- #1
DaveC426913
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- TL;DR Summary
- Thinking about my priorities for making a low-budget observatory for my Newt
After 30 years, I finally have enough property that I could put up a little hut for my scope.
It's just a 5" one-metre Newt, (and it's got a janky gear in the eq-mount that I haven't succeeded in fixing properly) so it would be easy to inadvertantly over-engineer and observatory for it.
I live in a small city's suburb but at least it's on the shore of Lake Ontario (45°N), so looking North I shouldn't get too much city glow.
I'm mostly into planets and the occasional comet. I don't need super-high precision and tracking (at least, I've always managed).
I'm running down my list of what I think are priorities.
I've been looking online and everyone seems to be using these Rubbermaid sheds. I'll think about that, but I need to settle on a size. (Wow. $800 for a 7x7 shed. I should spend that on a better scope! Maybe I'll build the shed myself out of wood and palettes...)
Anything I haven't thought of? Suggestions on my priority list?
It's just a 5" one-metre Newt, (and it's got a janky gear in the eq-mount that I haven't succeeded in fixing properly) so it would be easy to inadvertantly over-engineer and observatory for it.
I live in a small city's suburb but at least it's on the shore of Lake Ontario (45°N), so looking North I shouldn't get too much city glow.
I'm mostly into planets and the occasional comet. I don't need super-high precision and tracking (at least, I've always managed).
I'm running down my list of what I think are priorities.
- wind-break, obvs. It gets windy here.
- should be tall enough to block out line-of-sight lights - so I can night-acclimate, but not so tall that it obscures too much of low sky angles.
- an openable roof.
- it would be nice to use it in the winter. I will have to balance the need for heat with the inevitable distortion it will bring.
- I find it awkward to maneuver in a tight space with a Newt - always moving around to get the right angle at the eyepiece. Sometimes I have to hover over it, sometimes I have to crouch under it. So I'll need room. Or is that too much?
- I sort of need a stool. I can't crouch as the eyepiece for very long. Which means even more space.
- Geez, I hope it doesn't have to be larger than - dunno - 6-7 feet on a side?
- I don't have a solution for anchoring the scope to the ground. Maybe I'll sink a few concrete footings.
- I'm not sure if I need to raise it a few feet so's'n I can see over my own shed (which it may be tucked up next to) and nearby houses/trees.
I've been looking online and everyone seems to be using these Rubbermaid sheds. I'll think about that, but I need to settle on a size. (Wow. $800 for a 7x7 shed. I should spend that on a better scope! Maybe I'll build the shed myself out of wood and palettes...)
Anything I haven't thought of? Suggestions on my priority list?
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