The Marian and Max Farash Center for Observational Astronomy
Our Observing Site
Through gracious donations from Marion and Max Farash and the Louis S. Wolk Foundation, ASRAS has been able to acquire a large piece of land well away from the city lights. Our site, called the Marian and Max Farash Center for Observational Astronomy, serves as the centerpiece of the group's activities.
We are located at
8355 County Road 14
Ionia, NY
14475
GPS address: 42.930976,-77.496872
or
42ТА55'46.7" N 77ТА30'01.7" W
Directions
Farash Center Address
We are located at
8355 County Road 14
Ionia, NY
14475
GPS address: 42.930976,-77.496872
or
42ТА55'46.7" N 77ТА30'01.7" W
From the West:
Take Route 490 to Route 390 (South), get off at Route 590 (north) Take 590 to the Monroe Ave Exit, and go Right at the light (Monroe Ave). When you get to the Village of Pittsford, take a right onto Route 64 (South).
From the East:
Thruway (I90) west to Exit 45
(Victor / Rte. 96) Take Route 96 South (this will be a left turn) Turn right on Route 251 West (it's about 2 miles down Rte 96, you'll pass a car dealership just before the turn).
Turn left on Route 64 South (you'll come to the village of Mendon about 5 or 6 miles down. Rte 64 is the first stop light on Rte 251).
Directions For Both (once you get to Rte 64):
After about 8 to 10 miles, watch for the Ontario County sign, a horse farm on the right, and a gravel pit on the left. After those landmarks, you'll a quarter mile or so go up a hill. Just past the top of that hill is a road to the right -- Elton Road -- and a small sign pointing to Ionia. Take that right.
A hundred yards over the hill is the (very small) town of Ionia. Immediately turn right at the four corners in town. A few hundred feet later you will see a cemetery on the left. Immediately past the cemetery is a dark gray house with white trim; immediately past the gray house is the gravel road entrance to our site, with a bright yellow gate.
A wide angle panoramic view of our observing site
A view of all three observatories at the top of the ridge
Brief History of the Farash Center in Ionia, NY
The Marian and Max Farash Center for Observational Astronomy consists of an education center, maintenance building and 6 working observatories on a 17 acre plot of land just off route 64 in the hamlet of Ionia, NY. The property was donated to the Rochester Academy of Science in 1988 by Max Farash to be used for observational astronomy. The Center has been developed considerably since that time through generous donations from the Wolk Foundation, Farash Foundation and from private individuals.
Our main building, the Louis Wolk Education Center, contains a large classroom, library, kitchen, computer center, 2 restrooms, a lounge and a large deck. Two of our observatories contain large aperture telescopes suitable for viewing deep sky objects under the dark skies of Ionia. One telescope is more specialized for lunar and planetary observations and two telescopes are computer driven and usually dedicated to astrophotography. In 2012, a new building was constructed and dedicated to solar astronomy. There are numerous concrete pads located on the grounds complete with electric power for members who wish to bring their own equipment. The property has a number of marked hiking trails and offers camping to family and scouting groups. A brief time-line of developments is shown below.
1988 т?? Max Farash donates a parcel of land to the Rochester Academy of
Science to be used for observational astronomy.
1997 т?? An access road is opened and the construction of the education
building is started.
2001 т?? The first observatory is constructed for the 16т?? Cave reflector.
2001 т?? A small domed observatory is built and contains a 12т?? telescope
that can be computer controlled.
2003 т?? A maintenance building is built to house mowers and ground keeping
equipment.
2004 т?? The Farash Observatory is constructed. This observatory, complete
with т??warm roomт?? houses a 10т?? telescope and computer driven mount. This facility is mainly used for astrophotography.
2005 т?? A deck is added to the education center.
2009 т?? The Tinsley Observatory is built. This observatory houses a 12т?? Cassigrain
telescope and is mainly used for lunar and planetary viewing and
imaging.
2009 т?? The Wolk Observatory is built and houses a 20т?? reflecting telescope on an
Equatorial platform.
2011 т?? A small storage unit is added to the education center to house a 17.5т??
Reflector on a Dobsonian mount. It is used for visual observations from the
The deck area.
2012 - A solar observatory was built for observing the sun in the
continuum & in hydrogen-alpha.
2013 т?? This year marks the 25th anniversary of the land being donated for the
Observatory.
The Wolk Education Center
1997 saw the completion of the Louis S. Wolk Building. This facility serves as educational facility, library, meeting building, and much more. It's the literal and figurative heart of the club. Observers also have access to several pads, complete with power for those needing to run their drives and cameras.
Inside the Wolk Education Center
Inside the classroom at the Wolk Education Center
Our tidy little kitchen
Our Library
Our lounge area in the basement of the education center
The 17.5 inch Dob and Dob Barn
Our newest addition to the site is the 17.5 inch Dobsonian reflector located on the back deck of the Wolk education center.
This telescope is a 17.5" F/4.5 Newtonian on a Dobsonian mount made by Sky Designs and donated by Dr. Al Ureles.
It is housed in its own dedicated shed on the wall in the northeast corner of the deck. The small handtruck located in the scopes closet is used to move the scope out onto the cement platform located in the middle of the deck.
The Cave Roll-Off
2001 saw completion of two significant observatory construction projects adjacent to the Wolk Building. In the first, a large roll-off roof observatory now houses our 16 inch Cave Newtonian reflecting telescope.
The 16 inch Cave Newtonian telescope on its equatorial mount.
Members Frank Bov and Joe Alteri discuss the use of the scope.
The RollOff is now motorized, making it even easier to access.
The new clamshell
Our latest addition to the site is this 7' diameter clamshell observatory. This is meant to be reserved by members for periods of perhaps a week for use with their own personal equipment.
The Small Dome
The second project completed in 2001 was a small observatory with a 6 foot dome which now houses a 8" Meade Schmidt Cassegrainian telescope. This building is scheduled to get a new dome shutter to make it easier to use next year.
In addition, two large Newtonian telescopes (17" and 20") are available on Dobsonian mounts.
The 20 " Dobsonian is housed in our recently completed Wolk rolloff building.
The Farash Obsevatory (Big Dome)
2005 saw the completion of another major project, the The Farash Observatory. (also known as the BigDome). A 12 foot clamshell style dome sits high above a warm room housing the computers that can remotely control the scope and imaging cameras. This observatory has just recently been upgraded to include a brand new Celestron CGE-pro equatorial mount and a 2032mm (10 inch) @ focal length = F8 Astro Tech astrograph scope. This facility is primarily intended for astrophotography, with the computer controlling cameras, focusing motors, and so on. Users can mount a small refractor on the main scope, using either scope for guiding and/or imaging.
Luke Leege poses with the brand new CGE-pro and Astro-Tech Astrograph scope
The Wolk rolloff
The Wolk observatory is a second rolloff that was completed in 2009.
The building houses a 20 inch , f/4 Dobsonian telescope by Sky Designs.
The Brew house
In 2013 ASRAS took ownership of Brews private observatory to allow use by members.
The "Brewhaus" outside view
This observatory features a Meade 12 inch SCT on a go-to fork mount. It is capable of astro-photography and is mounted on a polar aligned pier.
It is an f/10 with a focal reducer for f/6.3. It is equipped with a Robo focuser unit and is close to having the capability for remote operation. It does have a dovetail on the scope that is the wider losmandy type for mounting your own guide scope.
The Tinsley Dome
The Tinsley Dome houses a completely re-furbished 12 inch True Cassegrain telescope made by the Tinsley company back in the 1960's.
The scope was donated to the club and through the efforts of many gracious donors has been completely re-built to better than new condition. The main and secondary mirrors have been re-coated with modern reflective materials and the equatorial mounts tracking drive system has been upgraded to a precision stepper motor design. The Tinsley's long focal length makes it ideal for planetary viewing and imaging.
