[Alchemy (Clive)]

Roll away building observatory
Having an observatory, makes astronomy a much more pleasurable pursuit, no more days of carrying all the gear outside, waiting for sunset to close in, spending a considerable amount of time doing a polar alignment ..... Only to have the clouds roll in as soon as you are ready to go. Then having to spend another hour carting it all back in again.
I have had a roll off roof observatory, which had it's positive and negative points, some you don't think about until it's built, the realization at that comet low on the horizon is not available, but it did provide considerable shelter against wind. However the shifting in of new neighbors and four floodlights shining towards my location made it in my opinion no longer worthwhile.
The telescope and mount plus considerable other bits and pieces made it's way into the lounge room, where it remained whilst I decided whether to give it all away and do something else, or build another.
9 months passed by before I made a move, I finally decided that astrophotography was still something I enjoyed doing,( plus the lady of the house wasn't overly fond of it cluttering up the house) and set about designing another home for my gear. The new observatory needed to have the following
• A small footprint, due to council regulations , smaller than 10 m2 needs no permit
• To view objects to the north at a lower altitude
• To have view of the SCP for alignment proceedures
• Generally good view of the sky
• Protection from neighbors lights
• Able to house all the computer equipment, under cover during imaging
• Enough room to maneuver around the scope
• Centrally located in a secure position
• Solid, weatherproof
• Easy to build
A roll away building fitted the criteria, however the design needed to more than just a box, something just a little different but not too complex to build... Curves were out.
Once you go into angles timber loses some of its simplicity and needs reinforcing or bracing, so a steel frame was chosen
A basic hexagon design was settled upon, a basic square floor with enough room to walk around was built, encompassing the old mount base..... Left over from days prior to having a permanent location, setup separately to the floor to enable movement around the scope.
50mm box tubing provides the frame, with 75mm box for the lower rails, I had it made offsite professionally so it was square and welded properly. Once it got so heavy that moving it was beginning to be a challenge I had it brought onsite, 12 wheels were welded to the base and mounted on rails attached to the floor. Extra steel was welded in to provide shelving and a doorway. The doorway being large enough to for the scope to fit through.
From this point a suitable material was needed to cover the frame, I wanted to use checker plate aluminum, but thermally it's not practical without insulation, similar for any sheet metal, so structural plywood was chosen. Painted properly it will provide some thermal stability, waterproof, and strong enough to walk across. It may need extra ventilation once summer gets here....... To be investigated later.
Painted a color bond green to blend in, underground power and computer cabling to enable operations to be monitored inside the house. Boat carpet for a cleanable floor. Install the scope and mount.Shelving enables the monitor to be housed at a convenient height, plus other bits.
Functional......its not lightweight, but it's maneuverable and does the job nicely.
Pics provided. Hope it gives some ideas for others.