32 | Januar y 2020
But Horne found a way. Specifically,
he found a claw truck operator who
made regular trips to the pulpwood
yard then in Stedman, where the driver
would use the claw to hoist logs out of
the truck and deposit them in the yard.
Horne tracked down the driver one
evening and asked if the claw could
be used to li and position the dome
on top of the observatory. e driver
agreed to come by the next morning at
7, before his boss arrived at work.
"He charged me $10 for it," Horne
said.
Inside the dome, Horne's setup
includes a 14-inch telescope attached
to a motor to move the telescope as it
tracks objects across the sky. He has
an array of cameras to attach to it,
with the whole apparatus networked to
computers in the dome and downstairs
in the main room of the building.
Horne will put in hours of work
most nights — as long as the sky is
clear — to take multiple long exposures
of objects, from constellations to
planets and moons to nebulas.
"Sometimes, he's just coming in at
4:30 a.m.," Ann said.
Odd hours have never bothered
Horne. In fact, one of his most
recognizable photos, at least among
locals, is of the dawning sun as
it shines through the arches of
the Market House in downtown
Fayetteville.
"I don't know if it's a discovery, but
Armed with a computer
planetarium program, a
plastic protractor and a city
map, Horne figured out two
dates — Nov. 11 and Jan. 29
— on which the arches of the
Market House would exactly
frame the sunrise.
Photography
by
Mat
thew
Wonderly
