Clay Center

The Clay Center Observatory is operated by Dexter and Southfield Schools, a private K-12 educational institution. The facility includes a unique diffraction-limited 64cm (25-inch) telescope with optically perfect mirrors- better than 1/100th of a wave at 632.8nm. Superb image quality is maintained by active thermal control in the dome. Multiple negative-pressure fans built into two airlocks cycle 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute through the dome, which keeps the interior temperature to within a fraction of a degree of the ambient air outside. Heat generated from the building is ducted undergound to a facility 100 meters downwind, where it is exhasuted- keeping themal distortions near the telesocpe to a minimum.

Located atop the five-story Clay Center for Science & Technology, the observatory is housed in a 24.5-foot-diameter Ash Dome. Computerized and powered by its own solar-cell panels, the dome rotates in sync with the telescope and can be opened, closed, or rotated remotely by computer control. The north roof deck on Level 5 features a 5-kilowatt array of photovoltaic solar cells and a 1-kilowatt wind turbine, which provide supplemental energy for the facility. A rooftop weather tower delivers real-time atmospheric data. The south roof deck can support smaller telescopes for viewing along the ecliptic.

The pier for the telescope passes vertically through the Clay Center to its own foundation, without any contact with the building itself. This allows the telescope to be isolated from all building vibrations and ensures rock-steady imaging of stars, planets, galaxies, and satellites.