My first Magazine Sky & Telescope - 03.2019 | Page 69

“We welcome support from other clubs and individuals,”
confi rms Ryan. “In fact, we have folks from the Harrisburg
club and local colleges and universities who are regular
volunteers. Nobody wanted the observatory to be dominated
by Philadelphia.”
The observatory is a godsend for the RAS, which is based
in the severely light-polluted environment of one of America’s
largest cities. RAS president Ted Williams credits Muddy Run
for giving club members access to a much darker site. But he
is also deeply thankful for the support of the other two clubs,
whose members provide telescopes and educators that are
essential for large public events.
Muddy Run is now hosting open houses on a monthly
basis. These star parties include talks by scientists and ama-
teurs, and astrophotography workshops will soon be under-
way. Recent events have attracted hundreds of attendees, who
are now enjoying an observatory in full operation.
AELC president Lane Davis says that three to six of his
club’s members volunteer for every public open house. They
bring along their telescopes to shorten the lines at the two
domed scopes. Members also contribute by operating the
two 14-inch telescopes or by pointing out constellations
with green lasers.
“AELC was running its own public outreach programs
until a year and a half ago, when we decided to put all our
effort into Muddy Run,” says Davis. “It’s tough for a small
club to run something like that, but in the case of Muddy
Run, we have at least three astronomy clubs involved, so there
are a lot more volunteers. There’s no trouble getting full cov-
erage every month.”
To further its goal of educating the public about space
science, Exelon modified the visitor center to include an
astronomy hallway of astronomical photos and models. The
visitor center also has several large rooms that are used for
astronomy classes.
From the outset, scientific research was a major motivat-
ing factor for constructing the observatory. Ryan says that it
q GAME ON Club members gathered early to prepare for Muddy Run’s
grand opening. While skies were cloudy for the October 2017 celebra-
tion, attendees were able to tour the completed facilities, which include
twin domes and a renovated visitor center.
p MOVER AND SHAKER Al Ryan, Assistant General Counsel at Exelon
and a member of the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society, spearheaded
Exelon’s effort to build an astronomical observatory at its Muddy Run
Recreation Park. Here Ryan addresses the crowd gathered at the obser-
vatory in July 2018 to listen to a talk on ‘Oumuamua (1I/2017 UI) by the
author and another on astrophotography by John Yecker.
has taken a bit longer than expected to get science operations
up and running. The team is developing a protocol system
for research proposals and a scheduling system for operator
assistants. It’s still working to resolve a few technical glitches
as well. Ryan hopes science operations will commence in the
spring or summer of 2019.
The research will focus on whatever projects appear to be
of value to students and citizen-scientists, as long as they’re
consistent with the equipment’s capabilities. Possible proj-
ects include the photometric monitoring of variable stars,
asteroid occultations, and stars hosting transiting exoplanets.
Research won’t be limited to local amateurs and students;
anyone with a valid proposal will be awarded observing time.
Whatever happens with research programs, Lane Davis
says the observatory has met all of its short-term goals.
Speaking for the company, Archie Gleason remarks, “Exelon
is very proud of the facility, the way it came out, and the
way it’s being used.”
For his part, Ryan dreams of bigger and better things. He
hopes the RAS can fi nd ways to bring in even more funding,
which will allow the team to extend its range of equipment
and activities. “Make big plans if you want to get meaningful
results” is one of Ryan’s mottos.
With all of its initial success, and with the promise of
more to come, it’s not far-fetched to wonder if the Muddy
Run Observatory will one day inspire some child to accom-
plish great things in astronomy, just as NASA lit a fi re under
the youthful Al Ryan.
¢ Former Sky & Telescope Editor in Chief ROBERT NAEYE was
the featured speaker at the Muddy Run Observatory’s July 14,
2018, open house.
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