Control Center

The Control Center, which was designed in 2001 and for which funds are now being raised, will transform the observatory into a superb and unique educational and scientific facility.

This drawing is a top view of the observatory, showing existing structures in black, and future structures in red. You can compare it to the aerial photograph in the Home Page section. The future structures are the Control Center itself (red rectangle), a buried conduit for the electronic transmission of data and commands (red dashed line), and a semicircular screening fence (red curved lines).

This is an artist's rendering of the completed observatory at dusk by Toby Wilson (Copyright 2002). The 4-inch refractor is at the center.

The Control Center will contain a bathroom, kitchenette, storeroom, and telescope control room, plus a heating and cooling system. For scientific reasons, the telescope dome is neither heated nor cooled, which makes it uncomfortable for students during the summer and winter. The Control Center's features will enable observers in the control room to work comfortably year round and allow visitors to warm up and enjoy snacks on cold evenings. It will also provide storage space, currently lacking, for maintenance equipment, instruments, and portable telescopes for public star parties.

The screening fence will define a sheltered amphitheater for outdoor stargazers by blocking cold north winds and the lights of approaching vehicles.

If you are interested in contributing to Phase 2, please click here to download an illustrated, five-page description of the Control Center project in PDF format, or please contact Dr. Peter Shull and the OSU Foundation.