Local MP Sheryll Murray was pleased to visit the Caradon Observatory just North of Upton Cross in her constituency on Friday. During her visit she spent time in the classroom area as well as visiting the domes themselves.
The Observatory explains, “Three domes are fully functional, housing pier mounted reflecting and refracting telescopes. Each telescope is fully capable of equatorially guided views and imaging of the sky. There are elevated platforms for ease of access to the mounts and telescopes. The third dome houses an 8 inch flat field Vixen catadioptric telescope, particularly suitable for deep sky imaging. There is also a separate building suitable for use as a lecture or conference room, as required.”
The observatory also does educational work saying that “Caradon Observatory has been sanctioned by the exam board Edexcel to provide images of celestial objects for GCSE astronomy students in order to support their studies and meet their coursework objectives.”
Following her visit Sheryll said, “I would like to pay a special tribute to Ken Bennett and his wife and thank them for the work they have carried out in building this Observatory which will be of benefit to so many of our school children. This top class facility will allow our local young people to gain a fantastic insight into the stars and solar systems.”
ENDS
Pictured: Sheryll Murray in one of the four domes
Further details: http://www.caradonobservatory.co.uk/
Contact: Sheryll Murray MP 01579 344428