Sharing The Stars -- Bainbridge Astronomy Buffs Rely On Patience, Passion And Junkyard Ingenuity To Build The State's Largest Amateur Observatory
Six years ago, three guys sat down for coffee and conversation at Doogal's restaurant on Bainbridge Island. They chatted about their passion, astronomy, and tinkered with the idea of building an observatory at Battle Point Park.
Two of them were retired, so they agreed it shouldn't be anything too big, just a little something so people can better see the skies. They put their ideas on the back of a paper napkin.
With that, they went to work. Two days later, Edwin Ritchie roughed out a design for the telescope. John Rudolph drafted preliminary drawings to construct the observatory and Mac Gardiner outlined plans for a nonprofit astronomical association to support it.
"They were three old geezers having coffee and the next thing you know, they're building an observatory," said Gena Ritchie, widow of Edwin Ritchie, who died two years ago. "But what fun they had. "
Today, the Edwin E. Ritchie Observatory is open with a 27.5-inch Newtonian reflector telescope mounted on the roof of an old Navy radio-transmitting station at the 90-acre park. The observatory has computerized telescope controls, a 17-foot-wide rotating dome and classrooms where courses on astronomy and telescope optics will be offered.
With the press of a button, enthusiasts can easily observe Saturn, star clusters or the larger galaxies. It is the largest telescope operated by an amateur astronomy association in the state, surpassing the one at Goldendale Observatory State Park in Klickitat
County.
The Battle Point Park Astronomical Association, which has 250 members, has also scheduled star parties for the public, in which members set up several telescopes on the grounds of the observatory and teach visitors how to identify the constellations.
"We really wanted to get young people enthused about astronomy and related science," Rudolph explained. "We wanted to explain to the kids what's up there. We could never compete with the Hubble (Space Telescope), but amateur astronomers can find a home here."
So every weekend, weather permitting, children and their parents clamber up the spiral staircase to look at the stars. And though the lights of Seattle sometimes prevent perfect viewing, there is always awe when the stars and the moon illuminate the expanse.
Building with odds and ends
Once the trio decided to build the observatory, they became regulars at the local junkyard, where they hand-picked aluminum barrels, steel frames, gears and wheels - Rudolph says, "Why buy a $5,000 steel mount when you can weld two scrapped beams together?"
Rudolph, an architect, enlisted the help of colleagues and construction volunteers to build the observatory in the Helix House, an empty concrete shell, which the Navy had used as its radio-control station during World War II. The Navy surplused Helix House in the 1970s. Through the years, it had remained empty.
A retired Boeing engineer, Gardiner convinced his old company to donate two large mirrors that were surplus optics from "Star Wars," the obsolete, space-based Strategic Defense Initiative championed by President Reagan. Once the Cold War was over, Boeing wrapped up the plates and stored them in crates until they were given to the association.
For more than a year, Ritchie polished and ground the smaller of the two donated mirrors - the 27.5-inch - to create a curve in the plate. The curve is what captures light from a star or planet and focuses it to a point where the object can be viewed or photographed. Without the right curve, the telescope's view would be faulty. Ritchie even built a machine in his basement for the special task.
In many ways, the telescope is Ritchie's legacy. Ritchie made his living designing kitchens for hotels, restaurants and hospitals - but he hated his job. His love was building telescopes and inventing things. On his days off, he retreated to an observatory he built for himself in his back yard or to his basement where he made his own telescopes and ultimately the one for the observatory.
Ritchie died two years ago at age 74 before he got a chance to see the telescope's first light, the moment when the telescope is opened to public viewing. On Sept. 26, 1998, the observatory opened officially and his widow was among the first to take a peek at the stars.
For Gena Ritchie, the skies had never seemed more beautiful. She saw M-13, the cluster of densely packed stars, which brightened the western part of the sky that night. She knew her husband had done good.
"Everything looked amazing," she said. "After all that hard work and hope, they surpassed their own dreams."
--------- If you go ---------
-- Battle Point Astronomical Association of Bainbridge Island offers star parties at its observatory twice a month when the moon is new or full. There is a star party tomorrow night at 6 p.m., plus Jan. 30, Feb. 13 and 27, and March 13 and 27. There is no fee to participate and the public is welcome. If you have a telescope or binoculars, feel free to bring them.
-- Free classes for beginning star-watchers are scheduled at the observatory at 6 p.m. the night of each star party.
-- If you'd like to learn more about the Battle Point group, its annual meeting is next Thursday, Jan. 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the observatory. (The moon and Jupiter make a close pass that night, so there may be something to look at, too.) For more information, call 206-842-9152, or see the association's Web page at http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/aurorae.
To get there: The Edwin E. Ritchie Observatory is in Battle Point Park on Bainbridge Island. From the Bainbridge ferry terminal, proceed straight on Highway 305. Turn left on Northeast High School Road and go to the end of the road. Turn right onto Fletcher Road Northeast, which soon becomes Miller Road Northeast, and then turn left on Arrow Point Drive Northeast. This leads to the park's main gate. The observatory is at the south end of the park.
Washington State Ferries sail daily out of Seattle to Bainbridge Island. Fare is $6.25 one-way for a car and driver, and $3.60 per passenger ($1.80 for children ages 5-11, and seniors 65 and older). Passenger fare is collected westbound only. Information: 800-843-3779. Web site: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/
Other local astronomy groups: -- Seattle Astronomical Society, P.O. Box 31746, Seattle, WA 98103; 206-523-2787; Web site: http://www.scn.org/ip/sastro/sas.html
-- Olympic Astronomical Society, P.O. Box 458, Keyport, WA 98345; 360-698-0381; Web site: http://www.silverlink.net/oas/
-- Tacoma Astronomical Society and Pettinger-Guiley Observatory, 6103 132nd St. E., Puyallup, WA 98373; 253-537-2802; Web site: http://www.geocities.com/taspgo/
-- Whatcom Association of Celestial Observers, P.O. Box 7, Custer, WA 98240; Web site: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/skywise/waco.html
-- Everett Astronomical Society, P.O. Box 8012, Everett, WA 98201.