Observatory placement - pool & chimney worries

[graemlourens]

Hi guys.

My observatory is arriving in 3 weeks (can't wait it...) and i have to decide where to place it.

I have a perfect spot, already flat & stable cement around 15 meters from the house but i have 2 worries:

- There is a large pool (6m x 3m x 1.2m) right next to where i'm planning on putting the observatory (also on the cement, see picture below), It will be heated in fall & spring (in winter we store it).

Even if its covered, will this radiate a lot of heat and obstruct viewing (only imaging, no visual)?

- The house is located around 15 meters away from the area. We are heating with cole, the chimney is high up on the roof, but i'm worried that this will also be cause for obstruction of viewing.

Has anybody had issues with this or does the wind disappate this heat very fast?

I have another 1000m2 further to the back, but i would not like to go too far away from the house, mainly because of security reasons, but also electricity & internet supply gets more difficult when you're in the 100m distance area.

I am readying a lot about placement of observatories, but obviously every situation is different.

Would love to hear your thoughts. Once built this thing is not moveable except with a costly disassembly

Regards, Graem

[Tinker1947]

Southern views are better followed by Eastern as this give you the rise of constellations so they can be followed across the sky, heat from a chimney will dissipate the smoke though could be a problem, just don't image in that direction...Good luck

[graemlourens]

Hi Tinker.

Thx, there is no real smoke, as we've got special cole that prevents excessive smoke buildup.

East / North / West is totally clear (above 20deg). South until Southwest there is one big tree, limiting 50 degrees upwards, its very bad, as this will give me very little to no hours on south-objects, but the downfalls to moving it further away of the tree seem to be to be worse, but maybe could trimm the tree, allowing me 10-20 degrees further down in future.

Will the surrounding concrete where the obsy is placed be a problem due to keeping the heat? We will be refurbishing the concrete top as well as painting it white so will reflect most of the sunlight so it does not build up too much heat.

Regards, Graem

[swag72]

Here's my thinking on it ..............

I have an obs placed on a flat roof (apparently a no no), built of bricks (another no no) surrounded by many tonnes of concrete and terracing and less than perhaps 3m from my swimming pool. It gets the full sun all day, as does the terracing and the pool.

Has it affected my imaging? I can honestly say that I don't know as I've never tried anything different.......... Does my imaging suffer? ........... I don't think so, but others may disagree!

So I say not to worry certainly about the pool and concrete - I can't speak about the chimney as I have no direct experience of that.

Hope that helps.

[JamesF]

I think the air around the pool might become more damp under some conditions, but I'd think a cheap plastic cover of some sort might deal with that.

James

[graemlourens]

Hi guys. Thx for your thoughts, very happy to hear  also about Sara's experience, that it might not be too crucial, especially at short focal lengths as i am atm.

Pool is always covered, so there should be no excessive heat buildup.

Will go and measure my angles about that damn tree in the south and simulate if its going to make problems.

I just seem to have difficulties getting a concrete company that will be able to get me the basement ring i need!

Strange, tought there would be hundreds of them close by...

Regards, Graem

[fondofchips]

If your obsy is wood construction then it will warm up in the sun anyway.  Personally I wouldn't insulate the observing room side, if it is dry then it will naturally sort out any moisture problems.

In your case though insulating the wall alongside the pool may help reduce the warming effect of the pool.

There is always a way to get round obstacles like your tree, but trying out your setup on the concrete area will sort that out.

Good luck with your build.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[graemlourens]

Thx for all your answers.

I spend 2 nights trying out the locations on the cement, and fount a space, where i still have the southern view (at least for rising objects) so i guess i'm going to settle there (marked all the spaces so i'll remember when we build!)

Concerning insulation: its a ScopeDome, so pretty well insulated by default, will be interesting to see how it copes with the humidity inside, worst case will have to have a dehumidifier running when not imaging.

I'll post a short image-story of the whole process when its delivered and built in a few weeks. 

Cant wait not having to polar align every time! A luxury that i'm paying steeply for :/

Regards, Graem

[cathalferris]

You could take a panorama of photos, and load that into stellarium, to see how various things on the horizon will affect stuff.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[graemlourens]

What a great idea! I'll do that friday first thing, will help me make a map of the horizon where my problem-zones are.