The Stellafane Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Springfield, Vermont, founded in 1920 by Russell W. Porter. The Pink Clubhouse was built in 1923 at the site by the Springfield Telescope Makers Club. The name ''Stellafane'', suggested by Porter at the club's December 1923 meeting, is derived from the Latin words ''stella'' and ''fanum'' meaning "Shrine to the Stars", and originally referred specifically to the clubhouse, but has since come to refer to all of the club's land and buildings on the summit of Breezy Hill, west of downtown Springfield. The Stellafane Convention, a gathering of amateur telescope makers and amateur astronomers is the longest running astronomical convention in the United States, having been held nearly every year at the location since 1926. The clubhouse and observatory became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1989, in recognition of the club's pioneering role in the popularization of astronomy and the amateur construction of telescopes.

History

Russell Porter was born in Springfield in 1871, and in 1919, upon returning to the town, began constructing telescopes with the assistance of employees and equipment from the factories in Springfield. The Springfield Telescope Makers Club grew out of an instructional class on how to make telescopes that was started by Porter the following year, on 12 August 1920.

The clubhouse

Stellafane Observatory Pink Clubhouse 2021

The members of this small group decided to build a clubhouse, and held their first meeting on 7 December 1923 on a plot belonging to Porter on the summit of Breezy Hill outside of town. The original 20 x clubhouse, with an 11 x ell added in 1926, included a meeting room, a kitchen, a workshop, and bunkrooms on the second floor. The building incorporated a polar

Cassegrain telescope The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas, the main characteristic being that the optical path folds back onto itself, relative to the ...

, a transit telescope (no longer functional), a

solar telescope A solar telescope is a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun. Solar telescopes usually detect light with wavelengths in, or not far outside, the visible spectrum. Obsolete names for Sun telescopes include heliograph and photoheliograph ...

, and a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

on the south wall.

Stellafane West

Besides the historic Stellafane "pink clubhouse," the original site includes Porter's uniquely designed Turret Telescope, a f/17 Newtonian reflector built in 1930, consisting of an equatorially rotated concrete dome with the telescope mounted on the outside, with the observer on the inside working in heated comfort. In 2017, the Simoni Spectrohelioscope Solar Observatory was constructed near the Turret Telescope, named after long-time convention attendee Andrew E. Simoni (1918-2013). Stellafane West is still the location where the Springfield Telescope Makers hold most of their meetings and telescope competitions.

Stellafane East

Although the amateur telescope competition and display is still held on the original site around the clubhouse, most of the convention activities since the 1980s have taken place at Stellafane East, an annex to the original land about 0.25 mi away. Stellafane East is home to the more recent McGregor Observatory, built between 1986-1991, which boasts a 13" Schupmann telescope, the Breuning Domed Observatory built in the early 2000s, the Flanders Pavilion, built in 2005 and named after founding club member Ernest Flanders, as well as the "Aphitheater" hillside presentation area, the "Bunkhouse" which contains radio communications equipment, and several other buildings on the eastern site. Over 10 acres of land at Stellafane East are reserved as a camping area, with plots for tents, campers, and RVs to reside during the multi-day convention and other gatherings.

The convention

The Stellafane Convention is held every year on the club's land and buildings on the summit of Breezy Hill. It was started by Porter and the Springfield Telescope Makers in 1926, as an occasion for some 20 amateur telescope makers to compare telescopes and exchange ideas. It has since become Thousands of amateur telescope makers from all over the world gather to share their innovations, join in competitions, and enjoy the night sky. The convention is generally held over the weekend of the

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

closest to the height of the

Perseid meteor shower The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle. The meteors are called the Perseids because the point from which they appear to hail (called the radiant) lies in the constellation Perseus. Etymology The name ...

, usually in early August. The convention has been held nearly every summer since 1926, with the exceptions of: * 1949–1953, following the death of founder Russell W. Porter * 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic The convention has been attended by several notable figures in the fields of astronomy and space exploration, including Alan Bean, David H. Levy, Alan Stern, Clyde Tombaugh, and Samuel D. Hale, grandson of

George Ellery Hale George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American solar astronomer, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-lea ...

Gallery

Image:Telescope trailer 22.jpg, A large trailer mounted newtonian reflector on display during the 1983 Stellafane Convention with the pink Clubhouse and the Porter Turret Telescope in the background File:Stellafane Simoni Observatory 2021.jpg, View of the Simoni Spectrohelioscope building at Stellafane West File:Stellafane McGregor Observatory 2021.jpg, The McGregor Observatory building at Stellafane East Image:Stellafane building logo.jpg, The Stellafane logo on the cornerstone of the McGregor Observatory File:Stellafane Breuning Domed Observatory 2021.jpg, View of the Breuning Domed Observatory at the 2021 Stellafane Convention File:Stellafane Flanders Pavillion 2021.jpg, View of the Flanders Pavilion at the 2021 Stellafane Convention Image:Stellafane presentation.jpg, Stellafane presentation at the hillside amphitheater in 1999

Notes

External links

* ;Stellafane observatory
Stellafane clubhouse history

;Stellafane convention

{{National Historic Landmarks in Vermont Amateur astronomy organizations Astronomical observatories in Vermont Star parties Buildings and structures in Springfield, Vermont Events in Vermont National Historic Landmarks in Vermont Buildings and structures completed in 1924 Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont