Clayton Bay Observatory

[Paul Haese]

For those interested I am nearing completion of my observatory at Clayton Bay.

Click on here (http://paulhaese.net/BuildinganObservatory.html)for the web page.

[h0ughy]

Paul what a fantastic article and congratulations - that has quality and dedication written all over it. I love the details that you showed in that as well.

[Hagar]

Looking good Paul.. Is that a street light on the pole out the front?

[tnott]

Never on, would you believe. The locals made sure the council kept the streetlights off. Went there a few weeks ago. Very dark and very, very good seeing.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys,

Yep all the lights have been switched off except 7 and they are at street junctions. Not one light is near my place. It is part of a bylaw that was enacted in 1983 or something and when a developer put in the new street lights apparently the mad locals (long before I arrived:D) shot them out and continued to do this until the council turned them off.

Incredible site with dark skies and as Tim said great seeing conditions.

I am pretty happy with how things look but need to get more of it finished.

Thanks for looking.

[Quark]

Top job Paul,

You have obviously put a great deal of thought into this project. It is just so much better with an observatory, not having to pull everything to pieces at the end of the night sure is a big advantage.

We have a Chaparral 240 Cruiser stored in a shed at The Marina Hindmarsh Island but we can only come down in school hoildays. We were last down there in Sept 2007, even then there was not enough depth for us to land at Clayton Jetty. We are pretty partial to the fish & chips at the local fish shop. When the level down at South Lakes improves enough for us to launch we will come and overnight in Clayton Bay and pay you a visit.

Regards
Trevor

[Paul Haese]

Any time Trevor, just give me a call first. I will have to drive down from Adelaide to greet you.

[Paul Haese]

Trevor you are more than welcome anytime.

You may need to give me a call before hand though. I live in Adelaide and would need to drive down.:)

[Paul Haese]

Just a small update:

Yesterday I hired a Jack Hammer and dug a trench through the limestone (about 20 meters) and put in a conduit with power cable from the house to the observatory.

Man am I sore today.

Finished about half an hour after sunset by making the last connection to the mains.

It is so nice to have permanent power instead of pulling out the lead each time. It will also mean I can start thinking about sorting remote imaging problems.

[ChrisM]

That's a smart move Paul, and I doubt you'll regret it.

I originally considered going solar/battery but then decided to bite the bullet and spend about $600 - which covered dingo hire plus materials to make the 65 metre run.

Chris

[allan gould]

Great article Paul. Is that Virgs in the first image?
Great observatory as well.