The Clackamas Print Page 6
Wednesday, Oct. 26,1994
FEATURE
ELC houses largest public observatory in Oregon
by Tina .Guinn
Editor-in-Chief
The Environmental Learning
Center parking lot was deserted
when I walked along the wooded
path to where The Haggart Ob
servatory is located. I had been
to the ELC before, but never fully
realized what the fenced-in stairs
were for. I had never paid enough
attention.
As I waited for Ken
Cameron, observatory director, to
arrive for our interview, I noticed
that the fence around the stairs
was made up, in part, of crosswalk
signal light poles. A padlock
hung from the latch on the gate.
I heard footsteps approach
ing, and Cameron introduced
himself and unlocked the gate.
We walked up the stairs, 32 of
them, and I noticed there were
names carved in the face of each
step. Cameron explained the pur
pose before I even had a chance
to ask.
“The stairs leading up to the
observation point were sold at
$250 per step as a means of pay
ing for the building. Each stair
purchased has the name of the
sponsor written on it,” he said.
The Haggart Observatory,
“Oregon’s largest public observa
tory,” took one year to build. It
opened to the public for the first
time March 7, 1989, so visitors
could view the partial eclipse of
the sun which occurred that day.
The ELC acquired the dome
“serendipitously,” Cameron said.
In May of 1988, Darcy Haggart,
the widow of Harold Haggart,
donated the dome and the dome
drive assembly to the ELC, after
Haggart passed away. Haggart, a
long-time Oregon City resident
and professional telescope
builder, had built a personal ob
servatory, which is where the
dome came from. According to
Cameron, Haggart hand-cut and
crimped each wedge-shaped piece
when he constructed the dome in
1948
Cameron said the dome sat
in the parking lot for months
while ELC directors decided how
to build the observatory around
the dome. Observatory construc
tion began in 1988 and was fin
ished in 1989.
According to Cameron, there
are two structures that were built
together to house the telescope,,
the dome and the observation
deck. The main structure, which
contains the dome, the deck and
the stairway, is held up by eight
power poles which were donated
by Portland General Electric. The
other structure is a concrete col
umn which solely supports the
telescope.
Cameron said the two sepa
rate structures are a necessity, as
they prevent the telescope from
vibrating or swaying when there
is a lot of activity on the observa
tion deck.
Due.to the volunteer status of
the observatory, its construction
was funded through donations
and the use of recycled materials.
The decking was salvaged from
burned remains of the old
photo by Chad Patteson
Ken Cameron, observatory director, Inspects the tele
scope on a rainy day when the observatory Is closed. It
Is available for anyone to use: tickets are only $1.50.
Smuckers Jelly Cannery. The
cannery used to be where the
Clackamas Community Art
Building now stands.
The paneling in the lobby
area of the observatory came from
discarded bleachers that the col
lege no longer wanted. Cameron
said even some of the optical
equipment used to construct the
telescope is recycled.
“We received the bulk of our
material free or for nominal cost,”
Cameron Said. “We even used
recycled labor. That is, prisoners
from the Clackamas County jail
were hired for construction.”
All of this Cameron high
lighted for me as I followed him
up the stairs onto the observation
deck and then up the steep steps
into the observation dome which
houses the telescope.
Before people began to ar
rive, Cameron had to climb up the
stairs into the dome and open the
dome up so the telescope would
adjust to the temperature of the
outside air. “Most people do not
know it, but the telescope must be
the same temperature as the out
side air in order to work properly,”
Cameron said.
Being slightly afraid of
heights, I was nervous about
climbing up the steps leading to
the dome itself, but once inside, I
was surprised at how large the
telescope was.
The telescope was mounted
on the concrete base in the center
of the dome, but nearly reached
to both sides of the wall. Cameron
immediately began to explain the
telescope. He said the telescope
is a Newtonian Style, but is not
what most people think of when
they hear the word telescope.
Typically, a telescope is made
up of a long tube with a lens on
the front and an eyepiece on the
back. However, large telescopes
do not use the same type of lens
to make the image.
There is a 24-inch diameter
concave mirror at the end of the
telescope. All of the light is
bounced off that mirror and sent
to a point inside the telescope.
Essentially, Cameron said, this
telescope works backwards from
other telescopes.
“You have to climb up on top
and look down into it,” he said.
While Cameron was explaining
how the telescope operated, he
was preparing it for that evening’s
tour. He even looked through the
lens, focused on the moon and let
me look. Wow! I had never seen
the mountains on the moon be
fore. I was impressed, and ex
cited.
Cameron laughed. “That’s
how most people react who have
never looked through a telescope
before. People get a big kick out
of it,” he said.
Cameron even had a solution
for those of us who are chickens
when it comes to heights. There
is a refractor on the other side of
the telescope so those who are
afraid of heights have an equal
opportunity to enjoy the astro
nomical sights and the educa
tional program Cameron and the
other volunteers who make up
The Haggart Observatory staff
have to offer.
Cameron said that his pur
pose for the observatory is Jo en
tertain while informing. “People
get an astronomy class when they
come look through the scope,” he
said.
A typical program consists of
the guide showing four or five
objects and giving an explanation
of each. However, there are oc
casions when the observatory is
particularly busy and the guide
may only have a chance to show
three objects to allow everyone to
have a turn.
So, who can taste the bit of
space the observatory volunteers
provide? Actually, anyone can.
The observatory hours for the
winter season are: 7:30 p.m. to
11 p.m. During the summer, the
observatory opens at dark and is
open until 11 p.m. During both
seasons, the observatory is open
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
nights. Also note that the obser
vatory will not open if the skies
are overcast, because that ob
structs viewing. Admission is
$1.50 per person. According to
Cameron, average attendance for
one of the nights is about 30 visi
tors. Group observations are wel
come. However, they should be
prearranged by calling 657-6958,
ext. 2351.
I encourage everyone to
check out The Haggart Observa
tory. The sights that cannot nor
mally be seen by the naked eye
can be brought to us, with the help
of the observatory staff, in great
detail and amazing clarity. It’s a
trip that’s definitely worth the
money. Those who do not share
an interest in astronomy, or who
do not have much astronomical
knowledge (like me), will not be
left in the dark. There’s some
thing for everyone/
“I like this place and teach
ing astronomy,” he said. “This is
the best side of astronomy, purely
educational and entertainment.”
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