Sky & Telescope - July 2023 - 84

LEAH TISCIONE / S&T
FOCAL POINT by Robert Richard
An Observatory for Seniors
The author's brainstorm brought deep satisfaction to his retirement community - and to himself.
THERE WAS A PROBLEM . . . a big one.
At 68 I retired from a busy private practice
in clinical psychology. I enjoyed my
work, and it was with mixed emotions
that after more than 34 years I decided
to leave to focus on other interests.
In April 2018 my 80th birthday
rolled around. That landmark event
prompted my wife and me to begin serious
discussions about where we wanted
to live in our final years. We decided the
best path for us was to move into Westminster
Village (WV), a continuingcare
retirement community in Scottsdale,
Arizona, near our home.
And the problem? I'd been using
our backyard for imaging with my new
11-inch Celestron EdgeHD scope. Moving
to WV presented me with the serious
issue of where to use my telescope.
The staff made clear there was no place
to leave my instrument set up overnight.
At my age, setting up and taking
down a scope of this size whenever I
wished to image is a definite deterrent
to enjoying my hobby.
But then I had an idea that changed
the entire landscape for me . . . and for
everyone at WV. How about creating an
observatory where my telescope could
be permanently mounted and used for
the benefit not only of myself but of the
residents, employees, and their families?
In March 2019 I presented my idea to
the complex's CEO. Happily, he thought
it was a grand idea. With his blessing
and that of the entire staff, I began to
work out the details of constructing and
operating an observatory to house my
scope and all its ancillary gear.
As with any intricate project, unforeseen
difficulties arose. COVID and supply-chain
problems delayed things, and
assembling the Technical Innovations
10-foot-diameter Home-Dome observatory
took longer than anticipated. But
in early 2022 our crew completed the
dome and installed the scope.
A key part of the observatory is the
" observing room " located in a lounge
area inside the main building near the
dome. Through a home network, we
use a program that allows me to display
real-time images from the scope's video
camera on four large-screen TVs hung
on walls around the room. In
this way, all residents,
regardless of mobility
restrictions, can savor astronomical
sights while seated in a climate-controlled
environment. We display images
both from my telescope and downloaded
from professional observatories
such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
To help me operate the observatory,
I recruited six residents to become
" assistants. " They completed a sevenweek
observational astronomy course
I taught. As time goes on, we continue
to improve the operation. Recently we
mounted an 80-mm solar scope on the
main telescope and can now observe
sunspots and prominences.
The observatory has had a very positive
impact. Many residents, I learned,
had never looked through a telescope.
Their excitement and gratitude for being
able to do so now is tangible. Sharing
my knowledge accumulated over
decades with others in my age group
has been deeply meaningful. I hope my
experience inspires other amateurs in
retirement communities to do the same.
¢ Now 85, DR. ROBERT
RICHARD is a lifelong
amateur astronomer.
84 JULY 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE

Sky & Telescope - July 2023

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