New York City’s first free observatory has opened in a Bronx park, and organizers plan to open it to stargazers as early as this spring.
The Association of Amateur Astronomers and the City Parks Department have agreed to install a small aluminum observatory in Jerome Park on Golden Avenue near the Bronx High School of Science. The structure’s crowning 800-pound cupola, or dome, served as a building block at Nassau Community College on Long Island for more than 40 years until the school replaced it with a green roof and six field telescopes in 2019. It was placed at the top. The association moved the dome out last spring with the help of a boom truck.
Now, the Society is fulfilling one of its long-standing goals: opening New York City’s first fully public astronomical observatory.
“Some people asked, ‘Why would we put an observatory in the Bronx?'” said Bart Freed, executive vice president of the Amateur Astronomers Association. “All they think is, “Oh, we can’t see anything from New York,” which is stupid because we’ve been looking all over New York for almost a century now. ”
Set on the banks of the Jerome Park Reservoir, the observatory is no bigger than a portable toilet. The 9.5-foot tall and 6.5-foot wide structure can comfortably seat 2 to 3 people.The dome houses powerful people Celestron Edge HD Telescope It can provide stargazers with a view of everything in the solar system: comets, asteroids, the Sun, and all the planets, including the dwarf planet Pluto.
“Once you start taking astrophotography, space is pretty much your limit,” Freed said. “There are literally thousands of celestial objects that can be photographed from New York City, including numerous galaxies, star clusters, gaseous nebulae, and everything else in the universe.”
The project has been approved by the Park Service, and officials said the agency is finalizing an agreement with the Association of Amateur Astronomers, which operates the observatory.
Freed said the group plans to break ground in March, and construction will only take a month. He said the association had hoped to start construction last May, but despite support from local community boards and the city’s public design committee, it took longer than expected to get city approval. He pointed out.
“Once an agreement is finalized and a contractor selected, we anticipate construction to begin in the spring,” Parks Department spokesperson Greg McQueen told Gothamist in an email.
The $100,000 astronomical complex will run on solar power and include screens on the outside to display the telescope’s view. Organizers say the observatory’s program will include weekly small-scale public viewings for a small number of participants, as well as occasional larger events with additional telescopes installed around the dome. It is said that it will be done.
The Association of Amateur Astronomers says it plans to fund and maintain the observatory and make it available to the public free of charge. The cost of the observatory was covered by public donations and a grant from Jay Passakoff’s Trust. Bronx Science students have exclusive access to their programs during school hours.
“The Society of Amateur Astronomers has been trying for years to get some sort of public observatory in New York City, so this is kind of a big moment,” said Trudy E., a science historian who is working on the two observatories. Mr. Bell said. – An extensive encyclopedia of 19th century American observatories and telescopes. “They’re not just interested in history. In their view, exploitation is the best form of conservation and excites young people.”
As part of the project, the association plans to plant new trees nearby and build a 130-foot-long ADA-accessible ramp and a 14-foot-tall pavilion for visitors.
“There is now a growing recognition that the night sky is a valuable resource and that dark night skies are disappearing,” Bell said. “It disappears because of the city lights and the tens of thousands of satellites being launched.”