A Home Built Observatory

I just happened to see THIS on the internet and figured many of you would also enjoy learning about this.

That's a cool video.

I have several friends who own observatories.

Most tend to go with the more affordable and basic "roll off roof" design. This design looks like a basic back yard shed... except the back usually has a couple of rails running twice the length. The whole roof is on a track (like garage door track) and it rolls back leaving the entire roof open to the air.

The downside of this design is that on a breezy night, the wind will curl around the tops of the walls and blow things around inside.

That may not sound like that big of a deal, but if you have a large telescope, it doesn't take much wind to wobble the big optical tube and that means blurred images.

The other major design (and the design in your vide) is the typical "dome" with a shutter. What's interesting about these is that it really doesn't get breezy inside the observatory even if it's fairly window outside ... even with the shutter open. The shutter doesn't really allow much air flow to come "in" unless there's also a way for the air to go "out". So I've noticed that if I open the lower door of the observatory, it will get breezy inside. But if I close the lower door (the door through which people enter & exit) then it deprives the wind of a way to escape and even in "windy" conditions outside, you barely feel any breeze "inside" (the dome protects the optical tube from the force of the wind). This means the optical tube is stable and free of vibrations.

The downside of the dome is is twofold... (a) they cost more and (b) they aren't normally automated unless you buy that automation as an upgrade (making it even more expensive). The automated dome will continue to rotate to keep the shutter aligned to the telescope. Otherwise as the scope tracks, the telescope will start looking at the inside roof instead of having a view through the open shutter (I've made this mistake more than once... the observatory that I use has motors to control the large dome, but they aren't automated... I have to to use a switch to nudge the dome along from time to time as I image.) Automation isn't an issue for roll-off roof styles because the entire roof is open (the scope can see the entire sky... not just a section of it through an open shutter slot).

With scopes that have smaller optical tubes the wind isn't a big deal. I have a 14" SCT and it doesn't take much wind (maybe 7-8mph breeze is enough) and the whole optical tube starts to behave like a sail and gets pushed around unless it's protected from wind.

Thank you for the great information TC!

I can't afford an observatory, so mine is covered concrete pier in my field.

I'd like to eventually build a wooden deck around and raise it up and put up some walls and covers to block wind, maybe eventually a manual roll-off-roof or slide-off-roof, nothing huge, would be nice. This I can afford as I can get the raw material and do it myself slowly.

I like the idea of the pre-made domes too, like the POD systems, but the cost is prohibitive to me right now. They're costly enough but add shipping and it's a $3k+ investment, plus whatever its sitting on (a few hundred more).

The other issue is I want to move in the next 5 years or so. So I don't want to heavily invest into a structure just yet. My long term goal is to have my island house and put a pier in on my upper deck and a little outhouse style shed to cover what's on it. I have no plans of going massive on the scopes, as I mostly do solar, biggest scope I plan to ever really fool with realistically is a 9.25" SCT, the rest will are refractors.

Sigh...

So, my "observatory" is this simple little setup on my 5 acres of dark sky in the boonies of West Central Florida. It's a concrete pier (10" diameter pier, 1300lbs of concrete including the base that goes 3 feet into the ground) with my Sirius mount permanently attached on top via steel leveling plates, covered with a TG365 cover.

The little covered thing on the far left near my pump shed is my observatory in the rain.

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Inspeqtor wrote in post #18366504
I just happened to see THIS on the internet and figured many of you would also enjoy learning about this.

Out in W. Texas especially in the McDonalds Observatory section there are many of these type domes observatories . Even the town I live in has a couple in a certain section of the city . They are very popular for those that can afford them but around Ft.Davis anyone that owns land can afford one of these Some even have two . Don't know who all they are but i'm guessing some may have connections with the observatory . I do know a couple that have no connections but moved there especially for the reason they built the observatory which is some of the darkest skies in Texas and because there is contract agreements with towns within 50 miles about the city lights . Porch lights all have to have box covers and can only point downward , street lights are only so tall , use a cover also and no LED lights allowed and they are on the tallest peak in Texas . All makes since . Only problem is Mexico has a coal factory across the border farther south and sometimes when the wind is out of that direction it looks like a fog over the over country side especially at night . Government has not been successful at working with that part of the country . Otherwords they just don't care .

I ran across this one for sale in Florida if anyone's looking http://www.floridahome​observatory.com/home-observatory-02.htm

Wow! I can only imagine.

Very best,