It has been a decade in the making but a new observatory is going to be a "dream come true" for astronomy fans when it opens in a Scottish park.
The Astronomical Society of Glasgow has spent the past 10 years working towards the design and build of the Eric Tomney Memorial Observatory in Mugdock Country Park.
Now, they said, excitement is mounting as members prepare to show interested visitors their own small place in the vastness of the universe.
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Experienced members of the society will work with staff at Mugdock Country Park to share expertise by using this new observatory in public observing sessions, exclusive society member events, citizen science projects and public educational sessions.
Dr Andrew Conway FRAS, President of the ASG, said: "This is literally a childhood dream come true for many of us - building a new astronomical observatory.
"It's not officially open yet but many passers-by in the park have stopped to ask us what we were doing as we worked on it, and we answered them with live images of sunspots, solar prominences and, on a few lucky occasions, solar flares."
The observatory is the legacy of the society’s former society president, Eric Tomney, who died in 2013 and left a bequest for the observatory’s construction for the benefit of the society’s members.
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A decade on from Mr Tomney's death, the observatory will open on September 30 in a launch event in Mugdock Country Park.
It will be an all-day public event with tours of the observatory, astronomical presentations and solar and night-time observations throughout the day, weather permitting.
Located close to the Mugdock Park Visitor Centre, the observatory offers a well-known location not too far from Glasgow but with, the Society said, "reasonably" dark skies.
There a 14inch diameter reflecting telescope for imaging the cosmos in its dome but the Astronomical Society of Glasgow has a collection of telescopes suitable for beginners to seasoned astronomers. Dr Conway added: "In the winter we can't wait to show them the moon, planets, stars, galaxies and much more through our telescopes.
"We live on a pale blue dot in a vast universe and this new observatory will let more people can experience its wonder with their own eyes."
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