Kearney Nebraska Director - Mark Urwiller Assistant Directors: Jay Rasmussen, Kay Wolfe, and Dan Glomski   Thanks For Checking Us Out! We Hope You Enjoy Your Visit To This Site And Come Out To See Us! Introduction Page   This graphic shows a satellite photograph of Nebraska at night taken from 520 miles up! We are just outside the "blob" the arrow is pointing to (at about 300 degrees, clockwise from 0 degrees being North)  Rest assured the observatory is not contributing to the light pollution problem! The Seven Hills Observatory was built in the Summer of 1996 from July 22 to August 10 in the Seven Hills Subdivision, approx. 4 miles Northwest of downtown Kearney Nebraska - a city of approx. 27,000 population. The observatory is privately owned by Mark Urwiller, but in addition to providing enjoyment to its owner the primary mission of the facility is to provide a resource for students and the public to come and enjoy the universe of astronomy. The observatory was designed by Brad Christensen, formerly of the Industrial Technology Department of the University of Nebraska Kearney. Brad also donated his time to help construct the observatory! It is 20' x 20' with a roll off roof and was constructed almost entirely of low thermal mass materials. The only cement used, anchors the 4' x 4" posts in the corners, side walls, and rail system. The only other cement used was for 4 hard points (12" cylinders) dug about 40" deep for leveling pedestals attached to the mount of the big scope. At least at first, the scope will not be permanently mounted to the floor. The floor, consisting of 1/2" plywood over 1 1/2" Styrofoam was designed to be isolated from these hard points and does not transmit vibration to the telescope. The roof is rolled off on 8 - 5" castors using 2" angle iron as channels. The rails extend such that the roof can be rolled to clear the building completely by 5 additional feet. The roof is a shallow 3-12 pitch to reduce obstruction. It is covered by 29 gauge white painted galvanized steel. (Aluminum was considered, but not recommended to be durable enough to withstand our summer hailstorms.) When the roof is in place, it is held by 8 large load binders. These were chosen over turnbuckles to allow quick release of the roof for observing. The interior has 25' of cabinet and bookshelf space, two 2" x 6" bench desks with electric (red) light sources, and 8 wall outlets to allow many scopes with drives to be used outside the building. Lastly the whole structure was built, as much as possible with a modular design to allow eventual relocation of the building in the (hopefully distant) future. The only major concern, after having built the observatory is the advancement of light pollution in this direction. In additional to the desire to share the sky with others and inspire interest in the beauty of astronomy, it is hoped that opening the observatory to visitation from the public will help bring public support in an effort to deter additional lights in the area. If you have further questions, I invite you to contact me at my e-mail address below. Until then- Clear Skies! Mark Urwiller There is no way this facility would exist were it not for the help of many friends who helped in the construction. This facility was created on a "shoestring" budget! These people include: Brad Christensen, Kay Wolfe, John Kozak, Rod Erickson, Tony Herron, John Keen, and Nick Kleidosty - a big public Thanks to all of you! Donations are welcomed! Over the years, several hundred dollars have been donated to the observatory.  The money has been put to use in the form of computers, focusers, and deep sky filters for the students and public who use this facility.  There is certainly more that could be done!  If you would like to help, contact us.  Thanks to all who have contributed and supported us to this point!   Enhanced for Keep Looking Around! Mark Urwiller - Web Page Administrator Send comments to: mark.urwiller@kearneypublic.org Home  Introduction  Visitation Dates  Observatory Equipment  Links  Observatory News  Photos    Light Pollution  Earth and Natural Science Club