Any suggestions on a make/model?
Dome Observatory
- helicon
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Dome Observatory
Any suggestions on a make/model?
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Dome Observatory
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Re: Dome Observatory
- helicon
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Re: Dome Observatory
Thanks Henk. That's probably more than I would want to spend, but it sure does look good. There is something special about having a real dome that looks like a classic observatory. I hadn't thought of a roll-off yet, but that is more practical and I could probably build one myself. I also have a contractor on file who recently re-built one of my decks for less than $10k, so I could ask him as well.SkyHiker wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 3:39 pm BTW without automation, are you not better off with a roll off observatory? With manual scopes, you have to first move the dome then the scope so you can't easily surf around the sky. To me that would be annoying. And for the Dob you need something with low walls. Now of course if you want to use this for AP in the future, that's a different story.
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- helicon
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Re: Dome Observatory
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- Bigzmey Online
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Re: Dome Observatory
Most of obsies in our club have roll off roofs, manual or motorized. The most popular design has two rails (marked by the arrow in the pic below) and the roof slides on rollers.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Delos, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
- Bigzmey Online
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Re: Dome Observatory
If you ever decide to sell your house odd features like domed obsy may turn some byers off, obsy with roll off roof is basically a well built garden shed or a man cave with sun roof.helicon wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 4:05 pmThanks Henk. That's probably more than I would want to spend, but it sure does look good. There is something special about having a real dome that looks like a classic observatory. I hadn't thought of a roll-off yet, but that is more practical and I could probably build one myself. I also have a contractor on file who recently re-built one of my decks for less than $10k, so I could ask him as well.SkyHiker wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 3:39 pm BTW without automation, are you not better off with a roll off observatory? With manual scopes, you have to first move the dome then the scope so you can't easily surf around the sky. To me that would be annoying. And for the Dob you need something with low walls. Now of course if you want to use this for AP in the future, that's a different story.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Delos, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
- helicon
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Re: Dome Observatory
That's true. I'd have to sell it to an astronomy professor at Cal or some Ph.D. who works at the Space Sciences Lab (which is about 1.5 miles from my house). Even then they don't look through telescopes very much so even that is probably off the table.Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 9:16 pmIf you ever decide to sell your house odd features like domed obsy may turn some byers off, obsy with roll off roof is basically a well built garden shed or a man cave with sun roof.helicon wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 4:05 pmThanks Henk. That's probably more than I would want to spend, but it sure does look good. There is something special about having a real dome that looks like a classic observatory. I hadn't thought of a roll-off yet, but that is more practical and I could probably build one myself. I also have a contractor on file who recently re-built one of my decks for less than $10k, so I could ask him as well.SkyHiker wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 3:39 pm BTW without automation, are you not better off with a roll off observatory? With manual scopes, you have to first move the dome then the scope so you can't easily surf around the sky. To me that would be annoying. And for the Dob you need something with low walls. Now of course if you want to use this for AP in the future, that's a different story.
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- John Fitzgerald
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Re: Dome Observatory
No good deed goes unpunished.
- helicon
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Re: Dome Observatory
Just checked out the website (OptCorp came up as a dealer). Price around $6300, not bad! Of course I'd have to build a deck below it. The most tree-free part of the yard is the eastern section which has about a 15 degree slope. The flat parts (yard to the west) are too shrouded by trees (oak, redwood, etc.) to be practical. Front yard also is flat but then I'd have to erect a privacy fence, I guess.John Fitzgerald wrote: ↑Mon May 31, 2021 7:21 pm You could try the ExploraDome. Some of us on here already have one, myself included. I built my ExploraDome on its own self contained deck in 2009, and moved it to its present location in one piece in 2013.
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Dome Observatory
No good deed goes unpunished.
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