18 replies to this topic

[jim kuhns]

Was just thumbing through telescopes for skygazing written by DOCTOR Henry E. Paul.

I have owned this book a long time.

I noticed Ken's unique observatory on page 129, which he named " blue Heaven".

It has a flip of Roff with a 10" f/6 that he built with a number of different accessories.

If believed he lived in Oklahoma, city. 

Does anybody want to comment?   

[Jim Waters]

Comment how?  I have the book too.

[ngc7319_20]

From vague recollection, the scope was a custom Cave with chromed everything.  There was a nice cover story in S&T back in the day.

[Delta608]

Not really.....

[Steve OK]

I went to see E. Ken Owen's scope many years ago, and through a vaguely-remembered sequence of events ended up with prints of some of his photos and astrophotos.  Here are a couple of views of his scope, with his own hand-written notes from the backs of the photos:

 

You can click on these to enlarge them a bit.

 

Steve

Edited by Steve OK, 27 December 2021 - 03:03 PM.

[Chucke]

I wonder what ever became of the telescope?

[Steve OK]

I don't know.  Someone involved with the Oklahoma City club might know.  They give an annual "E. Ken Owen Award" for contribution to amateur astronomy.  I am not currently involved with the club.

 

Steve

[Peter B]

Love the pictures! Steve and I met Ken a few times when we were editors of the "Gazer's Gazette", the Oklahoma City Astronomy club newsletter. Ken was a very nice gentleman who always had time for a couple of teenagers interested in astronomy.

[CCD-Freak]

I too remember the pictures in S&T.  What a beautiful scope. 

I am pretty sure the OKC Astronomy Club people know where his scope went so hopefully one of them will post on this thread. 

[Wigleydh]

I know the guy that has the optical tube. Luckily, the tube was off the mount and at his house (he still has that), but the observatory was destroyed in the May 3rd, 1999 tornado that came through Bridge Creek, Moore, and OKC area.

 

John has talked about wanting to at sometime, put that scope tube on one of his mounts and do an image with it. Just called him and I let him know about this thread. He says he needs to send the mirror to get re-coated again. He also was one of the people that helped build that observatory. He has the Sky & Telescope that there was article about Ken's stuff.

[CCD-Freak]

So.....the beautiful chrome mount was destroyed along with the observatory ???   Too sad.  )^8

Edited by CCD-Freak, 29 December 2021 - 12:08 PM.

[Wigleydh]

Yes, the mount got wiped out with the observatory.

[Steve OK]

Yes, the mount got wiped out with the observatory.

So the observatory was not in its original location at Ken's house on N.E. 17th, right?

 

Steve

[Wigleydh]

From what I remember John said something about the observatory being northeast,

 

I must have gotten it wrong about it -- couldn't have been the big F5 that day, as that one didn't make it that far NE -- that map shows the big one's path ending about SE 15th. I'm pretty sure he did say May 3rd, 1999. I didn't confirm earlier today that it was May 3rd, but believe that was what he has said before.

 

There were several other tornado that day. The pic shows the tornado paths that day and there are several smaller ones showing east and north of OKC. It may have been one of those, or I am remembering the wrong date. 

 

I'll see if I can get John to post here to provide more info.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by Wigleydh, 29 December 2021 - 04:59 PM.

[Wigleydh]

John called and said he will post more later this evening.

 

He said the observatory was up closer to Arcadia Lake (east of Edmond) when it was wiped out, also wasn't sure of year (will call Phillip who was also observed there -- I evidently got things wrong about the date in my earlier post as it has been a while since Joe showed me that scope). He did say that they put up the observatory before that lake was finished (finished filling that lake in 1984 after starting the dam in 1980). He thought he got that Ken's stuff in 1982. After he gets home this evening, hopefully he can nail down more on the time frame on the observatory getting blown away.

 

I didn't find any Tornado that came to that area, on that tornado archive site. From what he said appeared to have been tornado damage and they all had always figured that was what wiped it all out -- but from what I told him about that archive not showing a path that near to that - wondered if could have been straight line wind damage. He said wasn't much left though.

[johnd39818]

Hello, I had purchased   this scope in a blind bid I believe in 1982. I with the assistance of Joe Pearson, Jay Ford and Phillip Brand built an observatory platform using the original clamshell cover as pictured in previous post just east of lake Arcadia on property owned by Larry and Donna Bettis,. When built the lake was not yet filled. I believe it was built in 1984. I am looking for the pictures of the construction I would love to post. I'm trying to confirm the exact year but the platform along with the mount was destroyed during a storm. Never found the clam shell and platform was basically gone. Fortunately I had removed the optical tube to have the mirrors recoated so i still have the optics. The recoating was contaminated and I have not resent in to have recoated. I am planning to refurbish the optical tube been sitting in garage for years need some re-chrome work and focuser need and upgrade will also need mirrors recoated. Ken had a piece of glass that held the secondary that I will need to replace with a spider as the glass caused reflections. Once I find pictures I will post. I'm trying to remember what the year that mount was lost. I should have taken pictures of the damage but I was young and dumb and in love at the time so Astronomy was not at the top of my list at the time. I had even sold my 24" Dob around the same time to finance my wedding. 

[Pierre Lemay]

 

Ken Owen's flip top observatory was the inspiration for the hinged shelter I built for my 20 inch ball scope, pictured above. Instead of elevating the observing platform, which made it possible for him to use counterweights to balance the canopy, I preferred a ground based platform. To help in lifting the canopy I eventually added two gas springs which compensate the weight to help lift it to its retracted, vertical position. For more information on the shelter click on the link in my signature block, below.

 

This type of hinged shelter is ideal for large, dobsonian telescope use and storage. It is much more convenient for dobs than roll-off-roof or rolled shelters and much cheaper to build. There are no walls to block the view, the scope can leave its pod to be moved elsewhere if trees or buildings are blocking the view. With the very convenient integrated, retractable desk there is room to place the eyepiece box, atlases, computers, etc.

 

Ken Owen showed us an unusual shelter for his older generation GEM mounted Newtonian that turns out to be particularly well suited to today's modern, dobsonian type telescopes.

[Steve OK]

..."Ken had a piece of glass that held the secondary that I will need to replace with a spider as the glass caused reflections...."

 

I didn't remember that about the scope, that it had an optical window.  But I do have a print of his image of M 42 taken with the scope, and there are no diffraction spikes on the stars!  That had never occurred to me before now.  I thought about posting a scanned copy of that image here, but I'm not sure about the ethics of doing so, and whether it would violate the TOS of Cloudy Nights.  As a youngster, I thought it was fantastic.  It is a 15 minute exposure on Kodak 103-aF film.  And man, is it grainy!

 

Steve

[Starliner]

Fascinating thread! I can remember seeing a photo of E. Ken Owen in Sky and Telescope in my high school library in 1974 with some of the fan mail he received after the Sky and Telescope cover and spread. The mail was spread out on the observatory platform. The chrome plated Cave was jaw dropping. Interesting that the scope and observatory appear to have been sold before Ken's passing in 1985. Regarding the glass holding the secondary, the September 1970 Sky and Telescope article mentioned some kind of optical meniscus holding the secondary, (something to do with protecting the mirror or dew).