Murrieta Valley USD 16” Observatories information and donation website

[Mark Baker]

TVA members and supporters,

It’s an exciting time for hands on science opportunities in our communities!!! If you’ve been around long enough, you will remember the saga of trying to get TWO 16” scientific grade telescopes that were donated “many moons ago” domiciled and functional. That time is now upon us…!!!

The excitement and enthusiasm at the District level, from the Superintendent and BOD and staff, has been inspirational to say the least. And TVA has been integral in making this happen… special recognition to Sam Pitts who has worked shoulder to shoulder with District facilities staff to ensure all aspects are covered. We now have a plan in place for Phase 1 of establishing the sites at the juncture of MacElhinney MS and Mails ES… and yes, it is exciting!!!

The OTA’s are in pristine condition, but the mounts are a concern due to age and non-use, AND we cannot locate the controllers. We have therefore decided to go with piers and new mounts, both to be covered by roll back structures in a secured area. Power, data, and restrooms are easily accessible btw…

We will be initiating a fund raising program requesting donations and pursuing grants, and what better place to kick things off than with our own TVA club…??!!! No donation is too small - or too large - but if many contribute then individual burden is minimal at most. Plus it gives us an opportunity to really practice what we preach… or put our money where are mouths are, whichever you prefer!! Note that there will be plenty of other opportunities to contribute in other ways… 

We will provide updates and more information on the depth of additional phases as they occur. But the dream of a regional science center has moved from possibility to actuality, and TVA is a key player. How cool is that??

Following is the link to the District fundraising site for you convenience… we can accommodate a check made out to MVUSD as well, with “Observatories” in the reference. But as always, thank you for helping our community to Look Up…

Murrieta Valley Unified School District Webstore https://mvusd.graystep.com/(S(5ayc22rwcoemoalwajbaeu3j))/Index.aspx#/31515/product/2581

[Mark Baker]

Sorry but it appears you will need to copy and paste the link into your browser as the session expires…

Let me know if you need assistance… thank you

Mark Baker
951-691-0101
KN6CQR
President Emeritus, Temecula Valley Astronomers
Solar System Ambassador, NASA / JPL
Docent, CalTech Palomar Observatory
Citizen Scientist Emeritus, Planetary Defense Coordinating Office

[Rick Gonzales]

That sounds awesome! Do you have specs on the scopes?

On Sat, Mar 14, 2026 at 1:06 PM Mark Baker <shkn...@gmail.com> wrote:
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[Mark Baker]

The link isn’t working but I’ll get it fixed … here is the QR code that takes you to the website.

Mark Baker
951-691-0101
KN6CQR
President Emeritus, Temecula Valley Astronomers
Solar System Ambassador, NASA / JPL
Docent, CalTech Palomar Observatory
Citizen Scientist Emeritus, Planetary Defense Coordinating Office

[Clark Williams]

Nice way to celebrate pi day

Sent from my iPad

On Mar 14, 2026, at 13:18, Mark Baker <shkn...@gmail.com> wrote:



The link isn’t working but I’ll get it fixed … here is the QR code that takes you to the website.

<att.kZ6C5yhqObMiQlsofhl_rPsSTf2T8kB2sv712_HsbD0.jpeg>

Mark Baker
951-691-0101
KN6CQR
President Emeritus, Temecula Valley Astronomers
Solar System Ambassador, NASA / JPL

Docent, CalTech Palomar Observatorypi

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TVA Home Page: http://www.temeculavalleyastronomers.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TemeculaValleyAstronomers
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[Anthony Mann]

Hi Mark, here is the link.

Thank you for your help with the fundraiser!

https://mvusd.graystep.com/(S(kdcby4kke1t1m0iahtjqy1mp))/Index.aspx#/31515

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[Rick Gonzales]

If it's a 16" Meade SCT that's "forked", hopefully it has a dovetail bar in order to mount on a standard EQ mount. You'd need something like a Skywatcher EQ6R-PRO that can handle the weight (can be mounted onto a pier also).

This vid show a similar setup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAdVaPNdT5I

Rick

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvastronomers/CAKQkBGdv6LEB1a%2BB%3DuCO3%2BcDPjHFqmWH60xiKeyDNyMJyc581g%40mail.gmail.com.

[Will Kramer]

Just an idea for a possible donation....do you think the school district might accept a donation towards the Observatory Project, and in return give the donator one of the big tripod and fork combos that will now not be needed?  (No controller necessary for visual only!)

Just a thought........

Will

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From: tvastr...@googlegroups.com <tvastr...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mark Baker <shkn...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2026 1:06 PM
To: Tvastronomers <tvastr...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [TVAstro] Murrieta Valley USD 16” Observatories information and donation website

 

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TVA Home Page: http://www.temeculavalleyastronomers.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TemeculaValleyAstronomers
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[Mark Baker]

It was brought up so it’s possible… maybe via a raffle even

Mark Baker
951-691-0101
KN6CQR
President Emeritus, Temecula Valley Astronomers
Solar System Ambassador, NASA / JPL
Docent, CalTech Palomar Observatory
Citizen Scientist Emeritus, Planetary Defense Coordinating Office