OUR FACILITIES

The Leif Everson Observatory houses a PlaneWave Instruments 17-inch f/6.8 Corrected Dall-Kirkam Astrograph telescope on a state-of-the-art L-500 mount for tracking performance for astrophotography. The observatory dome is mechanically synchronized to move in coordination with the telescope.

The observatory is owned by the School District of Sturgeon Bay and also houses a weather station. Rental and/ or use of this facility is through the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society.

Built by volunteers from Crossroads, the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society and the Peninsula Art School, The StarGarden is used for night sky viewing. Walkways are made from recycled materials and are lit with red lamps for improved night vision. “The Expanding Universe” includes six parallelogram-type mounts on piers for astronomical binoculars. These assist beginners who can view pre-located and focused celestial objects.

The center area, “The Ringed Planet,” includes seating areas and a grassy mound for reclined viewing, perfect for meteor showers. Concrete pads enable amateur astronomers to set up small telescopes for outreach activities. Electric outlets are available for those with computer-driven mounts and other devices.

The Door Peninsula Astronomical Society’s analemmatic sundial (a sundial on which a human casts the shadow) was created by the Leadership Door County Class of 2012. The 249-square-foot concrete, aluminum and glass installation received funding from the Raibook Foundation.

Funded and planned by Dr. Ray Stonecipher, the Stonecipher Astronomy Center (SAC) is located near the Leif Everson Observatory and StarGarden. It is the meeting space for the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society (DPAS). DPAS also owns and operates an inflatable planetarium.

Contact DPAS for programming and more details.

The Astronomy Center is available for use as a venue through Crossroads at Big Creek for private parties.

Crossroads’ first solar array was installed in 2010 and produces 4100 kWh per year. A major objective of the project is to confirm to the public that solar energy works in Door County. If it can work in a much cloudier Germany, it can certainly work here. We are making some of the energy we use at Crossroads, thanks to Sturgeon Bay Utilities and Wisconsin Public Power solar energy buy-back.

In the spring of 2012, Crossroads added its second solar collector, Pinwheel Galaxy, between the Leif Everson Observatory and Stonecipher Astronomy Center.