July 22, 2010 - Roof + Palomar

Since I've been writing this blog for just over a year you can understand why I'm now including the year in the title.

Last post I mentioned about the roof sections being completed off site but I had no pictures at that time. My friend Gary has sent them to me so here they are.

These are the frames for the two roof sections:

Both roof frames are stacked in Gary's driveway - yes, that is an orange grove in the background. Each frame is almost 18 feet long. Here is a closer picture from a different angle:The roll-off roof has side walls also, each 18 inches tall:The remaining construction will be done on our site when we complete the rail system over the next month. The truss supports will be individually welded in place as well as the wheels attached to the side wall at that time. The sheet metal surface will be attached once the frame is completed. This method of construction has several advantages. Its easier for Gary to transport his sections to our site in several pieces; completing the frame on site will allow us to correct any possible measurement inaccuracies during assembly before they become fatal; and, assembling it in smaller sections eliminate the need for a crane and will be done by a work crew.

John and I are taking a break from the observatory for the next week. He is completing a kitchen reconstruction and I'm doing volunteer work at Palomar Observatory. Actually, I started last week with the first of three Fridays in a row. Normally we have public tours on weekends; we frequently conduct private tours for groups at any time we have the docents available. For these three Fridays we are doing private tours for a local Boy Scout summer camp. Last Friday my fellow docent and I had a blast. The tours typically last for one hour but the scouts were so receptive that we went on for almost two hours (something we can't do on weekends because of the tight time schedule). The Scouts got a kick out of being able to watch the techncians charging an instrument with liquid nitrogen for that night's work. What made this tour especially rewarding is that all of the scouts - about 20 - have just completed their astronomy merit badges and they are all learning disabled or autistic. Their questions and interest level went far beyond the typical public tour. Even though it was only one tour for the day, it was worth the four hour round trip.

Tomorrow morning I'll be driving to Palomar again but when I finish in the early afternoon I will drive sixty miles around the east end of Palomar Mountain to my observatory (actually only twelve miles if I could fly) and do some electrical work.