observatory size?

[Garyh]

Hi Folks..
I thought I would ask a question on how small or large to go for a small observatory to house my little newt and extras in.. Need enough room for a small desk and a pc and a shelf or two.. as long as there is enough room to get around the scope I would be happy.....and to upgrade later..
I am on a budget for this so was thinking 2.4m x 2.4m... Would this be too small?
Thanks for any advice....
By the way I was thinking of a roll of roof design...
Cheers and thanks.........

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Gary,

The best way to discover the size you need is to set up a mock observatory.

Set up your scope, desk, shelves etc where you would like them to be and measure how much space they take up. If you set it all up in a small room you'll be suprised how quickly the amount of space vanishes.

[leon]

My roll away observatory is only 1.5 x 1.5 square, it houses a G11 on a 300mm pier, and Takahashi 106, it has shelves, hooks, and three adjustable lights, hooks with leads on them, a lappy shelf, a storage cabinet for all the accessories, plus other stuff.

I comfortably work around the scope getting it ready for a nights imaging, then roll her away, and i'm not a little bloke.

2.4 x 2.4 will give you ample room Gary.

Leon

[Garyh]

Now thats a good idea Ken...
Have to drift align the mount on its new pier tonight so I might box myself in and see how much room to spare...
Sounds like you have your setup perfected Leon....sounds great!!! Don`t suppose you have a pic floating around?

Yeah thought of the 2.4m x 2.4m size as is conveniant because lots of the materials come in 2.4m lengths and so minimise waste and saves extra cutting etc...just a thought....

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Gary,

Height is something to be aware of too.

If you make a rool-off roof, but want to keep yourself protected from the elements, you'll need to make a section of the roof non roll-off for cover, or you'll end up with dew all over yourself and your desk, shelves etc.

But, height is a major factor. If you make the walls high enough for you to stand under your section of roof, the scope may not be able to see over the walls for lower objects. If you make the walls low enough for the scope, you may not have enough head room for yourself. If you are handy at building, you can get around this by having the roll-off section include part of the wall too.

Something like this:

[jase (Jason)]

I think you need to determine what your long term astronomy goals are before considering observatory size and design. I'd recommend reading the following link - http://www.homedome.com/athome.pdf

[leon]

Hi Gary, although the set up with the scopes have changed the pier is still there, so this will give you some idea of what it looks like

Leon

[Garyh]

Thanks Ken and Jase and Leon, thanks for the pics Leon... I like the idea of the second pier on the outside deck for unobstructed viewing...
The roll off walls and roof is a good idea but I might stick with just a simple sliding roof, easier for me to make and not stuff up..lol...my 2.4m sq would be a little small after some testing out last night. enough room for a scope but not a desk, pc etc..maybe a 3m x 2.4m would be just about right!
Thanks guys for the great suggestions and pics...time to plan and get the foundations down..
Cheers

[bluescope]

I have a 3x2.4m shed which I am going to convert as soon as I have somewhere else to store some things presently in the shed. I bought it from "The Shed Man". I looked at lots of different designs and settled for mine because the roof design actually joins at the gable peak in the centre. The double sliding doors make for easy access and the roof has ventilation slits built in to allow cooling.
At the moment there is a foldout sofa bed lots of boxes and a filing cabinet with computer etc on top in one corner so there should be plenty of room. My 10inch newt mounted on eq6 fits within the height of the gable with a couple of inches to spare. I store my eq6 in the shed for now for easier setting up instead of carrying it down from the house, I only move it about four feet to my viewing position. It will be nice when I don't have to move it at all.

[higginsdj]

I have my 14" LX200GPS on Giant field tripod + Computer equipment + storage shelves permanently mounted in a 2m x 1.8m Tin Shed with roll off roof. It all depends on how comfortable you want to be!

Cheers