STAR POWER

BY AUDREY NELSON

Astronomy Buffs Keep an Eye on the Sky

They were going to tear it down.

In 1972, the Bainbridge Island parks district acquired a two-story concrete building once used to house World War II radio equipment, along with land that would ultimately become Battle Point Park. By the 1990s, the district had proposed demolishing the antique Helix Building.

But local architect John Rudolph, hired to complete a plan for Battle Point Park, recognized the Helix Building’s potential. He imagined the space as a public observatory, where island residents could gather to study the night sky. Along with former Boeing Company colleagues Ed Ritchie and Mac Gardiner, Rudolph founded the nonprofit Battle Point Astronomical Association in 1992. Through BPAA, the three men scrounged enough labor, materials and funds to save the Helix Building.

Today, the building is known as the Ritchie Observatory, a gathering space for BPAA’s astronomy enthusiasts. The observatory is also home to the Ritchie Telescope, the largest publicly accessible telescope in the Pacific Northwest.

Shortly after funding BPAA, Rudolph, Ritchie and Gardiner submitted a proposal to Boeing, which was looking to donate a spare mirror. The three founders laid out BPAA’s plan for a brand-new telescope that would take advantage of Boeing’s donation. Their proposal won the 27.5-inch spare mirror. So, while other volunteers refurbished the budding observatory, Ritchie reshaped the mirror so it could be used in the telescope.

Frank Petrie, BPAA’s current president, still marvels at Ritchie’s dedication.

“He actually built a grinding machine in his garage,” Petrie said. “He used it to refigure the mirror. And there are stories about people coming over and watching this thing in action in his garage, how long it took to get it done.”

Ritchie died before he could see the telescope dedicated. But both the telescope and the observatory honor his name.

Since its founding, BPAA has grown into a thriving organization. The group hosts “star parties” and lectures, provides access to the Ritchie Telescope and even lends telescopes to members. Recently, BPAA acquired a new planetarium projector, which casts a model of the night sky onto the underside of a cloth dome. Controlled by an iPad, the projector “flies” visitors through the solar system to investigate different heavenly bodies. There’s a disclaimer: Petrie admits that he and the rest of the BPAA board are “still learning how to do that smoothly.”

Traditionally, BPAA hosts a lecture and a star party at Ritchie Observatory on the second Saturday of every month. Bonus events are scheduled on shorter notice. But Petrie and his colleagues are hopeful that the new projector can increase BPAA’s offerings.

“Rain or shine, we can do the planetarium,” Petrie said. “It can be in the middle of the day…We’re hoping to, at least every other weekend, maybe even every week, to have planetarium shows.”

These shows would add to BPAA’s current community connections. The BPAA board partners with KiDiMu, supports students from Hyla Upper School’s astronomy club and even plans to host a summer program in collaboration with Bainbridge Performing Arts. Plus, Petrie estimates that about 60 percent of current BPAA members are families who take advantage of a special family membership rate.

BPAA also welcomes junior members. Michaela Leung, a former island resident, was a junior BPAA member through middle and high school. She’s now a Ph.D. candidate researching planetary astrobiology at the University of California, Riverside.

“For me, [astronomy] is a really compelling question about what we don’t know,” Leung said. “The near-infinite possibilities that could be out there. And I think that’s definitely something that was encouraged by the folks at BPAA.”

The organization gave Leung her first experience with “naked eye” observing. But now, BPAA wants to explore using more than just direct observation. Under the guidance of chief astronomer Cole Rees, BPAA is adapting the Ritchie Telescope for “astro-imaging”—i.e., remote observation and photography. This is great news for BPAA members who live as far away as North Carolina and New York and who could begin booking time on the telescope from afar.

Petrie is thrilled by the prospect of expanding BPAA’s offerings.

“Just emotionally, it’s meaningful to understand what is happening in the universe,” he said. “I want to share it with everybody.”

About 20 years after the Ritchie Telescope was built, BPAA began to have trouble tracking objects through it. They discovered that some of the instrument’s metal components had degraded, preventing the smooth rotation of the main shafts. The telescope had to be repaired.

So BPAA joined forces with the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network. Together, the two organizations applied for and received a cultural funding grant from the city’s biannual program. That grant money funded materials; then volunteers headed to BARN’s metal arts shop to participate in fixing up the telescope.

Improvements to the telescope included aluminum plating, steel supports and new bearings. Current BPAA president Frank Petrie was BPAA’s secretary and BARN’s machine shop treasurer during the project. He enjoyed the hands-on nature of the renovations.

“All that stuff we did, we did it all ourselves,” he said. “And we had a good time doing it, too.”

In addition to refurbishing the Ritchie Telescope, volunteers modernized it, as part of BPAA’s plan to expand into the world of astro-imaging. They also made improvements to BPAA facilities.

Sparked by that initial collaboration, the BPAA/BARN relationship continues to this day. Some members of each organization have “a foot in both worlds.” This includes Petrie, as well as Peter Moseley, a BPAA board member also heavily involved with the BARN machine shop.

“We’re doing astronomy,” Petrie said. “We’re also over there doing machining. And it’s great. We have a really strong relationship with [BARN].”