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Observatory Ordered

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A Sirius 7.5-foot observatory configured in the same way as our on-order structure. The base, however, is expected to be much larger. Photo via the manufactuerer

We started the month of August out by {finally} placing our order for a Sirius 7.5-foot observatory. The fiberglass structure will arrive in kit form, to be assembled on-site. We should be able to do most of the work ourselves but may need to hire muscle to lift the dome into place! In the meantime, I’m looking to contract with a landscaper to prepare the build site. We’ve something unique in mind — a hardscape patio, of sorts, that will form a base for the observatory. If and when the observatory eventually needs to be removed, the remaining base will be a paver-style patio with the telescope’s pier foundation serving as mounting point for a fire feature or table! We think it’s pretty clever. We also think it will be expensive. We’ll see what we can actually do!

Work has begun

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An electrician works on the conduit run from the house to the shed. The metal conduit runs through a trench dug for that purpose.

UPDATE: On July 31 we received the approved Building Permit which gives us the go-ahead on the project. The observatory kit — it’s delivered as a ready-to-assemble set of parts — will be ordered ASAP. The purchase had to wait until the permit was issued since the purchase price is not refundable and what would have happened if the city said no???

Last week we had professional electricians run power to the shed where a warm room / control room will be set up for the observatory. For burial of the metal conduit, they dug a much wider trench than I expected and I’ll be cleaning up the earthen scar this coming week. I’ll be framing out a space within the shed for the actual control room which will be wired for electrical service.

The Building Permit Application was filed with the city last Friday — surely unique in the history of this town — so we’ll see how it goes! If the permit is approved, we’ll launch into acquisition of the observatory and preparation of the site for the structure. If the permit is denied, I’ll probably set up an open-air pier for the telescopes and run them from the control room. I expect they’ll approve it — you ought to see what people put in their back yards!

The conduit, before burial, and the shed. The end of the building with the window will be partitioned for use as the warm room / control room. The solar panel on the rooftop currently supplies weather station equipment and is, surprisingly, barely adequate to the task.

Cool old lens looks at hot old Sun

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Full disk image of Sun as it appeared at 14:45 UTC, Saturday, July 22, 2023. Color was added to make the image appear orange. Dark sunspots are scattered across the disk.

I hauled out the 1970s vintage Celestron C90 telephoto lens this morning, attached my AstroZap Baader film solar filter, and my Canon EOS 7D to quickly image Sun. I’m hoping to be able to use the compact mirror lens for quick shots such as this and for images of the Moon; trials have thus far met with mixed results. It’s a cool old lens but not as good as other gear in my current collection. The setup was mounted on a simple photographic tripod and, astro-folk will note, Sun’s orientation here is cockeyed. Once the observatory is set up and a mounted telescope put into use, we expect to see improved resolution/magnification, and won’t have to struggle with gear too heavy for the tripod! There’s a smattering of sunspots to be seen in this image along with a few other, more subtle features in the solar photosphere. Clouds rolled in soon after this image was made.