It was another major milestone for the International Dark Sky Discovery Center in Fountain Hills Monday, Sept. 29, as the 27.5-inch PlaneWave telescope was lowered onto its permanent pedestal in the observatory at the facility.
A crane was used to lower the telescope through the open doors of the 20.5-foot observatory dome, and it was bolted into place by technicians from the manufacturer.
Ted Blank, a NASA/JPL Solar Ambassador and IDSDC board member, is the observatory champion for the board. He explained that a lot of technology is going into the telescope, including computerized equipment inside a control room adjacent to the observatory. Blank notes that during use, the observatory will need to have a temperature consistent with the outside temperature to avoid distortion in the observations.
