I guess the first question is why a dome and not a roll off observatory? I seriously considered both options but in the end decided to go for a dome for the following reasons:
- Protection from wind when open and all weather when shut.
- A dome suited the ideal location on the property.
- Shielding from local light (it’s next to a house, people live there and turn lights on and off)
- No issues with local planning rules, under 10 square meters and not a fixed structure anyway.
- Reliable turnkey option (it is often many months between visits to the dome).
- Domes look cool
My sense is building a roll-off from scratch that is weatherproof enough and reliable enough for unattended remote operation isn’t a small task. I’m really not sure how it would work out cost wise, perhaps abit cheaper.
Ok then, which dome? We are actually pretty spoiled for choice here in Australia with Sirus, NextDome and ScopeDome all with good local support. There might be a few other options but these are the options I’m most familiar with. The Sirus is a 2.3m dome, the NextDome is 2.2m and the ScopeDome is a 3m design. I liked the extra space, I liked the rotating design and I liked the software and hardware intergration with the ScopeDome. The importer and local support is based in Melbourne too so that was an advantage in my mind.
I went with a fully automated ScopeDome 3m which is supplied as a kit with every component required for full automation tested and ready to go. The support from Steve and the quality of everything is excellent. Building the dome itself took 2 full days and then another 2 full days of commissioning, configuration, testing and calibration. No single step of the process is difficult, the documentation is quite good, the support is excellent but it’s still an involved process. Going in to the details could be a huge thread of its own.
If you’re going to build a ScopeDome feel free to get in touch an I’ll give you my tips.
If I did it again and I was building on the right property somewhere very dark I’d consider a roll off with room for a number of piers however building one serious astro photography setup is expensive enough! If I wanted another dome I wouldn’t hesitate to go with ScopeDome again.