(This website is currently under construction)
Alberio Observatory is named after the double star Beta Cygni, or Albireo. Through a telescope the larger of its two suns shines with a golden hue, while the smaller glows sapphire blue, and the contrasting colors create quite a beautiful display. To the naked eye, Albireo appears as a single star at the head of the Cygnus the Swan, or the foot of the Northern Cross, depending on which asterism you prefer. The name itself seems to be a mistranslation from Latin and Arabic.
The observatory’s main structure is a twelve-and-a-half foot diameter Galavalume dome manufactured by Lancaster Domes. The design of the dome was based on an Ash dome and I think it was manufactured back in the 1990’s. It was said to be a prototype for a dome built for one of Lancaster’s big customers. I purchased it unassembled in 2012 and had it stored until we moved to our current property in 2021. Actual construction of the dome itself finally began in 2023.
Construction is still ongoing as I’ve discovered some parts for the dome were missing, which slowed down construction considerably. Some parts, such as the shutter flashing around the opening, was fabricated by a local machine shop, which took several months. Other parts, specifically the shutter “garage door” tracks and the shutter rail spacers, will have to be made by me. Each of the spacers has turned out to be more or less unique, so I have to make them as I go, and I have been unable to find any company that can bend the tracks for the shutters, so I’ll be doing that myself, too.
