81.6 °F
About This Weather Station
Cheddar Ranch Observatory
Watonga, Oklahoma · 35.8°N, 98.5°W · Elevation: 1,841 ft
A private four-dome observatory complex owned and operated by the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club (founded 1958), dedicated to education, scientific research, and public outreach under the dark skies of rural Blaine County.
In May 2005, the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club issued a call for donated land where the club could establish a permanent home under dark skies within 90 minutes of Oklahoma City. The land selected near Watonga, in rural Blaine County, was a generous gift from the McCrary family of Watonga — the observatory's namesake comes from Carol McCrary, whose grandchildren affectionately called her "Cheddar," a name that now lives on in the observatory itself.
Prior to CRO, the club observed from the shores of American Horse Lake west of Geary, but the lack of a permanent home meant equipment could not be kept on site. With the Watonga land secured, the club built a permanent facility where larger instruments could be housed and where the public could be regularly invited to experience the night sky.
- Fenced property with water, power, and septic
- Warm-up room / classroom / library building with Wi-Fi
- Twenty-two 10×10 ft concrete observing pads
- Roll-off roof observatory structure
Focal Ratio: f/11 (native) · f/7 (with reducer)
Aperture: 355 mm (14")
Features: Edge HD flat-field optics · Fast Star compatible for wide-field video · GoTo database for automated object acquisition
A Starstructure Horizon 30" f/3.0 Dobsonian with custom optics by Lockwood Custom Optics, housed in the Steve Arthurton Dome at CRO. Commissioned in 2016 with support from the Kirkpatrick Foundation and club fundraising, and dedicated June 16, 2018. At 762mm aperture and f/3.03, it is the largest public-access telescope in Oklahoma.
🔭 Full history, specs & photos →A Davis Vantage Vue (model 6351) weather station provides continuous on-site meteorological monitoring. Observations are logged every 5 minutes via WeeWX software and shared publicly via Weather Underground (station KOKWATON22) and the Davis WeatherLink cloud platform. The station was donated by the 4 Domes Consortium.
When the station arrived at CRO, it was uncertain whether the aging hardware was even still viable. Club member Bill Farrer took on its restoration — sourcing and installing a complete tune-up kit and new wind cups, giving the unit a thorough cleaning, and carrying out the initial calibration and setup of its wireless console. That restoration work is what brought the station back to operational condition and made the WeeWX integration on this page possible.
A KT&C KPC-DNR700NHB DSP color CCD all-sky camera (600 TVL, NTSC) as part of a Moonglow Technologies All Sky Cam kit provides automated sky monitoring with astronomical overlays. The camera hardware was donated by the 4 Domes Consortium.
Completed just in time for the club's 50th Anniversary and CRO dedication. The first phase brought the land into a fully operational observing site.
- Property fencing
- Water, power, and septic services
- Warm-up room / restroom building
- Six 10×10 ft concrete observing pads
A 12" Classical Cassegrain on permanent loan from the University of Oklahoma was installed on the south side of the building with a roll-off roof shelter — CRO's first permanent instrument. A 32" Newtonian was also sought during this period but was sold before funding could be secured.
With support from Dr. Bill Romanishin, Roger Lindley, and the Kirkpatrick Foundation, a Celestron Edge HD C-14 replaced the OU Cassegrain in the roll-off roof observatory. The facility now has 22 observing pads and continues to grow.
The McCrary Family of Watonga — who donated the land on which Cheddar Ranch Observatory sits.
Current conditions are measured by the on-site Davis Vantage Vue weather station and updated every 5 minutes. Forecast data is sourced from the National Weather Service (NWS). Satellite imagery (Band 13 IR, Band 9 Water Vapor, Smoke RGB) is sourced from NOAA GOES-19 via College of DuPage NEXLAB, updated every 5 minutes. The astronomical observing forecast is provided by cleardarksky.com using the Canadian Meteorological Center (CMC) astronomy forecast model. Meteor shower data is sourced from the American Meteor Society and International Meteor Organization annual calendars.
Weather data is provided for informational and astronomical planning purposes only and should not be used for operational forecasting or emergency decision-making. Return to weather home page →
Member, Astronomical League Southwest Region