Star Points for February 2009 by Curtis Roelle
Carroll County's Own Public Observatory

It is appropriate that in the "International Year of Astronomy" of 2009, 400 years after Galileo first 
turned his own telescope skyward, Carroll County's first and only public, telescopically equipped 
observatory is being constructed at Bear Branch Nature Center (BBNC).   A facility of this type has 
been a dream of local amateur astronomers for many years, and talk of an observatory at BBNC 
started even before the nature center itself opened in 1993.
	
While plans for BBNC were still being developed, I was contacted by staff members from the 
County Parks Department.  They asked what I thought about the idea of building a planetarium at the 
nature center.  Being rather fond of telescopes, I tried to persuade them, instead, to consider 
constructing an observatory equipped with one or more telescopes, so that the citizens of Carroll 
County could, directly with their own eyes, enjoy views of celestial objects in the starry heavens.

After thoughtfully considering the recommendation, they overruled the observatory idea in favor of 
the planetarium.  Their reasoning was logical.  They wanted a place where an entire theater-full of 
people could come together to learn about the night sky, day or night, rain or shine.  An observatory 
would be limited primarily to nighttime use, when the park would normally be closed. It would also 
be affected by poor weather, and only one person could look through a telescope's eyepiece at a 
time.

To make a long story short, the Westminster Astronomical Society, Inc. (WASI) embraced the 
planetarium idea.  Three of its members selflessly volunteered their time and built the planetarium's 
hemispherical dome and screen onto which the stars are projected.  Their labor saved the County 
thousands of dollars.   The observatory idea was temporarily shelved.

Ten years later, the notion of a public observatory for Carroll County resurfaced, and the WASI 
Executive Board started taking steps to turn an old dream into a contemporary reality.  The group 
incorporated itself in order to begin raising funds, and approached the Carroll County government 
with a proposal to build a publicly accessible astronomical observatory on the grounds of BBNC.  
WASI would raise the funds privately, oversee construction, equip the observatory with club-owned 
telescopes made available on permanent loan, and oversee maintenance for the observatory.  The 
Carroll County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved.
	
A groundbreaking ceremony for the observatory at BBNC is scheduled for Sunday, February 22, 
from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m.  There will be several speakers, including veteran four-time space shuttle 
astronaut Dan Thomas, and Max Mutchler from the Space Telescope Science Institute.  In addition, 
there is going to be an unveiling of two beautiful, large, special-edition photographic prints of images 
taken by the Hubble, Spitzer, and Chandra space telescopes. 

The groundbreaking event is free and open to the public.  Because of limited space, however, 
registration is required.  You may register by telephone (443-929-0918), by e-mail 
(WASI_Officers@yahoogroups.com), or by U.S. Mail (WASI, P.O. Box 1231, Westminster MD 
21158). 

There is no better way to celebrate astronomy this February, the month of Galileo's birth, than by 
attending the groundbreaking ceremony for an observatory that will allow new generations of 
Carroll Countians to see first hand, as Galileo did, the wonders of the universe made visible 
through the invention of the telescope.