Images from the Setterfield telescope

The telescope was finally up and running this summer. The photos we are getting from it are incredible. Dave Bowdoin, the technician, has some on the net, here. Thought some of you might enjoy seeing them
http://www.newhopechristian.net/NH%20Pictures/Observatory/Celestial%20Objects/default.htm

 

Actually, we do have the capability to pick up extra-solar planets and have been asked to do some looking there by the University of Oregon.

The telescope is a 16" R-C, similar to the Hubble spacecraft, and the computer and photographic parts are specially designed to work with it.

The telescope is one we bought and were going to put up here, on our property. However a very high ground water level (which would cause shifting and even some degree of wobbling) and the fact that distant neighbors in three directions keep those bright white lights going all night to keep foxes and such away from their animals made us realize that we had to find another home for the telescope. So we donated it to New Hope Christian School, in part because the public schools refuse to have anything to do with anything besides evolution and Barry would not be allowed to teach there, and in part because New Hope is far from town, on a lovely stable hill, and is the ideal spot for a telescope. The observatory is officially the New Hope Observatory and the telescope bears Barry's name. He teaches astronomy there on Monday nights and is also there during public viewing nights.

We were stunned by the quality of the photographs we were getting, even though Barry had researched the things he wanted to buy very carefully. The clarity and detail is better than some of the material printed in the professional astronomy journals.

Now that we have seen how much attention this telescope is getting and the value of the classes and public viewing nights, we are ever so glad it is not here on our own property!