Observatory

The Backyard Country Observatory
Constructed Spring 2014

Observatory closed

Observatory Opened

The telescope in the home position points at the lightbox when the building is closed

The Telescope an 8'' inch schmidt cassegrain on a Celestron AVX. Mount with an Orion Autoguider

Construction photos

The first thing was to pour a concrete pear, its about 4' feet in the ground and the top plate is leveled. Then it was time to build the tracks the wheels rolls on.

Here's the wheel skirts the building sits on with 2'' inch caster wheels 6 total. There is a wheel skirt skirt on both sides. The wheel skirts keeps the building from going off the track when the building is in motion.

Now the frame work is added onto the wheel skirts.

Getting the roof completed, I used shingles, I decided to install a wind turbine exhaust vent instead of a exhaust fan. On the far right image you can see I added a guide boards circled in red, they keep the bottom part of the front walls from spreading apart while the building is in motion, due the fact that there is no front wall.

Getting the plywood on the walls. I used vinyl siding.

I made 4 metal rods, these rod go through the Observatory wall and the deck two on each side. These rods prevent the building from rolling back in high winds, and keeps strong thunder storms from blowing the building over. So far up to date the strongest winds guest are 70mph that the observatory has handled. Here is an screenshot from my smart phone of the storm with 70mph winds and base ball size hail reported.
Later I installed a metal plate under each wheel when the building is closed, the weight of the building was making indents were the wills set making it bumpy when its time to open it up.

I added outside vents on the overhang, and one at the bottom of each doors. These vents let air in the building to help keep the telescope ambient temp when ready to stargaze and imaging. There is a total of eight vents, each has a steel mesh on the back to keep insects out.

For the electricity I dug a trench using a spade shovel, (130' feet). The Electrical wire is in a pvc pipe berried in the trench. I use a flexable 12 guage cord to power the observatory plugins only when the observatory is opened, I plug the cord int an outlet on the floor to the outlet on the wall that gives power to an outlet for the heat box, laptop, and lights, the telescope power strip mounted on the concrete pier always has power to it.

After a few years of the boards getting worn from the building moving back and forth it was time for a better solution.
I purchased flat wielding steel 1/8 4'ft 2" inches I used a palm router adjusted the depth of the steel counter sunk the screws. Now the observatory wheels roll a steel track which is easier and smoother to move.

In 2018 I upgraded the wheels from the rubber casters too cast iron casters. The seasions changings from hot too cold, the rubber got brittle and the weight of the building just cracked the rubber casters one of the collapse.