Telescopes Donated to Badlands Observatory
Badlands Observatory Observing Deck
Ron became interested in telescope making in 1962, primarily due to his admiration for Russell Porter, whom he calls the “godfather of telescope making in the United States”. The first telescope he made (when he was a student at the School of Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota) had an 8” mirror that he ground, polished, and figured himself. He was assisted by his Dad in constructing the skeleton tube assembly and German equatorial mount. The mount was later replaced by a home brew Dobsonian design. It was then donated to the Black Hills Astronomical Society (BHAS) for use at their Hidden Valley Observatory (HVO) for use as part of their public outreach program. BHAS donated it back to Badlands Observatory after the fire in 1998. That telescope is still being used today as part of our night tours.
In subsequent years, Ron completed many mirror and telescope-making projects, (with a final tally of 26) including Hindle spheres and other optical elements needed for testing them. As President of the Black Hills Astronomical Society, he designed and fabricated optics for their 12 1/2” Dall-Kirkham Reflector at Hidden Valley Observatory (HVO) in time for their grand opening in 1965. Years later, when he decided to grind and polish the 26” mirror that is being used on the flagship telescope at Badlands Observatory, he also set up an optical shop in his basement in Rapid City and invited others to participate in telescope making classes. Two 10” Dobsonian telescopes that started out as projects by others in those classes are currently in use at Badlands Observatory
This background sets the stage for introduction to a very special telescope we call Parker. Parker was actually started by Kent Stevens, previously a student in Ron’s Jr. High School science class. Kent had acquired a 10” mirror blank and completed the preliminary grinding stages. He had been unable to complete this project when he joined the Navy. He ended up donating this mirror to the Black Hills Astronomical Society. Ron completed this mirror and Steve Parker (Ron’s friend and the Observatory Directory at HVO built the Dobsonian mount for it. It was used at HVO for years in their public outreach events until Steve Parker moved to Colorado and the Club gave it to him in recognition of his many years of service to the Club. Unfortunately, Steve passed away suddenly in 2017. His daughter Lara contacted Ron to say that she would like to donate the telescope to Badlands Observatory. The significance of this event cannot be overstated. Steve had spent many long hours at Badlands Observatory, helping Ron get the 26” Newtonian in operation as well as assisting in the construction of the observatory itself. It is not an exaggeration to say that Badlands Observatory would not exist today without Steve’s contributions.
Parker is a favorite at the Observatory and serves proudly alongside another “project” telescope named O’Connor. The O’Connor telescope optics were made by Rapid City Magistrate Judge Michael O’Connor while participating in Ron’s telescope making classes in Rapid City. He completed the rest of the telescope in his home workshop.
In June 2021, Ron’s long-time friend Ken Wootten donated his commercially manufactured 8” Celestron NexStar 8SE which is a excellent telescope for planetary viewing and imaging. This telescope was named Woot-Woot since Badlands Observatory already had a Woot… a 90mm Meade Refractor previously donated by Ken back in 2002.
We are extremely grateful to all of these individuals and BHAS!