Here's my observatory - if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
 Built in the Fall and Winter of 2007 - it took 2 months to complete - see the construction section for details.
 This is the current configuration – set up for imaging. My Celestron C8-N, used for visual observing is on the floor to the left.
 A number of redesigns later I settled on this method of hatch operation
 The aperture is 600mm wide - it has been more than wide enough for all angles of attack on the scopes
 I've added some wooden wall hangings that I made on cloudy days.
 When I made these planetary symbols (from lower left: Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn) I wasn't aware of their link to the alchemy and the occult - here I was just thinking the link with astronomy was cool - I've been accused of being a witch!
 This was the original set up I attempted for guided astrophotography. In this configuration one scope locks onto a faint star near your target and sends correction signals to the computerised mount to eliminate errors that creep in with the "clock-work" motors on the mount.
 I changed the configuration to mount the scopes side by side. It’s a lot easier to work with them like this. Here I was getting ready to line up the finder scopes and attempt a nights imaging - you can see the wooden rings the roof spins on here - more in the construction section.
 This is the imaging setup in operation the scope on the left is the Orion ED-80 used for capturing the main image. It has the QHY8 CCD camera attached to it at the lower end of the picture. It also has a dew heater strap around the top controlled by the unit sitting between the two scopes. The scope on the right is a general purpose 80mm refractor (ie the optics are not coated) and it’s used for guiding. The camera on it is the fantastically reliable QHY6 CCD camera – I say fantastically reliable because I haven’t once failed to find a guide star with it – they can be extremely faint near an object.
 I added another monitor (on the wall) for use in guided astrophotography as you tend to have a gagillion programs running that all seem to need attention at once.
 The main computer for the mount control is strapped to the pier, the hand controller to the right is linked to the pc via that cable right under the computer. The box is connected to the QHY8 (the 6's big brother that replaced the Canon 500d) and is used to control the temperature of the TEC (Thermal Electric Cooler) on the QHY8
 I used the head off of one of my mounts to attach the imaging setup to the wall when not in use - this makes it allot easier to swap out the scopes to do visual observing.
* I noticed early on in this hobby that the shed you put your scopes in was referred to as an "observatory" which while technically correct seemed a bit of a hoot! Not one to buck convention I maintain this practice, if slightly tonque in cheek :-)
Welford Observatory is named after our (now departed) cat Welford who in turn was named after the RAF base I served at for 10 years.
As you can see Welford took life on his back and preferably upside-down for some reason! He never ventured into the observatory but it seemed fitting to name it after a family pet.*
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Observatory |
