11/25/2006 - ST. WIGGLES OBSERVATORY
As I said in a previous blog entry, I have finally settled on a name for my observatory: St. Wiggles Observatory. St. Wiggles is the patron saint of the 2Fellers. The name is carried over from Mt. St. Wiggles, a Cascades-range volcano that grew in my front yard on Yukon Harbor Drive in Port Orchard, Washington. My kids grew up hiking the flanks of Mt. St. Wiggles - and the rednecks down on the beach envied what I had.
(Click below to continue reading and to see a photo of Mt. St. Wiggles.)
But enough about that. Moving onto the observatory, you might notice that it is surrounded by towering fir trees. The logical question would be this: Why build your observatory in the middle of a forest?
The question is easily answered: we live on several acres and the property is covered with fir trees from north to south, east to west. From any given location on our property you can see only a small portion of the sky. When observing, I have found about eight different locations on the property that give me a small window to completely different sections of the sky. Pictured above is the southern sky, and the ecliptic (depending on time of year) rides right over the treeline. It's the only place on the property that I can view this important plane and the decision was made to place the observatory in a location where I could take advantage of that - even if for only an hour or two on optimal nights. The observatory faces several degrees west of true south and the view ranges from about 20 to 40 degrees above the horizon. That's it. Also problematic is that from the observatory, I can't see north. But I would likely only do alt-azimuth viewing/photography along the ecliptic plane anyway, so it shouldn't matter.
My wife and I quip that before too long, I'll have eight to ten little observatories all over the property. One for true north, one for zenith, one for M42, one for lunar, one for solar, etc. etc. etc. It was a ridiculous idea when we began joking about it, but it's making more sense now. :)
And, as promised, a photo of the ever-grand Mt. St. Wiggles, the newest Cascades Range volcano. It roared to life in what was once a flat, peaceful section of front yard along Yukon Harbor Drive in Port Orchard, Washington. The mountain offered us fun, challenging hiking opportunities but as with any live volcano, great care had to be taken to not fall off it's steep slopes. I remember that my daughters used to love our "volcano" and we spent countless hours outside watching it "erupt." :)
As this blog was migrated from my previous blog, I've archived previous comments here. Please comment below!
Is that the shadow of the Space Needle I see there at the base of that new volcano???
Posted by: Herman Klugwedt | September 25, 2007 08:23 PM
I'll bet it's beautiful when snow-capped. Do you require hiking permits or can anyone just show up on the trail?
Posted by: Toby Maletchki | October 4, 2007 07:47 AM