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Observatory
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Friday, 02 January 2009 09:21 |
SERENITY Observatory all setup and working
S E R E N I T Y N O W !!!!!
Below are two images of the Serenity observatory actually in use. One shows the little warm room work area with the PC and a screen or two :-) with my favorite computer chair now in the obs. The other shows looking back from the workspace to the scope and power hub.
 
Modifications over time
Since the time this obs was built, I have made some minor modifications. The most significant was that for the roof truss that sits over the scope when the roof is closed. On rainy days, when adding bits to the scope or playing with various settings, I often wanted to be able to fully rotate the scope when the roof is closed. As I now have a bigger scope there was a roof truss that sits over the scope that would kinda get in the way when the roof was closed. I modified this one truss slightly to make room. I removed the horizontal cross piece from the truss and added a steel reinforcing bracket to the apex join on that truss. This allows the scope and its piggly backed ED80 to fully rotate with the roof closed without obstruction.
I never actually put in the dividing wall for the warm room. This has given me more room but no separate warm room as such. I am still considering whether I need to add this.
I also added rubber flooring. This is highly recommended. the lino flooring I originally used offerred no protection from the concrete floor when a clumsy person drops an eypiece or other component. Adding those rubber floor tiles that you can buy at camping and hardware stores, has added much comfort and safety. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 April 2010 19:38 )
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Observatory
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 00:00 |
Planning - Overview
These are the plans for the observatory in the backyard. This will save a lot of my equipment from getting wet on those cool damp nights as well as allowing me the advantages of a quick start up / alignment due to the permanent setup.
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The design has a warm room at one end keep me warm in the winter and the mossies out in the summer. The roll-off roof will roll towards the warm room end (North), so I have the option of partially opening the roof 3 quarters of the way and keeping the warm room section covered or on particularly nice nights, opening it the entire way. Rolling north has a big advantage as when solar viewing I need only open the roof far enough for the solar scope to see the sun, keeping everything else in the shade.
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Overall dimensions are 4m x 2.4m. The wall height will be just over 1.8 metres at the outside wall and 2.4m at the top of the gable.
The walls on the side are 1.9m tall, the gable roof will be at least 2.3 high in the center (maybe a bit higher to give you room to stand up properly in the obs with the roof closed and to make room for that bigger scope I will get one day). The roof was originally going to be a fold out roof, but after much consideration, I have opted for a roll off roof. The roll off is more easily constructed as a solid roof and is easier to make properly weather proof. The fold off introduced a number of issues and also was harder to open and close. The roll off can basically be opened and closed in a single action or automated at a later time.
On each of the detailed pages that follows, you can click on the images to view a larger image.
On to the next article, the Pier and Slab. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 March 2010 15:52 )
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Backyard Observatory -Pier and Slab |
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 00:00 |
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Clearing the site, preparing the form work for the concrete pier and finally having the concrete slab laid. I decided to go for a concrete pier as it as it is generally cheaper than a metal pier and I could do most of the work myself.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 March 2010 15:53 )
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Read more...
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Observatory
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 00:00 |
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Now to start erecting the frame. Its been a week after the slab when in so time for me to start building. The first step is to build a frame and also get all of the roof trusses together...
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 March 2010 15:54 )
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Read more...
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Observatory
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 00:00 |
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For this stage, I wanted to get the roof rails in and get the roof rolling. As there were only two of us working on it, the roof would be bit heavy to lift, so we originally constructed the roof in place and temporarily attached to the wall frame. This kept the structure solid and made it easy to align everything. For this next step, we simply jacked up the roof about 30cm so it gave us room to install the tracks and rollers.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 March 2010 15:55 )
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Observatory
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 00:00 |
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Now that the frame is all finished, I add the tin for the roof, Weatherboard walls and a door.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 March 2010 15:51 )
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Observatory
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Sunday, 09 November 2008 17:56 |
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Finally finished construction and painting. She is ready to roll. Over my Christmas break I also did some paving and added trimmings.
SERENITY Observatory is fully functional... S E R E N I T Y N O W !!!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 April 2010 19:32 )
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Read more...
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Serenity Observatory
