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.
I used to look at the ads for the Sirius 2.3 metre dome and think they were too small. However when I built a new house I changed my mind and built a small observatory using the Sirius dome on a purpose built "garden shed" 2.4 metres square.
This houses my 12" LX200 GPS on a permanent pier, computer, spare telescope, some other junk and a crane that plumbs the pier to remove and replace the scope. There is still room to use the scope with visitors present.
I settled for the dome because I only need to open the portion necessary to view the section of sky of interest. This keeps the extraneous light at bay.
The project was done in about three weekends.
Week one:-
Form work for the floor/base. My concreter finished it during the week. Ordered the Dome. and the colourbond cladding.
Week two:-
Gave the floor two weeks to cure. Ordered the timber for the frame at the local timber yard in lengths suitable for cutting with minimal waste. The Timber man said would I prefer it cut out of scraps. I said yes so it was all cut exactly to size for $5. Saved me a lot of cutting. Took it home and assembled the four frames and erected them over the week end. I even cut down an old door to suit. Also picked up the colourbond sheets and screwed them to the frame.
During the week I made the metal pieces for the roof and fitted them. I then scribed a circle on the roof and cut it out for the dome mounting ring.
Week three:-
Picked up the dome and assembled it, fitted the mounting ring and two of us easily lifted the dome onto the ring. Finished the painting, installed a tempory pier (it is still there after 9 years). Installed the computer, Mounted my LX200 10" and was ready for action.
Hi Darrell,
Why don't you come along to our next Leyburn weekend at the end of the month. If you came out on the Saturday you could get a good look at the 6 observatories built there and they will no doubt give you some good ideas. The best idea I have built into mine (3 x 3 meter) is a small warm / control / mozzie room and this has caught on among others who have since built them. If interested PM me with a contact no. Leyburn is not far from Warwick and about 2.5 hrs from Gold Coast. Nice day trip and you get to meet some friendly like minded people.
PeterM.
My obs is 3x2.4m with the mount slightly off centre so I have one end for computer desk etc with a curtain hung between the two sections for a bit of light control from monitor. I think it would depend a little on what mount you're going to use i.e. fork or equatorial ... an equatorial requires a bit more manouvering space ... also what size is your largest scope ... my 10inch Newt is 1.2m long and fits well inside my obs.
I don't keep anything in the obs other than my mount and old desktop computer ... my scopes, camera and other bits and pieces live in the house ... better temp control and more secure.
Congratulations on your new dark sky site ... you'll love it mate ! Look forward to photos.
Hi Darrell,
Why don't you come along to our next Leyburn weekend at the end of the month. If you came out on the Saturday you could get a good look at the 6 observatories built there and they will no doubt give you some good ideas. The best idea I have built into mine (3 x 3 meter) is a small warm / control / mozzie room and this has caught on among others who have since built them. If interested PM me with a contact no. Leyburn is not far from Warwick and about 2.5 hrs from Gold Coast. Nice day trip and you get to meet some friendly like minded people.
PeterM.
Any chance of a photo of the little warm room Peter ... I've been thinking of something more substantial than my curtain setup.
Well the first infrastructure project is complete - the 360 metres of fencing between me and the "neighbour". I hope this stops the cows from using my equipment when I am not there. (They never pack things away properly.) And by the way, the neighbour did the fencing, not me.
Picture attached. This is the view to the south.
Peter
Just had a look at where Leyburn is. Yeh, its not far from Warwick. Is Leyburn where the SAS meet when not at Pimpama? I might try and get there for the next meeting. What is the date?
I hadn't really thought of a separate room, but I imagine I will appreciate the facility in winter.
Bluescope
I will be using an equatorial mount. I currently have an 8inch newtonian, but I would like to get a 10 inch in the near future. I figure I could still have this off-centre. It would give me a few more options for the rest of the room, especially considering the inclusion of a warm room.
Hi Steve,
Here goes,
What I did was (Southern end) section off & frame 1.2meters of the Eastern wall of the observatory running diagonally from East to West, coming back to about 800mm on the Western side next to my main observatory door. This gave me plenty of room to fit my Desk (1.2w x 880mm deep) 2 LCD monitors (wall mounted), DVD/TV/Stereo (above desk) the 2 laptop computers, some mood lighting, a weather station, did I miss anything? Oh yeah a telephone. Inside the observatory I put in a frame about 180mm below the height of the walls. I then put 15mm panelling across that frame as a roof, this gives me extra storage space above me. I soon got used to ducking when I go in there - I sit in a chair anyways. 12mm wall panelling extends from the Eastern wall to where you see the curtain. The curtain material (stapled to the frame above) forms the door to the warm room and is heavy stage curtaining (you can buy it in spotlight), it keeps the warmth in winter (from screens, computers etc) and the mozzies out in Summer (I have a fan, as well as a bookshelf behind where I sit). The scope is a 12inch LX200R with a dew shield and yes there is plenty of room for it to do a 360 rotate. The internal framing also adds substantial strength to the observatory structure.
Ok, it looks like mission control (the Tardis) but everything has its function and is only lit up here for effect. I spend a lot of time down there (104 nights last year) so I want creature comforts. I know a few who have built in a separate window between them and the scope but the curtain is all I need. Sure, I can control it all from in the house if I wanted (and I don't at this stage) this is like having your own home theatre in the backyard.
Hope this is of some use.
PeterM.
Hi Darrell,
Yes, some SAS members (and other friends) do head out to Leyburn - next is on the 27-29th March. Our meetings are at Pimpama, next one is this Saturday 14th, the main item being astro image. If you go to Leyburn (I can't - sons 21st) look up Ray, Kevin or Mark . Your property looks great.
PeterM.
G,day Darrell,,,you certainly have a beautiful outlook for an observatory there,,,I also live in a rural setting,,don't know why everyone complains about streetlights and such,,,i can't see any,,,,,Ahhh how's the serenity,,, MAT
Hi Steve,
Here goes,
What I did was (Southern end) section off & frame 1.2meters of the Eastern wall of the observatory running diagonally from East to West, coming back to about 800mm on the Western side next to my main observatory door. This gave me plenty of room to fit my Desk (1.2w x 880mm deep) 2 LCD monitors (wall mounted), DVD/TV/Stereo (above desk) the 2 laptop computers, some mood lighting, a weather station, did I miss anything? Oh yeah a telephone. Inside the observatory I put in a frame about 180mm below the height of the walls. I then put 15mm panelling across that frame as a roof, this gives me extra storage space above me. I soon got used to ducking when I go in there - I sit in a chair anyways. 12mm wall panelling extends from the Eastern wall to where you see the curtain. The curtain material (stapled to the frame above) forms the door to the warm room and is heavy stage curtaining (you can buy it in spotlight), it keeps the warmth in winter (from screens, computers etc) and the mozzies out in Summer (I have a fan, as well as a bookshelf behind where I sit). The scope is a 12inch LX200R with a dew shield and yes there is plenty of room for it to do a 360 rotate. The internal framing also adds substantial strength to the observatory structure.
Ok, it looks like mission control (the Tardis) but everything has its function and is only lit up here for effect. I spend a lot of time down there (104 nights last year) so I want creature comforts. I know a few who have built in a separate window between them and the scope but the curtain is all I need. Sure, I can control it all from in the house if I wanted (an I don't at this stage) this is like having your own home theatre in the backyard.
Hope this is of some use.
PeterM.
Geez looks a bit flash for my humble shed ... thanks for posting the pics and rundown mate ... it's always good to see other people's ideas.
Well the first infrastructure project is complete - the 360 metres of fencing between me and the "neighbour". I hope this stops the cows from using my equipment when I am not there. (They never pack things away properly.) And by the way, the neighbour did the fencing, not me.
Picture attached. This is the view to the south.
Bluescope
I will be using an equatorial mount. I currently have an 8inch newtonian, but I would like to get a 10 inch in the near future. I figure I could still have this off-centre. It would give me a few more options for the rest of the room, especially considering the inclusion of a warm room.
Darrell
Looks good Darrell ... now what's to the east, west and north.
You will fit a 10inch no worries ... as I say mine fits in with room to spare and my obs is 2.4m deep so there's still room to get past if you need to. I don't tend to move around much when I'm in the observatory imaging anyway and I don't have visitors.
Here are the views North, East, West. I am fairly pleased with the views. Well, a bit of an understatement there.
Mat, I agree. I can't complain about streetlights. I have to drive nearly 5kms to see one. And wow, the quietness. Unbelievable. My first night out there, my ears were ringing in the silence.
Welcome to the Country Gentleman Class
It looks really nice a few of us looked around there quite a few years ago to set up a South East Queensland observatory site for the clubs, but nothing came of it
Ah yes, the nights we spent at Mt Colliery just outside Warwick in the 80s. Some nights we were nearly blown over, others were just stunning. And it got bloomin as cold as. Yes Darrell, you will need that warm room.
PeterM.
Here are the views North, East, West. I am fairly pleased with the views. Well, a bit of an understatement there.
Mat, I agree. I can't complain about streetlights. I have to drive nearly 5kms to see one. And wow, the quietness. Unbelievable. My first night out there, my ears were ringing in the silence.
Darrell
Looks even better now that I see the whole panorama ... you should be well pleased ... and you've even got green grass at this time of year.
Peace and quiet ... fresh air ... dark skies ... what more could you ask for.
Have you got a house on the block or is that coming later ?
My wife and I have spent nearly 2 years looking around for a suitable pice of land. We have looked between the Gold Coast down to Uki in NSW and out to a litle west of Warwick. We ended up buying this 37 acres.
There are no buildings on the property at all. There is one dam. Now that the fence is up, there will still be a dozen or so kangaroos I guess. The number varies all the time. And at last count there were a few koalas.
At the moment we camp when we go out there. I am on leave in April, and have plans to start building then. Small cabin and garage first, then the observatory.
,,,,Ahhh how's the serenity,,,
... thanks for posting the pics and rundown mate ... it's always good to see other people's ideas.
And wow, the quietness. Unbelievable. My first night out there, my ears were ringing in the silence.
a few of us looked around there quite a few years ago to set up a South East Queensland observatory site for the clubs, but nothing came of it
