(This website is currently under construction)
The observatory is getting close to completion, and progress is ongoing, albeit sometimes slowly. The major work of building the dome is complete, but there are still many smaller tasks to finish before first light. Currently, the azimuth and shutter drive motors, actuators, limit switches and control electronics are going in. As soon as the drive system is completed, I can remove the work ladders from the observing floor and start setting up the instruments.
While this is my personal observatory, I’m hoping to be able to create some type of public outreach program once it is operational. I’m already getting comments from folks like “what is that out in your field” and “my kid would love this”, so we’ll see how it goes.
The observatory is located in a quiet, rural area of the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. The night skies are Bortle scale class 3 and we’re at an elevation of around 1120-feet, in a wide valley encompassed by ridges of over 2000 feet.
The structure is a twelve-and-a-half foot diameter Galvalume dome atop a round building with an elevated interior floor. Another larger building, about 300 feet from the dome, serves as a “warm room” and office, with both buildings interconnected electronically via a network.
My plan is to automate most functions of the observatory so it can be remotely operated. But achieving 100% remote control is not an absolute necessity since I live onsite. The main goal is to be able to control the telescopes and cameras from a classroom environment.
The instruments the dome will house are a modified Celestron C-11 XLT 11-inch f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain as the primary telescope, an Astro-Tech 6-inch f/9 Ritchey-Chretion Astrograph for deep sky imaging, and a modified Orion 80mm f/5 refractor as an autoguider scope. If it proves useful, I might also install a Coronado PST solar telescope for live views of the sun. The telescopes will be mounted on an Orion HDX-110 (Skywatcher EQ-8) heavy duty equatorial mount.
Click on the chart for more details of weather and viewing conditions.