Observing the Observatory

A cute little playhouse for a weather-conscious child? A storage shed for garden tools? Goat barn? None of the above...

...it's a very cool backyard observatory!

Star gazers, here are a couple of photos to make you very jealous. They are of Joel Fetter’s Vantage Pro, which is mounted on his backyard observatory. As you can see, the observatory’s roof slides down when he wants to access his telescope. He takes some great photos from his unique backyard – no, not of things like the kids playing tag, but things like the Orion nebula and the Pleiades star cluster. Nice, we say.

(Want to build one of your own? First, get your Vantage Pro2. Next step would be to check out Zena Mobile Welding’s site for some building ideas.)

Vantage Pro Helps Keep Trains on Tracks

Could this be the world’s shortest railroad?

Jim Bertrand and his Vantage Pro were featured in the January issue of Canadian Geographic. His Vantage Pro lives in his front yard, right next to his two-meter long railway track. Jim, a civil engineering student at the University of Calgary, is researching the relationship between heated tracks and train derailments. He is analyzing where the heat comes from (rails can become significantly hotter than ambient air--you can check out the difference on his weather page and how the impact of wind and cloud cover affects this heating. His weather station collects weather data as well as temperature data from probes drilled into the rails. He hopes the results will mean improved railway safety.

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