N5PA

Rainwater Solar Observatory Construction Page

I have been helping the guys from Rainwater Observatory at French Camp, MS build a new observatory to house the new Coronado 90mm Double-Stack Solar Telescope. My wife and I have been donating money and labor to help construct this new observatory. I have been working with Jim Hill, Edwin Faughn, and a couple of the young men from French Camp Academy. We have had a couple of work days and we have made a lot of progress. This past Saturday, December 11, 2010, we got the help of some more of the young men from the academy and were able to mount the dome on top of the building and fasten it down. We started working on the slits for the opening, but rain stopped us from completing that part of the project. We have to put the slits up, make the door, and finish the pier. There also needs to be some additional painting on the inside and additional caulking. The two young men below cleaned the dome after we got it up and it made all the difference in the world on how it looks. It is amazing what a little Clorox, water, and labor will do. We hope to be completed with the observatory by sometime in January 2011. Thanks to the amateur astronomer from Alabama that donated the dome and ring. Jim and Edwin drove over there in the middle of July to take it down and transport it back. It was a very hot day to take it down and a cold and blustery day to put it up. Scroll down and look at the pictures below.

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Edwin Faughn and one of the young men from French Camp Academy standing by
the observatory after the dome was placed and cleaned.

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Another side shot of the solar observatory after the dome was installed.

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Looking in the front door with the two stepping stones and the pier.

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The dome really glistened after the two young men from French Camp Academy
scrubbed it down.

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Inside you can see the track that the dome rotates on and the supports that make
a circle underneath it. It still is a little hard to turn, though.

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These two young men from French Camp Academy have been a big help to us during
the construction process.

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A shot of the new solar observatory from the bottom of the hill.

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A view of most of the observatories from the bottom of the hill. The new white dome
on the solar observatory sticks out. The large Sangre Telescope is on the right.

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Another view from the bottom of the hill.

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The concrete pad on the solar observatory is 10' 6" square.

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We would like to thank the gentleman from Alabama that donated the dome and ring.

Good Seeing!