heard might be in the top 5 of all such projects in terms of accuracy.
It is a remarkable feat to arrange for not only the planets, but also satellites and other non planetary sculptures, and coordinating among the many schools and town places for the placement of them.
We are thankful the town is very welcoming of this project,
The project is due to be finished in November, and I will have some images showing this project.
The McCarthy Observatory is a volunteer based group, from the initial construction of the observatory to the continuing involvement with the schools in education, and community outreach.
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16" Meade Starfinder,GEM AC version. home
16" Meade SCT McCarthy Observatory (JJMO)
Tak FSQ106 JJMO
5" Meade refractor/ Coronado filters.
60mm Bushnell refractor, my first since early 80's
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ArizonaScott
Postmaster
Reged: 04/29/04
Posts: 5526
Loc: Scottsdale, AZ
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Wow, that facility is beautiful, kudos to the group and the town for their efforts and co-operation on the project. Hopefully it'll inspire others to take on similar projects.
Hope you don't mind me posting this link to the website McCarthy Observatory
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Scott
10" LX200 Classic, Konus 200, Orion ST80, ETX90 OTA, 60mm Celestron alt-az, Obie 20x80's, Meade 10x50's
Edited by ArizonaScott (10/19/09 02:30 PM)
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GregAlt
member
Reged: 06/23/09
Posts: 30
Loc: Seattle, WA, USA
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Very cool. A while back I did a much smaller, less accurate, low-key model for my kids at a park in Seattle:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=106060669482944659056.00046063921178ced6202
I picked a small scale so the planets would all fit in the park, but I also included a bunch of other solar system boundaries like the Oort cloud and the extent of the Sun's gravity. Though the farther points were chosen more for familiar cities for my kids, at roughly the right order of magnitude, than precise distances.
We had some fun placing the planets with little flags and then "blasting off" (running) from Earth to the Sun and then slingshotting out to Neptune.
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Orion XT8i - 8" f/5.9
Nikon Action 10x50 Binoculars
Galileoscope 50mm f/10 (20mm ep + 2x barlow)
25mm, 10mm Sirius Plossl eyepieces (1.25")
12.5mm Black Knight OWL Super Plossl
2x Knight OWL Barlow
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solaryellow
member
Reged: 09/28/09
Posts: 51
Loc: New Milford CT
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No problem.
Wasn't sure if the links were allowed to sites.
We're going on 10 years now.
I remember getting a phone call from a local amatuer astronomer in my town, who had a permanent outdoor setup for his 8" SCT.
I shared some info on my roll off holding a 16" Newtonian.
Him and I were probably the only people in New Milford with home observatories at the time.
Since I saw the call for a local public observatory, I met up with him and as well a couple other members who all seemed to gel quite nicely together.
It was a unique group, probably one in a million chance of people like this.
in 1999, we had to design, build, and raise money all from donations, no taxpayer dollars.
Almost seems like yesterday, but we came a long way.
And we aren't stopping..
Dennis Cartolano
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16" Meade Starfinder,GEM AC version. home
16" Meade SCT McCarthy Observatory (JJMO)
Tak FSQ106 JJMO
5" Meade refractor/ Coronado filters.
60mm Bushnell refractor, my first since early 80's
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