$1 Million Observatory Opens in Great Falls

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- A new roll-top observatory at Observatory Park at The Turner Farm in Great Falls, is now open after a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Saturday, according to Fairfax County. The observatory will offer the public a chance to see the night sky from one of Fairfax County’s darkest spots through permanently mounted telescopes.

Visitors to the new facility will find an Orientation Room that will serve as an instructional space for educational programs and an Observation Room that includes three telescopes, with room for a fourth telescope as private funding becomes available in the future. The observatory features a retractable roof that will roll over the top of the fixed roof that covers the Orientation Room.

Initiated in 2007 in collaboration with the Analemma Society, the million-dollar facility was funded in part by the 2008 and 2012 Park Bonds, telecommunications funds, Mastenbrook grant money and donations provided by Jean and Ric Edelman through theFairfax County Park Foundation(FCPA). The facility was designed by Shaffer Wilson Sarver & Gray of Herndon and constructed by Brown and Root of Arlington.

The Analemma Society will provide programming for the public at the observatory that will include nighttime viewing, and classes on astronomy and related sciences. Analemma Society founder Charles H. Olin notes that Turner Farm provides a “unique opportunity” to open the skies to members of the public and allow them to stimulate their imaginations by gazing through a telescope.

In the early 1990s, the site now known as Turner Farm was a Nike Missile Site. When the Defense Mapping Agency closed the site, Olin lobbied FCPA and the community of Great Falls to turn the site into Observatory Park.

Programs will begin in the spring, and Friday night viewing will continue for the public. The roll-top will be open only during public sessions. Information about programming will be posted on the Analemma Society’s website at http://www.analemma.org/ and the Turner Farm website at The Turner Farm.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday featured local officials, Park Authority Board members and staff, members of the Analemma Society, the community, donors and supporters. Turner Farm is located at 925 Springvale Road, Great Falls (see map below).

The park is open dawn to dusk except for speciality, after-hours events hosted only on Friday nights by the Annalemma Society. Visit the Analemma Society website (www.analemma.org) for a schedule of astronomy events. There are no entrance fees and no onsite park staff.

PHOTOS courtesy of Fairfax County and Analemma Society.