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Another IIS Member Observatory in Queensland
Hi all
There is now another member observatory on the horizon.
My wife and I have just purchased a rural property south of Warwick in Queensland and I am planning to build a small observatory there.
The property is about 8kms from the nearest town (of one thousand people). The nearest light bulb is about 3kms away. So after a few years of putting up with the light pollution on the Gold Coast, I am expecting some beautiful consistent dark skies.
I have started to plan the observatory and will probably go for a cement pier. And I like the split roll-off roof by Bluescope, so I might make an imitation.
I am so looking forward to this. And you can be sure that I will bore you all with questions and photos.
There are a few infrastructure projects that must be completed first (like a road), but I expect 2009 will be the year of my Observatory (appropriate name yet to be settled).
I already have a few questions.
Does anyone have an idea on how many private observatories are there currently operated by IIS members?
From your experience what is an "optimal" size? I was thinking of something around 3m x 3.5m, but I keep adding to it and now have something about 4m x 3.5m in mind. I want to have room for all the bits and pieces, but I don't really want to build a house.
Darrell
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