Building a Home Observatory Many astronomers know exactly what it’s like to spend an hour or more setting up their mount and telescope, aligning finders, cameras, and guiders, then taking a few hours for exposing the film or observing, and then at least another hour disassembling the entire setup. Many astronomers also know what it’s like to spend two hours getting set up only to have the sky cloud over. We can all agree it would be nice to have everything set up, eliminating the need to assemble or disassemble the setup. Enter the home observatory. Astronomers who have the funds necessary may decide to build themselves an observatory and create a permanent setup for their scope. There are many options. It is possible to design and build the observatory yourself or use SkyShed’s plans to build a flip roof or rolloff roof observatory. SkyShed also manufactures the POD, an alternative to the conventional dome-topped observatory. The POD is installed around a telescope with an insulated plastic shield and optional bays for more space. In 2013, a new alternative was released, the AstroCloset. This small closet surrounds the telescope and rolls off so the scope has a clear view of the sky. It contains shelves to house equipment, computers, and other accessories. No matter what design you choose, there are many considerations to make. It is important to be sure the temperature is not too extreme. Using a POD or AstroCloset, insulation is provided, so this is not too much of a problem, but using a SkyShed Rolloff roof design or a unique design, it is necessary to devise some way of blocking out heat and cold unless you are willing to place a heater and an air conditioner inside the observatory. Power is also important. Unless doing things the old fashioned way, with a non-powered mount, no autoguider, a film camera, and no computer, power is necessary to run the observatory. If using a dome-topped observatory, the dome even requires power to stay in sync with the telescope. It is important to put at least two or three outlets on the observatory and to invest in a high-quality surge protector, especially if you plan to use a computer in the field. Many astronomers build their observatories at remote sites, either to host star parties for their astronomy club or friends, or because they are invested in CCD astrophotography and need a dark sky site. If this is the case, protection is also important. Unfortunately, equipment is not safe from burglars when it is by itself. Building an observatory is a difficult and expensive task. It requires space, money, and time, and it must be planned correctly. In some neighborhoods, observatories are not even allowed, so lack of planning can mean spending money on materials and then not being able to use them. However, if done correctly, an observatory can remove the difficult part of astronomy.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:04:03 +0000
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