圓頂天文台防颱風措施

Typhoon protection measures for the observatory dome

颱風樺加沙襲港，氣象預測可能會有破紀錄風力及疊加天文大潮造成的風暴潮，漲至海圖基準線上5米，加上湧浪隨時整個圓頂會淹沒在水底。所以我們早一天到大美督移走了這個新建圓頂裡面的Celestron EdgeHD14望遠鏡及SkyWatcher EQ8R Pro赤道儀，亦清空了裡面所有東西，圓頂圍一圈沙包，再在天窗及門隙貼上防水膠貼，希望減少海水注入天文台的機會。目前風暴已漸遠離，圓頂位置陣風風速從每小時140公里漸降，海水水位也開始回落，可幸最危險時間已過。(氣象圖片摘自香港天文台 https://www.hko.gov.hk/)

Typhoon Ragasa hit Hong Kong, and meteorological forecasts indicated record-breaking winds and storm surges due to astronomical tides, potentially reaching 5 meters above the sea chart baseline. To prepare, we moved the Celestron EdgeHD14 telescope and SkyWatcher EQ8R Pro mount from the new dome at Tai Mei Tuk a day early, cleared everything inside, surrounded the dome with sandbags, and applied waterproof tape to the windows and door gaps to reduce the chance of seawater entering the observatory. The storm has now moved away, with gusts decreasing from 140 km/h, and the sea level is starting to drop. Fortunately, the most dangerous time has passed. (Meteorological images are sourced from the Hong Kong Observatory. https://www.hko.gov.hk/)