J A Jones Hoober Observatory is a privately owned

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

located in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, England near to the villages of Hoober and

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

, North-northwest of

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

. It can be found about east of

Hoober Stand Hoober Stand is a tower and Grade II* listed building on a ridge in Wentworth, South Yorkshire in northern England. It was designed by Henry Flitcroft for the Whig aristocrat Thomas Watson-Wentworth, Earl of Malton (later the 1st Marquess of ...

. The observatory is owned and operated by Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society (NPO).

Architecture and design

The observatory consists of a square building topped by a 5-metre diameter dome. The observatory was built by the members between 1991 and 1993. Originally the dome was only in diameter. In 1999 a major refurbishment of the observatory was completed including a new 5-metre diameter dome, which was designed & built by the members over the preceding 3–4 years. A project is currently underway (2018) to extend the observatory by adding a 5-metre square extension (public room). The building is also undergoing extensive refurbishment inside and outside to create a toilet and improve facilities for disabled visitors. It is projected that the completion will be in time for the 2018 Autumn observing season.

Telescopes

The observatory originally contained the Rayna Telescope, an newtonian reflector on a fork mount, this was dedicated to long standing member Ray Jackson and his wife Ina. The telescope was built by Peter Drew of the Amateur

Astronomy Centre The Astronomy Centre, also known as the Amateur Astronomy Centre, is an astronomical observatory located in northern England which is run by experienced amateur astronomers and is open to the public at certain times. History and purpose Founded i ...

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

. It was based around an 18-inch f/4.5 parabolic mirror ground by John Owen. Whilst in use the Rayna telescope was the largest telescope open to the public in South Yorkshire. The observatory currently contains a

Takahashi is the third most common Japanese surname. Less common variants include , , , , , , , and . Notable people with the surname include: * Aaron Takahashi, American actor * , Japanese singer and actress * , Japanese kickboxer * , Japanese classica ...

TOA-130F f/7.6

apochromatic An apochromat, or apochromatic lens (apo), is a photographic or other lens that has better correction of chromatic and spherical aberration than the much more common achromat lenses. Explanation Chromatic aberration is the phenomenon of different ...

refractor A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

and a

Celestron Celestron is an American company based in Torrance, California, United States, that manufactures telescopes and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories manufactured by its parent company, the Synta Technolo ...

C14-AF XLT f/11 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a

Software Bisque Software Bisque, Inc. (formerly named ''Computer Assist Services'') is a corporation based in Golden, Colorado that develops robotics telescope mounts and accessories and publishes software used in astronomy. It was founded in 1984 by current pres ...

Paramount goto mount. These were purchased to replace the Rayna telescope. Other telescopes include a Coronado SolarMax

H-alpha H-alpha (Hα) is a specific deep-red visible spectral line in the Balmer series with a wavelength of 656.28 nm in air and 656.46 nm in vacuum; it occurs when a hydrogen electron falls from its third to second lowest energy level. H-alph ...

telescope on a

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GPDX

German Equatorial mount An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, the polar axis, parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras. The ...

with a SkySensor 2000 goto system for Solar Observing.

Public access

The society opens the observatory to the public for evening viewing sessions during the winter months, for Solar observing on Sunday afternoons during the summer and for astronomical events e.g.

meteor shower A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extre ...

s or

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

s. The observatory, located off Lea Brook Lane in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is thirty minutes' drive from central

, is one hours' drive from central

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

and one hours' drive from central

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

Hoober Observatory and light pollution

Whilst the observatory is located in an area of countryside with relatively dark skies compared to

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...

and Swinton,

naked eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnifying, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microscope, or eye protection. Vision corrected to normal ...

limiting magnitudes are rarely below magnitude 4.

Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society

The Hoober Observatory is owned and operated by Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society, a society and charity based in Swinton,

. Founded on 21 May 1978 as "The Night Sky Astronomy Club" it amalgamated with "The Mexborough Astronomy Club" in late 1978 and became the "Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society". It applied for and successfully achieved Charitable Status in 1997.Charity Commission No.1064103
/ref> The society original met in a room at St Johns Church in Swinton. In 1980 Swinton Working Men's Club were approached to allow the society use of an upstairs room, where it still meets on a weekly basis. Guest lecturers visit the society approximately monthly. Quarterly the society's Observations Officer gives the members an overview of celestial phenomena expected over the next three months and usually issues an observing challenge for the next quarter. Other meetings will find members giving presentations on astronomical subjects of their choice, astronomical quizzes and debates. The society currently has around 50 members, from throughout South Yorkshire, representing all parts of the community. The society's Honorary President is currently Dr. Allan Chapman of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

References

External links

Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society
website
British Astronomical Association the voice of amateur astronomy in the UK
website
The Federation of Astronomical Societies
website * {{Portal bar, England, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Amateur astronomy organizations Organisations based in South Yorkshire Astronomical observatories in England Mexborough Swinton, South Yorkshire Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham 1993 establishments in England 1978 establishments in England