Curiosity Peak All Sky Cam and Weather Station:
Clear Sky Chart for Curiosity Peak:
The Curiosity Peak Observatory and "Open Door" visitors enclosed pad are located on a hilltop just southeast of the town of Julian, California; a picturesque mountain community known for its maintenance of a dark sky environment cherished by visitors and locals alike. Elevation is 4520 ft. Visitors to Julian who are interested in astronomy are encouraged to contact us to arrange a visit to the observatory, as well as use of the "Open Door" area. The observatory is a 12 x 14 structure with a roll-off roof, housing three telescopes on piers which are primarily set up for astro-imaging. They are an 115mm F7 TS APO on a CEM 70, a Celestron C11 on a CEM60, and a 102 mm F7.5 Explore Scientific APO on a high-quality mount.
On the east side of the observatory there is now an "Open Door observatory," an outdoor carpeted area for visitors to set up telescopes. It measures 15 x 38 ft. and is surrounded by a 7 ft tall wind/light barrier to make it a wind and ambient light protected area for viewing and astro-imaging. There is direct access to ac power. There is no fee for using the Open Door, although donations to help with the construction and maintenance costs are greatly appreciated. To arrange use of the site, e-mail or call us, using the contact info on the home page.
For more about the town of Julian, check out this link to the Julian Chamber of Commerce: http://www.julianca.com/
The slideshow below shows the construction of the observatory in a very abridged form. A lot of the design was done "on the fly" with the gantry system basically just "falling into place" after a trip to the metal yard. Upon seeing piles of surplus industrial mezzanine structures, the light bulb turned on and we immediately saw our gantry design in front of us.
On the east side of the observatory there is now an "Open Door observatory," an outdoor carpeted area for visitors to set up telescopes. It measures 15 x 38 ft. and is surrounded by a 7 ft tall wind/light barrier to make it a wind and ambient light protected area for viewing and astro-imaging. There is direct access to ac power. There is no fee for using the Open Door, although donations to help with the construction and maintenance costs are greatly appreciated. To arrange use of the site, e-mail or call us, using the contact info on the home page.
For more about the town of Julian, check out this link to the Julian Chamber of Commerce: http://www.julianca.com/
The slideshow below shows the construction of the observatory in a very abridged form. A lot of the design was done "on the fly" with the gantry system basically just "falling into place" after a trip to the metal yard. Upon seeing piles of surplus industrial mezzanine structures, the light bulb turned on and we immediately saw our gantry design in front of us.