Our observatory is known as ETMO - the Eric Tomney Memorial Observatory - see below for its story. It is close to the Mugdock Park Visitor Centre.
The observatory is primarily a meeting place for members of the ASG where they do night time observing. We also use special telescopes designed for safely observing our nearest star, the Sun.
Inside the observatory we keep a variety of telescopes and although they are not of any great value in monetary terms they are protected by an alarm system. Most of the telescopes are donated and are in good working order despite their age. In the dome we have a Celestron C14 donated by Tom Boles, amateur supernova hunter extraordinaire, which we use for imaging. It is over 25 years old but still going strong. We also have a variety of telescopes for visual observing that can be taken outside on a clear night. Some of these are available for loan to members of the ASG.
From October to March we work with Mugdock Country Park to put on Stargazing events for the public. We can't guarantee a clear night but we can show you the wonders of the universe in the Mugdock theatre including many images we have taken. We will also demo some of our telescopes. Keep an eye on our eventbrite page for more info.
The story of ETMO
Following the untimely death of long standing member and past President, Mr Eric Tomney, the Society was bequeathed a generous sum of money to be used solely for the construction of an observatory building for use by members. The Society formed a sub-committee of the ASG Council to plan the building of the observatory, to be known as the "Eric Tomney Memorial Observatory" or ETMO for brevity.
After considering several sites for the observatory we selected a location close to the Mugdock Park Visitor Centre. This offers a well-known location not too far from Glasgow but with reasonably dark skies. It also has the potential for ASG events to be staged in collaboration with Mugdock Park using its visitor centre.
The project was delayed for a number of reasons but particularly because we lost society Treasurer Tom Clackson to a sudden heart attack. Not only was Tom a driving force behind ETMO but he was a friend to many of us in the society and his loss was a real blow.
Putting this and other difficulties behind us we rebooted the project in 2019 and appointed architects Collective Architecture who created a new design for which we received planning permission from East Dunbartonshire and Building Warrant approval from Stirling Council. (Mugdock Country Park land lies within Stirling council’s area but it is leased to East Dunbartonshire council because it is most used by residents of East Dunbartonshire.) The observatory was constructed by local building contractor Philip Grimley Ltd.
The design of the observatory has one 3m diameter dome housing a 14 inch reflecting telescope, both generously donated by accomplished supernova hunter Tom Boles, with a mount and auxiliary piggy-backed scopes and other equipment that allows us to use it for both visual eyepiece observing and imaging. We have an area for storage and some workspace downstairs. Although the observatory is not operable remotely we have left that as an option for the future. We will however have internet access to it and plan to have a small weather mast, an all-sky camera and a security system.
We had imposed a deadline of having the observatory up and running by December 2020 but as with many projects, COVID-19 interrupted our schedule and also pushed up the costs of construction. Construction started in early 2022 and was completed by summer 2022.
The image below shows an illustration of the architect's plans though this was revised in a few details. At the right of the image is the fenced enclosure of the existing weather station at Mugdock which sits at the top of the overflow car park. 
If you would like to know more about the observatory or offer donations of equipment, money or contribute expertise please email me at
Dr Andrew Conway FRAS
President
Astronomical Society of Glasgow,
October 2020
16th February 2022
The building contractor poured the concrete foundation today. It is planned that the concrete pier to support the telescope will be poured next week. Photo by Eileen Gibson.
21st February 2022
Casting of the concrete pier complete.
2nd March 2022
Wooden framing being erected. Photo by Eileen Gibson.
4th March 2022
Vapour barrier and wall sheeting being added. Photo by Eileen Gibson.
7th March 2022
Steel roof beams and wooden roof joists added.
Photo above by Eileen Gibson.
17th March 2022
Roofing and stair brackets added, dome delivered to site after repainting by Silvers Marine
Photo above by Eileen Gibson.
29 March 2022
The dome is on! Thanks to Philip Grimley, Jim the joiner and their crew for some excellent work.
30 March 2022
The dome glints in the sunlight and is later snowed upon.
28 April 2022 - photos taken by Sinclair Curdie
The stairs are installed so we no longer have to use a ladder to get to the dome and handrail helps us not fall off!
Looking down the stairs.
ETMO is clad in Siberian larch.
25th May 2022
The builder has completed his construction. Thank You Philip and Jim! We are now waiting for Stirling Council to issue the completion certificate to allow us to take possession and to start installing equipment.
Photo by Eileen Gibson
6th September 2022
Stirling Council issued the completion certificate. This has allowed us to take possession of the observatory and to start the process of installing equipment.
30th September 2023
The observatory was officially opened my Professor Martin Hendry of University of Glasgow.