J A Jones Hoober Observatory is a privately owned

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

located in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England near to the villages of Hoober and Wentworth, North-northwest of

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

. It can be found about east of

Hoober Stand Hoober Stand is a tower and Listed building, Grade II* listed building on a ridge in Wentworth, South Yorkshire in northern England. It was designed by Henry Flitcroft for the Whig (British political party), Whig aristocrat Thomas Watson-Wentw ...

. The observatory is owned and operated by Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society (NPO).

Architecture and design

The observatory consists of a square building topped by a 5-metre diameter dome. The observatory was built by the members between 1991 and 1993. Originally the dome was only in diameter. In 1999 a major refurbishment of the observatory was completed including a new 5-metre diameter dome, which was designed & built by the members over the preceding 3–4 years. A project is currently underway (2018) to extend the observatory by adding a 5-metre square extension (public room). The building is also undergoing extensive refurbishment inside and outside to create a toilet and improve facilities for disabled visitors. It is projected that the completion will be in time for the 2018 Autumn observing season.

Telescopes

The observatory originally contained the Rayna Telescope, an newtonian reflector on a fork mount, this was dedicated to long standing member Ray Jackson and his wife Ina. The telescope was built by Peter Drew of the Amateur Astronomy Centre,

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

. It was based around an 18-inch f/4.5 parabolic mirror ground by John Owen. Whilst in use the Rayna telescope was the largest telescope open to the public in South Yorkshire. The observatory currently contains a

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TOA-130F f/7.6

apochromatic An apochromat, or apochromatic lens (apo), is a photographic or other lens that has better correction of chromatic and spherical aberration than the much more common achromat lenses. The prefix ''apo-'' comes from the Greek preposition ''ἀ ...

refractor A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and ...

and a

Celestron Celestron, LLC is a company that manufactures telescopes and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories manufactured by its parent company, the Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan. History The predecessor ...

C14-AF XLT f/11 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a

Software Bisque Software Bisque, Inc. (formerly named ''Computer Assist Services'') is a corporation based in Golden, Colorado that develops robotics telescope mounts and accessories and publishes software used in astronomy. It was founded in 1984 by current pres ...

Paramount goto mount. These were purchased to replace the Rayna telescope. Other telescopes include a Coronado SolarMax

H-alpha Hydrogen-alpha, typically shortened to H-alpha or Hα, is a deep-red visible spectral line of the hydrogen atom with a wavelength of 656.28 nm in air and 656.46 nm in vacuum. It is the first spectral line in the Balmer series and is em ...

telescope on a

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GPDX

German Equatorial mount An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, called ''polar axis'', parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cam ...

with a SkySensor 2000 goto system for Solar Observing.

Public access

The society opens the observatory to the public for evening viewing sessions during the winter months, for Solar observing on Sunday afternoons during the summer and for astronomical events e.g.

meteor shower A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at ext ...

s or

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...

s. The observatory, located off Lea Brook Lane in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is thirty minutes' drive from central

, is one hours' drive from central

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and one hours' drive from central

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

Hoober Observatory and light pollution

Whilst the observatory is located in an area of countryside with relatively dark skies compared to

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster, City of Doncaster District, South Yorkshire, England, between Manvers and Denaby Main, on the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road. It is co ...

and Swinton,

naked eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...

limiting magnitudes are rarely below magnitude 4.

Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society

The Hoober Observatory is owned and operated by Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society, a society and charity based in Swinton,

. Founded on 21 May 1978 as "The Night Sky Astronomy Club" it amalgamated with "The Mexborough Astronomy Club" in late 1978 and became the "Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society". It applied for and successfully achieved Charitable Status in 1997.Charity Commission No.1064103
/ref> The society original met in a room at St Johns Church in Swinton. In 1980 Swinton Working Men's Club were approached to allow the society use of an upstairs room, where it still meets on a weekly basis. Guest lecturers visit the society approximately monthly. Quarterly the society's Observations Officer gives the members an overview of celestial phenomena expected over the next three months and usually issues an observing challenge for the next quarter. Other meetings will find members giving presentations on astronomical subjects of their choice, astronomical quizzes and debates. The society currently has around 50 members, from throughout South Yorkshire, representing all parts of the community. The society's Honorary President is currently Dr. Allan Chapman of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

References

External links

Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society
website
British Astronomical Association the voice of amateur astronomy in the UK
website
The Federation of Astronomical Societies
website * {{Portal bar, England, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Amateur astronomy organizations Organisations based in South Yorkshire Astronomical observatories in England Mexborough Swinton, South Yorkshire Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham 1993 establishments in England 1978 establishments in England