Open plan Observatory

[Saganite]

Well, not an observatory as such, more an observing area. A ROR or a dome were both non starters as our garden is quite small and a housing to accommodate a refractor 79" long, with room for me as well, would be too big. My wife was almost willing to accept the ROR, but I decided not to ' push it ', and created this area instead. The trellis, viewed from the Conservatory will fairly quickly be covered in the Passion Flower and Clematis both of which are growing vigorously. I bought some canvas type material and hung it on the inside to shield light from my house and from my neighbour's security light, which seems to be on more frequently now, sometimes all night. It all works very well, no light  visible  and is actually quite cosy, not to mention fragrant from the various planting. I now have power to the pier, and everything except the telescope is covered over with the..er..cover. I just need a plastic box in there to store the curtains during the day. The corner table for my eyepiece box, I cut from a kitchen worktop thrown out six years ago. I rarely recycle anything deemed 'possibly useful '.

It takes just a minute to carry the 5" from conservatory and locate it on the mount in the correct position, flick the switch, and away, so I am pretty happy really.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Saganite
scope is 79" NOT 69....oops !

[MarsG76]

Thats an idea... what ever is necessary to have yourself up and running in the least amount of time, and have the equipment protected from the elements when not in use and in storage...

I opted for a small 1.8 x 2 meter area for my observatory, for the same reason as you, small back yard space.... but I have a movable cover, the half of the cover rolls off the scope to reveal the sky, rolling over the other half which is lower and houses the computer. Nice and compact but does the job... of course the difference is that I'm using a compound scope so it is not even close to the length of yours and the peak height of my movable hut is 2.2meters.

[Saganite]

2 hours ago, MarsG76 said:

Thats an idea... what ever is necessary to have yourself up and running in the least amount of time, and have the equipment protected from the elements when not in use and in storage...

I opted for a small 1.8 x 2 meter area for my observatory, for the same reason as you, small back yard space.... but I have a movable cover, the half of the cover rolls off the scope to reveal the sky, rolling over the other half which is lower and houses the computer. Nice and compact but does the job... of course the difference is that I'm using a compound scope so it is not even close to the length of yours and the peak height of my movable hut is 2.2meters.

Yes, I looked at ways to do something similar to what you have done, but with such a long scope, it seemed it had to be all or nothing. I think the best advantage now apart from being able to shield from light is having instant power, that really is great, as before, I had to carry an 85 amp hr leisure battery from the garage, and that was back breaking.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Saganite

[Rob]

Looks great!. Nicely planned out, and blends perfectly into the garden.

Rob

[Saganite]

Thanks Rob.

It took very little time to do once I had decided..

[JeremyS]

This is a really neat solution well executed - and great lateral thinking! Well done!

[laudropb]

Very nice set up. It will certainly make observing easier for you. Thinking of trying something similar myself and you have given me food for thought.

[lukebl]

Very nicely done, and that's a PROPER telescope!

[Saganite]

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

This is a really neat solution well executed - and great lateral thinking! Well done!

 

3 hours ago, laudropb said:

Very nice set up. It will certainly make observing easier for you. Thinking of trying something similar myself and you have given me food for thought.

 

3 hours ago, lukebl said:

Very nicely done, and that's a PROPER telescope!

I appreciate your comments very much , Thank you.

 

Steve