Help & Suggestions for Observatory

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi All,

I have purchased a great piece of land (20 acres) just outside of Canberra.

(see pics)

Because of its location and position it will make an excellent dark site within short transit reach from town but with minimal/negligible town-lights effects

I plan to place an observatory to permanently house all of my equipment (apart from the TS120 which is grab n go).

I also plan to make use of the equipment available freely to interested public and schools by prior appointment/arrangement to help people evaluate this type of equipment and to help promote interest in astronomy.

However while my skills in other areas are good my construction skills really suck so looking for pointers & suggestions to help with determining which way to go with an "observatory"

I am after something neat and functional and cost effective. While a professional dome sounds great I am not really thinking along those lines.

I would have preferred a nice size shed say 6m x 6m or 8m x 8m where the roof opens or rolls off with the walls providing ideal sized wind breaks but it appears that no builders want to get involved in either a project so small or a project that they have not done like this.

So I am completely open to ideas and suggestion and any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Phil

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

What a lovely looking plot Phil, can I ask where that is? even approx? Looks like Yass way..?

Wow, so many options

....Oooooh, where to start??? I know you are thinking differently at this stage but I am certainly a dome man (I've built three now ), easy to setup (Slab or simple deck is all you need) no dew problems (I use no dew heaters on my AG12 Newt, only the three extractor fans at the back of the the OTA), wind is essentially a zero problem - sub arc sec guiding accuracy is possible even in high winds - living in the Yass/Murrumbateman area strong westerly winds are very common and before my dome many nights were basically written off due to wind.

Of course a roll off works very well for many too, so as I said, so many options - enjoy the planning and construction journey, great fun ahead

Mike

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the comments :-) Yes its in that fertile valley region out Yass way so protected from town lights but still provides fantastic views and water catchment.

Im not dead against a dome, they just seem to be quite costly for what you get.

The entire western border of my property has a fully grown pine windbreak so that cuts down significantly on the winds.

Looks like I might take a while to sort things out. Would be great to have a chat about your experiences if you want to send me a PM with contact details.

Cheers
Phil

[Paul Haese]

Hi Phil.

if you want to build a roll off roof with drive system and everything, you can follow my blue print by clicking on the link below. It is a couple of pages. Then you can get something like a gate opener from Brett (the Door Man)

Click here for link

Feel free to ask me any questions. In your case you would be using a slab, but essentially the design is similar.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi Paul,

Impressive looking job.. I like the idea of the fixed roof section as well.

Did you calculate your wall height to match polar alignment and maximum observable horizon (within reason for seeing conditions) or just go with an arbitrary wall height??

Cheers
Phil

[Paul Haese]

Just an arbitrary figure really. Now I only image from about 35 degrees up anyway.

[issdaol (Phil)]

:-)

I have probably put a bit of over thought into the height of the pier & mount relative to the "minimum useful" elevation which potentially effects the wall height.

Problem is I am not a builder so I will need to find someone with the time to help or contract it all out !!