The 49-year-old Harry Bayley Observatory has not fully opened its doors since two senseless acts of vandalism last year set back its operations.
In a recent telephone interview, member of the Barbados Astronomical Society, Bill Sutherland, filled in the WEEKEND NATION on what happened.
“We had the first break-in on a Sunday in January 2011 where two people broke in through the south door. They damaged glass, the artefact case, threw the antique navigational instruments on the floor and burst into the library,” he said.
Sutherland said nothing was stolen except a bottle of rum, a gift which was being kept in the office. The vandals, apparently not satisfied with getting away the first time, returned with another person the Wednesday afterwards and this time attempted to break into the dome where the telescope was held.
Fortunately, they were unsuccessful and the sounds alerted residents who called the police.
The perpetrators, however, escaped again but measures were taken, such as repairing the doors and removing the telescope, to prevent further acts of vandalism. The observatory has been mostly closed ever since.
Yesterday, president of the society, Ricardo Small, took the WEEKEND NATION team on a short tour of the observatory, located on Clapham Ridge, St Michael.
“The raison d’être of the society, of which this is its headquarters, is to promote knowledge of astronomy in the school system and general public and also we are part of a national tourism plan where we attract a number of tourists – in fact, more than 60 per cent of our visitors are tourists.
“This is why I think the break-ins were done by people who didn’t understand the importance of this building and its foreign exchange potential. It was basically ignorance,” he said.
In its heyday, Small said the facility could attract more than 20 people every Friday night when it was open during the tourist season and up to 60 people on Saturdays when it was open to groups.
He also recalled a time in the early 2000s when Mars had made its closest approach to earth in 60 000 years. He said they kept the observatory open for a week and had accommodated more than 1 000 people.
He said there were programmes catering to schools where they helped cub scouts gain their astronomy badges and did lectures.
Small said the delay in officially reopening was due to a lack funds. He said their insurance only covered a part of the costs but they were seeking a complete overhaul and modernization of the observatory, which could cost around $200 000.
“We want to completely renovate the building. We also want to have a modern mechanized dome and aperture,” he said, adding they wanted to have the drywall removed.
Small said they also wanted to purchase a new telescope, a Meade LX200 computerized model to replace their old Celestron 14-inch model.
“Around a month ago, we had a site visit by the Minister of Tourism [Richard Sealy] and staff of the ministry and we have submitted a plan to Government [for the renovations].
“We also want to purchase a new state of the art telescope which would cost $33 000.?So we are appealing to both the Government and the private sector to assist us. This telescope would give us the flexibility to give both night and day tours.
“We are seeking these funds because the observatory has the capacity to earn a lot of foreign exchange for Barbados . . . [but] we need to bring it up to international standards. The whole aim is to bring the building into a higher standard so we can work more efficiently with other astronomy societies in the Caribbean,” he said.
Small said the observatory was unique in the Eastern Caribbean as it was a dedicated building designed exclusively for astronomy.
The postal superintendent said he had been interested in astronomy since he was a boy and became involved with the society in 1982 after watching a show on CBC-TV8 featuring then president Janet Stahl.
“I saw this as an opportunity to get involved and have progressed through the society, as a member, then [acted] as vice-president and president on two occasions. Astronomy is the scientific investigation of the universe and all the mysteries thereof.
“I must emphasize it must not be confused with astrology; astronomy is a pure science, it is not just people looking up into the sky,” he said.
Small said he was confident the facility would reopen again and when they did, it would be better than ever.
“When we reopen, we will be targeting secondary schools with the view of setting up junior astronomy clubs,” Small said.
