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On Sunday, March 19, 2023 one day before the Spring Equinox, Analemma Societycelebrated the Equinox at Observatory Park, Turner Farm. With the Roll-Top roof open, observers had a chance to see sunspots through the Coronograph as shown in the ophoto at right. (never look at the sun without eye protection). Other telescopes were pointed at the planets of Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
Outside Dean Howarth, a living-history interpreter, appeared as Copernicus who discussed the revolutionary concept that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Bob Kellogg had a table of sundials from "simple horizontal garden sundials to a digital sundials that cast time numerals of light. Analemma Society also displayed the model sundial presented to Fairfax Parks on the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, VA. A larger version of the sundial is at Observatory Park,Turner Farm in the Sundial Garden.
As visitors entered the park they could walk along the "planetary path" showing the relative distances of the planets from the sun. Mary Blessing and Cristina Wenks heped youngesters observe the inner planets and the long walk to find Jupiter. Along the way, visitors could cast their own shadows using the Analemmatic Sundial designed by Kenny Dieffenderfer of Boy Scout Troop 1547..
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Slowly the Remote Accessed Telescope Observatory (RATO) building repair is approaching completion. Serious infrastructure problems occurred back in 2016. Members of the Park Authority's Planning & Development Division discovered that the concrete block building was beginning to crumble away in several areas near the base. Internally trapped water within the blocks was freezing each winter, destroying the blocks from the inside out.
So in addition to block repair, the area around the RATO building needed re-grading and installation of a drainage system. The repairs began in February, 2018 and according to the Sun-Gazette "The Park Authority...hired the engineering firm of SWSG to verify the cause of the deterioration, qualify the damage and produce a comprehensive plan to dry and structurally repair the building..." Garland/DBS, Inc. was selected as the contractor to perform the RATO repairs, including:
- Install temporary supports, which will protect the building while structural repairs are being made to the concrete blocks
- Install a rain-dispersal system on its roof perimeter, which will protect exterior walls from continuous exposure to concentrated water runofrf.
- Use abrasive blasting to tremove the existing exterior block coating and re-coat the building with a pigmented, vapor-mermeable acrylic.
- Replace or repair approximately 450 damaged concrete blocks
- Install an interior dehumidification system with equipment that logs data on relative humidity
- Back-vent the structure's interior walls
- Waterproof the structure's foundation and install a building-perimeter drain that carries water away from the building
As of December 6, 2018 construction is approaching completion, with a summarized "punch list" of performing:
- Soil compaction near the building with a fine grade 8% slope will be completed, covering the area with seed and covered with straw mulch
- Provide touch up painting, remove tools/supplies from the building and final clean of the floor.
- Cut and adjust the gutter/faoundation drain pipe ends
- Pressure wash the concrete plaza.
According to the Structural Renovation of the RATO Building Substantial Completion Inspection Punch List (Dec 6, 2018), "It is expected that all punch list items will be complete as soon as the weather allows." The RATO building should be ready for astronomical equipment installation by the end of 2018.
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On Friday night the Roll-Top observatory had additonal guests to llok at the night sky stars, clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Students from Waples Mill Elementary School visited the observatory. Even though the weather was cold on Nov 16, 2018, the students got a clear view of the sky. Five months earlier in June Maryann Sopresti Mendoza summed up the viewing experience at the Roll-Top observatory at Turner Farm Park: "Friday nights in good weather, what a gem of place. The Analemma Society hosts public viewings of the night sky at Turner Farm. Incredible experience. People bring their own telescopes as well, hang out and share. The large observatory has a "roll top" and you can look through the big telescopes. Truly a wonderful experience."
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On June 24, 2017, a bright Saturday morning, Fairfax County Park Authority and the Analemma Society hosted the dedication of the Historical Highway Marker Nr, 143. Clyde Smith, Chairman of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources Board explained that obtaining one of these markers on the side of the road requires quite a bit of effort to ensure accurate historical significance.
The area today known as Observatory Park at Turner Farm led a pivotal role over nearly three quarters of a century. In 1954 a portion of the Turner Farm became a Nike missile site, along with a ring of other sites, to protect Washington D.C. As the missiles became obsolete, the grounds were turned into a facility for the U.S. Army Map service for geodesy and navigation. In 1961 the U.S. Army Map Service initiated a significant satellite tracking program that became part of the Defense Mapping Agency in 1972 and more recently became the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA).
Read more: Historical Marker Dedication - Fahey Guest Speaker
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Join the dedication ceremony at Turner Farm on Saturday, June 24th at 10am in the park. The Virginia Board of Historic Resources has designated a highway marker to recognize this site not only as a former Nike missile site, but as an important satellite tracking facility of the U.S. Army Map Service. The Marker states that "This tracking system contributed fundamentally to the Global Positioning System (GPS). The data gathered here enabled geospatial scientists to establish precise geographical reference points on the Earth’s surface and to refine their estimates of the Earth’s true shape and variations in its gravity field."
Local and state officials, members of the community and former employees of the U.S. Army Map Service and Defense Mapping Agency will be in attendance. The event is sponsored by the Fairfax County Park Authority and the Analemma Society.
Turner Farm is located at 925 Springvale Road, Great Falls, VA. For more information about the ceremony, please contact the Public Information Office at 703-324-8662 or via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
 TurnerFarmMarkerProgram.pdf | [June 24th Dedication Program] | 702 kB |
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