So, I guess these won't fit in the back of my Explorer... Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 8:00 PM To: utah astronomy listserve utah astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Free Baker-Nunn telescopes I thought I'd pass this on in case anyone here might be interested. I spoke to the guy a few minutes ago to make sure the offer is real. patrick ------ Hello- I am a new member to the group, and represent one of the newest space museums; the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. While the air museum side has been open for a number of years (we're home to Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose), we opened our 120,000 sq. ft. space museum this last June. We do not have a planetarium (yet) but do have a lot of artifacts from the entire history of the space program. The reason I am posting is to let the group know that Evergreen has a pair of Baker-Nunn Satellite Tracking Cameras available to any planetarium, space museum or science museum that would like them. We were originally given three of them by a donor in Corvallis, Oregon. We restored one and have it on display, but we have two more in an off- site storage building. Unfortunately, we are being evicted from that building and have to get rid of the cameras quickly. I'd hate to see them scrapped, thus the offer... For those not familiar, the B-N cameras were 20" Schmitt telescope/ cameras used to photograph satellites (primarily Soviet), and track their orbits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory used a number of them at locations around the world. They are big, weighing approximately 3.5 tons each. I understand that some enterprising amateur astronomers have modified them for comet watching. The cameras we have are available "as is, where is." They will need to be re-assembled and restored. We have an excellent set of manuals that our restoration team worked from, and we will be happy to provide copies. You will have to move them from McMinnville (approximately 45 miles southwest of Portland, OR) at your expense, although we do have a fork lift to help load them. I can provide digital pictures; just email me at stewart.bailey@sprucegoose.org, and I will be happy to send pictures of the cameras and of our restored copy. Thanks for your consideration! Sincerely, Stewart W. Bailey Curator Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.9.10/1811 - Release Date: 11/25/2008 8:29 AM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.9.10/1811 - Release Date: 11/25/2008 8:29 AM