ARO Dome Construction - Time Lapse

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

I thought of doing a bot of a side project and have a go at time lapse photography.
Thought the construction of the dome might be an interesting subject for this experiment. The camera was setup to take 1 frame per second, over the two day construction period the total frame count was just over 5000.

I put it together using Quicktime Pro, Lightroom and iMovie.

Here is the link:

Observatory Construction - Time Lapse
ARO Dome Construction - Time Lapse Video


Thanks for Looking!

[h0ughy (David)]

pretty interesting and cool - not to mention the drool factor of the hardware used and inside

[joe_smith]

I love the way the shadows slowly creep up on you while you are working, its like an old horror film lol
It must feel good to have your own mini Keck observatory

[multiweb (Marc)]

Haha, pretty cool Mark. I was thinking why the hell do they put the scope up first but then I realised it all fits in pretty tightly. Well done. Looks like you're heading for your own mini paranal.

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

pretty interesting and cool - not to mention the drool factor of the hardware used and inside

Originally Posted by joe_smith

I love the way the shadows slowly creep up on you while you are working, its like an old horror film lol
It must feel good to have your own mini Keck observatory

Originally Posted by multiweb

Haha, pretty cool Mark. I was thinking why the hell do they put the scope up first but then I realised it all fits in pretty tightly. Well done. Looks like you're heading for your own mini paranal.

Thanks David, Joe and Marc

Yes the 20" is a very snug fit, it was far easier to build around it
The dome is usually assembled on the ground and then lifted onto the blue rotation ring. That is usually done with 4-5 people. This method was much more manageable with two people.

Looking forward to first light from the 20" that's for sure!
Its galaxy time now so the timing is perfect.

Cheers
Mark

[Ric]

Excellent timelapse Mark.

Can't help but look at those clear skies with a lot of envy.

[Virgs]

Excellent result Mark. As usual everything is well thought out before hand. Looking forward to seeing the results.

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Originally Posted by Ric

Excellent timelapse Mark.

Can't help but look at those clear skies with a lot of envy.

Thanks Ric

Originally Posted by Virgs

Excellent result Mark. As usual everything is well thought out before hand. Looking forward to seeing the results.

Thanks Tony

[Paul Haese]

Looks good, great in fact. The time lapse is a great idea.

How does the drive for the dome interact etc? Do you have any shots of this all together? Thinking of one of these domes, they look better than the Sirius domes.

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

Who manufactures the dome?

Great timelapse, great looking scope..... Awesome place to put a scope too...

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Looks good, great in fact. The time lapse is a great idea.

How does the drive for the dome interact etc? Do you have any shots of this all together? Thinking of one of these domes, they look better than the Sirius domes.

Thanks Paul, all the info you need on these domes is on their website
http://www.scopedome.com/
I have never used a Sirius dome so I cannot compare in regards to quality and reliability, but the ScopeDome fully automated is much cheaper than a Sirius dome of roughly the same size.
So far the domes have performed without any major issues, a few refinements in certain areas but nothing too major. Nothing is perfect at the end of the day.

Cheers
Mark

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Originally Posted by Astroman

Who manufactures the dome?

Great timelapse, great looking scope..... Awesome place to put a scope too...

Thanks Andrew!

Domes are manufactured by ScopeDome
http://www.scopedome.com/

Cheers
Mark

[Ric]

Hi Mark

Just wondering, do you think that your solar power will be affected by dust settling on the panels or is there enough breeze to keep them clean and efficient.

Cheers

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Originally Posted by Ric

Hi Mark

Just wondering, do you think that your solar power will be affected by dust settling on the panels or is there enough breeze to keep them clean and efficient.

Cheers

Ric,

We have had the panels in operation since Nov 2011. We have been monitoring the energy output of the solar array and there has been no degradation thus far. The charge controller has a web service which you can log into and monitir all aspects of the installation.

On the last trip we actually took a bucket and detergent so we could clean the panels, but when we inspected them they were very clean. So there was no need to get the bucket out.
I'm sure dust settles on them, but a light shower cleans that up pretty quickly.

We are very happy with the solar installation. On one dome operational our DOD (Depth of Discharge) has only been between 95-90%.
(Only 5% of battery energy used)
With both domes now running we are getting to about 80% DOD.
The less you discharge your batteries the longer their life, and at 80% capacity still available they should last 10 or more years.

Cheers
Mark

[cybereye (Mario)]

Mark,

I spent a couple of weeks at the Heathgate Uranium mine back in 2010 which is in that neck of the woods - boy do you have nice dark skies!!!

As for the dome - yes I have gone green and it's got nothing to do with the Uranium mine!!

Cheers,
Mario