Kissimmee Park Observatory’s new look.
Boardwalks completed; Observing Deck open for business!!
After another year of effort, the Rolloff Observatory building and all the boardwalks and decks are now completed, and ready for Observing Season ’22! I have worked long and hard this year on adding them. We will now have our observing sessions under the stars and the open sky. The KPO 18″ Reflector has been moved from the observatory dome down to the new 225 sq ft Observing Deck, so we can handle larger groups.
All that is left in the KPO Phase 2 effort is the ever-important bathroom, and I have started on the effort just this week.
The New Observing Deck
We’re so excited to now be able to hold observing sessions on the new Observing deck! This 225 square foot area will be able to accommodate a much larger group of observers.
The centerpiece of the Observing Deck is the KPO 18″ Reflector. The scope and the control electronics were moved down to the deck after the Rolloff Observatory was finished, which protects from the elements. The Rolloff Observatory building rolls back on tracks, to expose the KPO Reflector telescope and the spacious Observing Deck.
The view at the top of the post shows the building rolled forward and all closed up, and this image shows the Rolloff rolled back. Since this image we’ve added a 27″ monitor situated on the left hand door, to allow observers a view of the Sky Sentinel Planetarium software and the telescope’s finder camera.
Night Lights
And to make the observatory environment more festive (and safe) we’ve added some outdoor lighting.
There are several torch-like solar lights that adorn the outside of the boardwalks, and there are footlights to light up the boardwalks so observers can move around safely.
These lights were situated in a manner that they will in no way impact night vision during observing.
Ready to Go!
The outdoor red light illuminates the observing deck with eye-saving red light so that observers can still see but in the same time preserve their night vision, so that they can enjoy the views of the night sky through the telescope.
Eventually I will add benches to the sides of the railings to provide seating for larger groups.