26 October 2026 – Late October colour
In the last week of October the colour and sheer variety of plants in the wildflower beds in front of the Twin Dome still seems to be evolving and thriving well into Autumn. The central image in the above collage is actually from earlier in the year and shows the secondary mirror from the old twin telescope (more on that below) reflecting the most prominent plants then. Amazingly, all of those plants – the corn marigolds and the oxeye daisies – have long gone (but not the poppies). They grew very tall, very quickly, took all the available light and then (a bit like Icarus) were quickly burnt up in the intense sun of this year’s summer. However, the disappearance of those taller flowers seems to have revealed another habitat below, bursting with vitality, variety and colour, and waiting for it’s moment. I wasn’t expecting that.
The secondary mirror meanwhile is now safely stored away again but this time it hasn’t gone back into its same deep storage of the last 30 years. Now it will be ready to be incorporated into a new telescope design which aims to bring the old twin telescope back to life. Well, half of it anyway. That project will have its first public preview on Open Night later this year. Date and details to follow shortly.