My first Magazine Sky & Telescope - 03.2019 | Page 66

Muddy Run Observatory
Ryan forged a harmonious partnership
between a large company with no ex-
perience in running an observatory and
one of America’s oldest astronomy clubs.
Toward the end of 2015, Exelon started toying with the
idea of building a public observatory. Looking to the future,
company managers realized they would need employees
with a solid background in science, technology, engineer-
ing, and mathematics.
“Exelon is a strong supporter of anything that has to do
with STEM programs. So we were looking for ways to involve
the local community to get them interested in math and sci-
ence, along with space and dark skies,” recalls Edward “Archie”
Gleason, one of Exelon’s general managers at that time.
Knowing of Ryan’s interest in astronomy, the company
turned to him for expert advice on where to build the obser-
vatory and what equipment to install. Ryan was the perfect
choice. As a member of Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Astro-
nomical Society (RAS), Ryan forged a harmonious partner-
ship between a large company with no experience in running
an observatory and one of America’s oldest astronomy clubs.
RAS was involved in the planning from day one. Among other
64
M A RCH 2 019 • SK Y & TELESCOPE
t THE BIG EVENT Although Muddy Run
Observatory offi cially opened in October
2017, the observatory played host to a
solar eclipse party on August 21, 2017.
The observatory domes were installed
just weeks before the big event.
contributions, RAS members came
up with the idea for a large outdoor
amphitheater.
Ryan recalled Layla’s idea of
building an observatory on the
Muddy Run helipad. Besides the
helipad, the park already had a
visitor center, accessible facilities, and hundreds of parking
spaces. The night sky is reasonably dark for the northeastern
United States, reaching a limiting magnitude of about 4.5
to 5 on moonless nights. And yet the site is close enough to
Lancaster, Harrisburg, and York that public events can draw
from sizable metro areas.
Muddy Run seemed like an ideal location, but Ryan needed
to convince Exelon management. To test this idea, he part-
nered with the RAS to hold a stargazing event in the park on
Friday, October 2, 2015. For speakers, Ryan invited Derrick
Pitts, Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute in Philadel-
After moving to Glenside, Pennsyl-
vania, a suburb of Philadelphia, he
constructed a backyard observatory
that now houses a 10-inch Ritchey-
Chrétien telescope that sits atop an
Astro-Physics 1100 GTO mount.
He owns three other telescopes,
including his homemade 4-inch
reflector. His favorite activity is to
use an SBIG STXL-16200 camera
for narrowband imaging, a project
well-suited for his light-polluted
suburban skies.
Al and Layla frequently visited the Muddy Run Recreation
Park, a 700-acre nature preserve owned and managed by
Exelon. The park is situated 15 miles south of the city of Lan-
caster near the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River. Layla
noticed a helicopter landing pad inside the park and sug-
gested that it would be an ideal location for an observatory.
Al wasn’t contemplating such a facility at that time, but Layla
had planted a seed that would germinate a decade later.
In a devastating blow for the Ryan family, Layla died of a
long-term illness in 2006 at the tender age of 24. To honor
their daughter, Al and Barbara established a scholarship fund
for University of Illinois astronomy majors. Remembering Lay-
la’s strong commitment to education and outreach, the Ryan
family stipulated that recipients must have an established
track record of public service in addition to high academic
scores. Preference is given to female or minority students.