JACKSON, Wyo. — At 7,433 feet, Snow King Mountain’s observatory and planetarium is slated to be the only of its kind in North America.
Come September, the 4,400 square foot structure will house a Plane Wave telescope and its 24-foot dome, a 35 seat planetarium space theater, a 65 seat auditorium and a small gift shop. Additionally, there will be a glass enclosed office, designed to invite the public into all aspects of the observatory. There is also a small private sleeping room, kitchenette and bathroom designed for staff who might need a little shuteye between astronomical events.
Astronomer Samuel Singer, Farmer Payne Architects and Jakub Galczynski designed the observation facility to both house a huge telescope and accommodate a flow of visitors. The telescope rests on a 20-foot concrete pier anchored in the earth and is isolated from the greater structure to prevent vibrations from disrupting its position.
The rest of the building was planned to have a relatively small footprint in an effort to not disturb the local ecosystem. It was also intentionally designed with a very low profile, while preserving optimal sight-lines to the surrounding mountains.
All exterior lighting is “dark-sky compliant” with lights aimed at the ground to mitigate light pollution. A portion of the educational programming will address the impact of light pollution on flora and fauna, as well as, the telescope’s ability to observe the sky. The top membrane of the roof is white to reflect solar heat and to reduce energy use during the summer months, while also preventing the emission of heat waves at night, which can distort the telescopic imagery. To increase thermal insulation values in a very cold climate, the staggered stud construction also prevents sound from traveling from the building to the outdoors.
The public can learn more about this project and view construction photos at this link.
