Deep Springs Observatory

The construction of the Deep Springs observatory was made possible by the enthusiasm and generosity of the Deep Springs Class of ‘77.

Dome and Control Room

The observatory’s dome is the Aphelion 7 ft Model purchased used from Antelope Hills Observatory. The internal height inside the dome was increased by 9½” to 81½” with by putting it on a custom 12-sided foundation.

The observatory went into service for the Term 5 Observational Astronomy course held in March and April of 2022, even as many construction details remained to be completed.

Sue Awaits Moonrise

Power

Field power for the equipment is provided by two Jackery Explorer 1000s which are kept charged by two Jackery SolarSaga 100s. Industrial grade PVC conduit for carrying data and power is routed underground between the dome and the control room.

Instrument

Saint Mary’s College donated one of its surplus Meade LX200 Classic 10” telescopes to Deep Springs College:

Meade LX200 Classic 10

The telescope’s optical tube assembly (OTA) was de-forked to ride on a Losmandy G11G:

Losmandy G11G

The Saint Mary’s College donation included a Meade 40mm 2” eyepiece. It takes in about 3/4° of the sky at 63.5x power.

Program

With the College’s clear and dark skies (which despite the growth of Bishop until recently were still rated as Bortle Class 1), and the 5530’ (1685m) elevation at the observatory, students will be able to use the dome, telescope, and control room to do a wide variety of pedagogically- and scientifically-valuable projects.