Ripon: Amateur astronomer builds planetarium

The Lime Tree Observatory launched, after a group of amateur astronomers rescued an old telescope

A field at former dairy farm near Ripon has been transformed by amateur astronomers into an observatory and planetarium.

The idea was born 10 years ago when Martin Whipp heard a 40-year-old telescope was under threat.

The owner, who lived in Kent, was "very worried" it would end up in a skip, Mr Whipp said.

He and friends Chris Higgins and John Roberts decided to rescue it and bring it to the farm at Grewelthorpe.

The three men were all volunteers with the York Astronomical Society and ended up building the Lime Tree Observatory in one of the fields.

"It has ended up being what I often describe as a hobby that's got out of hand," Mr Whipp told BBC Radio York.

The observatory is on a former dairy farm in Grewelthorpe

The square concrete building includes a presentation suite with and a circular observatory with a dome above it.

The telescope the men rescued sat inside originally, but is due to be retired due to its age.

"We have recently been given a couple of grants and we are going to be replacing it with an all-singing, all-dancing telescope for the end of this year," Mr Whipp said.

The addition of a planetarium was a new venture and has been constructed solely by Mr Whipp and his team by hand.

The large glass dome was built inside one of the farm's barns and was a solution to Britain's temperamental weather conditions.

"We can sit 30 people underneath it and high resolution digital projectors can take people anywhere in the universe," Mr Whipp explained.

The planetarium was built by hand by volunteers

As well as taking guests to different galaxies, he revealed they could also "time travel" to skies from thousands of years ago.

The interactive attraction, where visitors "call the shots" on what they want to see, has been popular among scout groups and cadets, Mr Whipp said.

He said the observatory is opened up at select times in the winter, when the skies are at their darkest.