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Octagonal Observatory


m.tweedy

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13 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

Michael, Thanks!!

I used the "Canopus 320" which I built in the late 70's for visual SN work. I checked hundreds of charts for Gregg Thompson and the "Supernova Search Charts"

I could get 15.5 mag limit from 15Km north of the city of Melbourne Australia.

Haaaa those were the days!!

 

SNChart_1365small.jpg

I think what used to be achieved remarkable and the dedication involved staggering. Giants are standing on my shoulders. ;-) 

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23 minutes ago, m.tweedy said:

Or in my case you employ a Carpenter as i have neither the skills or the physical ability (back bolted) since my operation.

I'm sure it was an interesting and unusual project for him. It would be interesting to know in approximate terms how much the cost of doing it this way compares with buying a ready made observatory. 

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46 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

I'm sure it was an interesting and unusual project for him. It would be interesting to know in approximate terms how much the cost of doing it this way compares with buying a ready made observatory. 

A lot more expensive. Its the shape that created a lot of waste. However that is what it took for it to be approved I could have bought a Pulsar 2.2 metre dome and put cladding around the base cheaper. About £4k in total.

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19 minutes ago, m.tweedy said:

A lot more expensive. Its the shape that created a lot of waste. However that is what it took for it to be approved I could have bought a Pulsar 2.2 metre dome and put cladding around the base cheaper. About £4k in total.

Ooooh!  I vaguely thought it might come out about half as much as for a Pulsar observatory alone. Mind you, the total cost of a Pulsar 2.2m observatory, with pier, drives, installation etc, is in the region of £6k.  That's not including the base. 

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1 hour ago, Ouroboros said:

Ooooh!  I vaguely thought it might come out about half as much as for a Pulsar observatory alone. Mind you, the total cost of a Pulsar 2.2m observatory, with pier, drives, installation etc, is in the region of £6k.  That's not including the base. 

Mine has no drives. Purely 1 Michael power to turn it. Gas struts from a Zafira lift the lid.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Really nice project you have there! :)

If i understood good, you're using a winch to help you with the heavy front hatch, and you take it off and on every time? Have you considered using electric actuators for opening and closing the hatch instead?
This worked very well for me at least, and if there's one thing i don't want to do at 5am in -15c after a long night with no sleep, it's to do any physical work... :)

Curious though, with that aperture, for roughly how long do you estimate can you image/view before you need to rotate it to it's "next position"?
 

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I have made a light weight hatch that i can manage. The heavy one will only be put in place if the Observatory is not going to be used for a period of time. It needs to be removable due to the close proximity to the shed and fence. Regarding rotation i would guess about 60 minutes however as i have not yet done any imaging i am only guessing. I will update when i know exactly. I hope to do most of my imaging through the WO GT81 that is being attached shortly. Larger object in the refactor and small PN and the liekes in the C11. (in theory).

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