Sherwood Observatory
Encyclopedia
Sherwood Observatory is an amateur astronomical observatory in Nottinghamshire
, England
, owned and operated by Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society
. The main dome is 6.5m in diameter and houses a 0.61 m Newtonian Reflecting telescope. There is a club meeting room that hosts society meetings and lectures and also serves as a lecture theatre for the public on open evenings. The complex has workshop, kitchen, office, storage and toilet facilities.
(MSAS) took place in 1969 and early meetings took place at the premises of a local engineering company. The founding members quickly formed a plan to build an Observatory and by 1972 a piece of land had been purchased at one of the highest points in Nottinghamshire. Site preparation commenced and the foundations were poured in 1975. All building work was done by members with the majority of materials being reclaimed from local demolition sites.
The dome itself was designed with the help of the Nottingham University Architects department. The main ring-beam and aperture guides for the dome were made from 4x2 inch steel channeling, bent to shape by hand with the aid of a large hydraulic jack normally used lift heavy goods vehicles. Thirty supporting ribs were then made from T-section aluminium, and 120 sheets of aluminium all individually cut and shaped by hand were fixed to the structure by over 5,000 riviets, each of which was drilled and punched by hand.
With a roof on the lecture theatre the building was now weatherproof and work could commence on the electrical systems and the telescope itself. The main frame of the telescope was built by members from scaffold tubing and mounted on an equatorial fork driven by DC electrical motors for tracking the stars. The main mirror was ground at the observatory by a home made mirror grinding machine over a period of 4 years, however this piece of glass was damaged when sent away for aluminising. After a period of fundraising a mirror was purchased and installed in the telescope with Messier 42, The Orion Nebula
being the target for first light.
Sherwood Observatory was officially opened in 1986 by the Astronomer Royal Professor Sir Francis Graham-Smith
.
on an equatorial fork mount. The telescope was initially constructed as a Nasmyth reflector but due to collimation problems it was converted in the 1990s to the simpler Newtonian configuration.
The telescope has stepper motor drive control with an electrical focusser. The dome is electrically driven and will move automatically as the telescope tracks across the sky. Various cameras can be attached to the telescope to record images and video and display what the telescope sees on a 2 metre wide projector screen in the lecture theatre from where the telescope can be controlled.
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, owned and operated by Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society
Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society
Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society is an amateur astronomical society in the East Midlands of England. It was formed in 1969. It is based at Sherwood Observatory, a 61cm mirror telescope which it owns and operates...
. The main dome is 6.5m in diameter and houses a 0.61 m Newtonian Reflecting telescope. There is a club meeting room that hosts society meetings and lectures and also serves as a lecture theatre for the public on open evenings. The complex has workshop, kitchen, office, storage and toilet facilities.
Early history
The first meeting of Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical SocietyMansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society
Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society is an amateur astronomical society in the East Midlands of England. It was formed in 1969. It is based at Sherwood Observatory, a 61cm mirror telescope which it owns and operates...
(MSAS) took place in 1969 and early meetings took place at the premises of a local engineering company. The founding members quickly formed a plan to build an Observatory and by 1972 a piece of land had been purchased at one of the highest points in Nottinghamshire. Site preparation commenced and the foundations were poured in 1975. All building work was done by members with the majority of materials being reclaimed from local demolition sites.
The dome itself was designed with the help of the Nottingham University Architects department. The main ring-beam and aperture guides for the dome were made from 4x2 inch steel channeling, bent to shape by hand with the aid of a large hydraulic jack normally used lift heavy goods vehicles. Thirty supporting ribs were then made from T-section aluminium, and 120 sheets of aluminium all individually cut and shaped by hand were fixed to the structure by over 5,000 riviets, each of which was drilled and punched by hand.
With a roof on the lecture theatre the building was now weatherproof and work could commence on the electrical systems and the telescope itself. The main frame of the telescope was built by members from scaffold tubing and mounted on an equatorial fork driven by DC electrical motors for tracking the stars. The main mirror was ground at the observatory by a home made mirror grinding machine over a period of 4 years, however this piece of glass was damaged when sent away for aluminising. After a period of fundraising a mirror was purchased and installed in the telescope with Messier 42, The Orion Nebula
Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light...
being the target for first light.
Sherwood Observatory was officially opened in 1986 by the Astronomer Royal Professor Sir Francis Graham-Smith
Francis Graham-Smith
Sir Francis Graham-Smith is a British astronomer. He was the thirteenth Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990.He was educated at Rossall School, Lancashire, England...
.
Telescope
The main instrument at Sherwood Observatory is a Newtonian telescopeNewtonian telescope
The Newtonian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton , using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. Newton’s first reflecting telescope was completed in 1668 and is the earliest known functional reflecting telescope...
on an equatorial fork mount. The telescope was initially constructed as a Nasmyth reflector but due to collimation problems it was converted in the 1990s to the simpler Newtonian configuration.
The telescope has stepper motor drive control with an electrical focusser. The dome is electrically driven and will move automatically as the telescope tracks across the sky. Various cameras can be attached to the telescope to record images and video and display what the telescope sees on a 2 metre wide projector screen in the lecture theatre from where the telescope can be controlled.