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In
1947, a small group of amateur astronomers, including Jerome
B. White, George A. Carroll
and Ernest R. Siefkin created "The Association of Amateur
Astronomers." The purpose of this group was defined to:
- Engage
in the study of the history and science of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
- To
operate a nonprofit organization to hold scientific meetings,
and to conduct research projects.
- To
assist in the dissemination of scientific knowledge pertaining
to Astronomy and Astrophysics.
1957
- The "Association," then numbering 15
Southern California amateur astronomers, filed a formal
resolution changing their name and creating the nonprofit organization
Stony Ridge Observatory, Inc. Their commitment was to donate
time and resources for the completion of an observatory facility
housing a major instrument for the benefit of amateur astronomy.
After
a thorough investigation of possible sites for the observatory
by the members, a site near Charlton-Chilao Flats in the Angeles
National Forest was selected because of its good
astronomical seeing conditions and its close-in location.
The land was leased, after some intervention by our Congressman,
from the U.S. Forest Service, power was brought in by Southern
California Edison and construction commenced. One of our founding
members, Dr. W. H. Griffith, produced a movie
that highlights the construction years at SRO.
The
story of the Stony Ridge Observatory (SRO) goes back as far
as 1928. In that year, a grant to build an observatory to house
the world's largest reflecting telescope, the 200-inch (5.0-m),
was awarded to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Milt
Humason and Ferdinand
Ellerman from the Mt. Wilson Observatory embarked on a journey
to investigate
potential sites and to measure the astronomical seeing conditions
for CalTech's new observatory.
Three
sites in Southern California made the short list of locations
with excellent seeing conditions:
-
Palomar Mountain in San Diego County,
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Horse Flats, NE of Mt. Wilson,
- Table
Mountain, where NASA/JPL and Pomona College now maintain
their observatories.
The
Palomar Mountain site was chosen in March, 1934 to be the location
of the 200-inch
telescope.
However,
the Horse Flats site is only 2.9 miles NW from where Stony Ridge
Observatory would eventually be built and we like to think that
the seeing conditions at SRO are comparable to Horse Flats and
Mount Wilson. |
The
design of the telescope was the primary responsibility of
George A. Carroll (1902-1987),
a pioneer aircraft designer and a well-known instrument and
telescope maker in Southern California. Besides SRO's 30-inch
(0.76-m) Newtonian-Cassegrain, several Carroll
telescopes exist today. The other SRO members all contributed
in various ways to the successful completion of the project.
One particularly important partner in Stony Ridge's effort for amateur astronomers to build a research grade observatory was the Thomas Tool & Die company located in Sun Valley, CA. For historical reference we have a 1970's era brochure about the various products produced by the comapny. It's founder, Dave Thomas Sr. worked shoulder to shoulder with George Carroll, both at the observatory and the Thomas Tool and Die company in the '60s and '70s.
September,
1963 - The observatory was completed and "first-light"
beamed through the Stony Ridge telescope. Upon completion,
this superb 30-inch instrument was the eighth
largest telescope in California and, most likely, the
largest amateur telescope in the world.
In
1964, Stony Ridge Observatory was asked by the Lockheed-California
Company to provide them with a sizable amount of observing
time, using the newly built observatory and telescope, to
fulfill their contract with the
Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) in St.
Louis to make high-resolution photographs of the Moon which
would later be used in mapping
potential landing sites for the Apollo space program.
SRO
agreed to the terms with Lockheed, granting them 1600
hours of telescope time over a 4-year period.
In
the years following, Stony Ridge has partnered with a number
of colleges and universities
to provide an environment for their undergraduates to gain
experience at a professional quality astronomical facility.
Due
to its remote location, public access to the observatory is
restricted by invitation only.
Footnote:
In 2009, the largest wildfire in the history of Los Angeles
County swept through the Angeles National Forest, and across
the Stony Ridge Observatory. Newspaper and Magazine articles
of the event are available online. We've put together a gallery
of photographs of this dreadful event. Stony Ridge was
spared any major damage, but the fire did result in the deaths
of two Los Angeles County firefighters.
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