Stellafane in full swing Saturday 2023

6 months ago
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Besides the historic Stellafane "pink clubhouse", the original site includes Porter's uniquely designed Porter Turret Telescope, a 12-inch (300 mm; 30 cm) 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.[citation needed]

In 2017, the Simoni Spectrohelioscope Solar Observatory was constructed near the Turret Telescope, named after long-time convention attendee Andrew E. Simoni (1918–2013).[citation needed]

Stellafane West is still the location where the Springfield Telescope Makers hold most of their meetings and telescope competitions.[citation needed]

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 1⁄4 mile (400 m) away.[8]

Stellafane East includes the more recent McGregor Observatory, built between 1986 and 1991, which boasts a 13-inch (330 mm; 33 cm) 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, the "Amphitheater" hillside presentation area, the "Bunkhouse", which contains radio communications equipment, and several other buildings on the eastern site.[8]

Over 10 acres (4.0 ha) 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.

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