Observatory Tour

 
Here are some photos of my "Observatory" in action.   The primary telescope is the Meade 12" LX 200 SCT.  I also have an Orion MAK 500 mounted piggy back on the LX 200 to serve as a "super" finder for imagining at large focal ratios.  I've also imaged through the MAK 500 from time to time when I want a larger field of view than I can achieve with the LX 200.  Although, I haven't tried a direct comparison, I suspect that the images I've obtained with the MAK 500 are similar to what you could obtain with one of the 90 mm GOTO scopes. 

I used to live in a 4-level town house about 20 miles west of Washington DC, USA.  At that time I operated the scope from my second level deck.  The light pollution there varied from moderate to severe, but I had reasonably good skies as long as the object was 20-30 degrees above the local horizon.  Most of my images were taken from the DC location.

I've also included some additional pages that show construction detail for the equatorial mount and how I attach the Starlight Express CCD.

This image shows my new location in north central Texas.  The sky is much darker here than near Washington DC.  I still get some sky glow from Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex, but compared to DC, it's pretty dark.  50 miles away vs. 20 miles away.
This photo shows the "Observatory" with the dome closed.   What you are seeing is movable roof closed over the observatory.
This is the front of the observatory showing the portion that does not move.  There are a few cows in the background, but this is Texas.  The yellow poles are 4-inch steel and are mounted in concrete.  There is also a boat winch that nicely pulls the roll-off roof forward.  
This shows the inside of the moving roof and one of the rails.  There are also four steel gate locks  to help tie it down and I've also included two 2x4 vertical "cleats" for extra tie-down strength.  With all of these attached the rolling roof is very secure.  So far it has withstood 50 mph winds with no problems.
This is the complete moving roof.  You can see the insulation and the extra steel cable diagonal bracing.  This helps keep everything square when it moves.
This photo shows the 12" LX 200 mounted on the wedge and ready for work.  The Orion MAK 500 is mounted in the home made holder constructed of oak hard wood and a PVC pipe fitting. 
 
Click Here for photos showing construction details for the Orion MAK Mount on the Home Built Page.

Click Here for photos showing how the MX-5C and JMI NGF-S work together.

This is looking into the control room from near the telescope position.  There is a small desk and chair, a computer and small access port to allow computer control cables to reach the telescope.  If it is cold out I just close the door to the observatory and stay comfy warm.
 

 
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