BUILDING AN OBSERVATORY 

Indeed!

Thank you, Leon. When you are feeling jealous just think about me shoveling endless mounds of snow.

Thank you.

Thank you, Geoffrey!

Thanks, Ollie!

Thank you. Now I have to figure out how to set up the ASCOM driver to rotate the dome in tandem with the telescope. More videos coming soon!

Thanks, Greg. I've been having to use all kinds of weird angles in my videos for the past year trying to keep the mess out of the background and the project a secret. I was able to remove the excavator from the middle of my double rainbow picture with Photoshop. I'm very happy with the observatory and it was worth all the trials and tribulations. Good luck with your fire pit/outdoor observatory! I bet Vermont is like Montana-- May is the month of mud. Thanks again.

@@tsulasbigadventures You know, I wanted to say before that I think you are amazing having been so stoic about all the anxiety you had when the observatory was being built, and the way you kept that a secret you should have been in the CIA! (Geez, you weren't, were you?!) 🤣 You're incredible, Tsula! Enjoy the heck out of that wonderful observatory.

@@gregerianne3880 Thank you, Greg. That is so kind of you to say. There were times when I thought my head was going to explode. I don't think I could get clearance for the CIA. I could not even qualify for Global Entry. Ha ha.

Thanks, Chris!

Thank you. Can't wait to use it some more.

Thanks, Craig.

Ha.

Hi Keith: The sky is nice and dark where my house is and when it's clear it's a great place for star gazing but yes, it can get very rough in the winter trying to stay warm and constantly shoveling snow to make a place to get my telescope out.

Thank you. A heating pad-- I had not thought of that. That's a great idea. Thanks.

Thanks Walter. I took one look at that installation video and knew immediately it was way over my head. And that was just clamping the rings together. You are correct about the wind. It might be 42 degrees but if there is wind you cannot stay warm especially your fingers. And the dome will provide protection against wild animals. A skunk has been coming around after dark lately. I yelled at it one time but its tail was up and so I couldn't really do anything to get rid of it for fear of being sprayed. Thanks for your kind comments on the video itself.

@@tsulasbigadventures I can understand being afraid of wild animals which might be rabid - which is why you should never let a seemingly "friendly" wild animal, like a skunk, raccoon, opossum or bat, approach you (that's how rabies spreads itself - there's an initial phase which makes the infected animal unusually sociable, the better to salivate on you) - but I've never thought of Bullwinkle, for example, as a clear and present danger. I'd enjoy living around moose - the only thing I'd worry about in your neck of the woods are brown bears (which are more aggressive than the Eastern black bear) and perhaps cougars and wolves. (Not to mention poisonous snakes and black widows and brown recluses - but we have those in the East as well, and I fear them less than I do ticks.) Also, didn't your dome equipment come with a silicone sealant? I was on the Home Dome web site and saw that a sealant was a part of the package.

@@waltergold3457 Walter: There are lots of animals around my house but they are for the most part afraid of people. The black bears are very shy and I've only seen one anywhere near the house. Poor thing was an orphan and probably starved to death. It ate my hummingbird feeder. The moose is rare. There are mountain lions. I've seen their tracks but they are very elusive. This winter the whole neighborhood was up in arms (literally) about a mountain lion that killed a deer and left the carcass in the road. I have found deer parts around the property. You ask a very pertinent question. The dome came with silicone sealant. At first I thought that the contractor had forgotten to apply the sealant but I asked him and he said he had applied it discretely to the exterior so it wouldn't look bad. I went around the exterior and found he had missed a whole section of the exterior in the back that never sees the sun. So, when the snow melted it came in through the unsealed section (I think). I then bought two more tubes of sealant and applied it around the entire perimeter at the base and also inside (although he told me that was not a good idea and might cause mold to develop if water gets trapped in between). I'm waiting for it to rain to see if any water intrudes. If it does then I need to figure out what to do next.

​@@tsulasbigadventures I hope you don't get a mold problem - it can be genuinely dangerous. Your property has hummingbirds, and cougars feeding on deer? I'm envious. "The whole neighborhood was up in arms (literally)..." - well, Montana is a do-what-you-want state. 🙂 During one of my recent trips to Maryland, I was in a car going through farmlands covered by a low-lying mist, on which the moon shone brightly. That was pretty enough, but the memorable part was when a herd of whitetail deer, their tails aloft, appeared and raced beside the car, leaping over the fences in their way. Speaking of an irrational fear of animals, I vividly remember seeing my first (and last) driller wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus), many years ago in Maryland. A field guide on insects has the following to say: "She terrifies many who don't know she's harmless." PS: Do you remember me asking if the name of your LLC has a special meaning? I thought, the other day, of that exchange while housecleaning with my Eureka vacuum.

@@waltergold3457 Walter: The contractor waited until after I started putting sealant inside the dome to tell me that that might trap moisture in between the inside and outside. I really don't want to scrap it off. One of my brothers is coming to visit this summer and I'm going to put it on my list of things for him to do for me, to help me figure out the best way to keep moisture out. I can't remember if I told you that I found deer parts on the property-- left overs from the mountain lion's meal. Curiously as much as I hike around there I have never seen a mountain lion; I've only ever seen tracks in the snow and some great photos on my trail cameras. The hummingbirds should be returning soon. I love seeing White-tailed Deer jumping with their tails lifted high. I had to look up that insect. It looks very scary. Yes, you asked me about my company name. It is the old Latin word for the MacGillivray's Warbler which nests on my property in the summer. Should be returning soon. I'm afraid to ask you why your Eureka vacuum cleaner reminded you of my logo.

Thank you.

An electric snowmobile suit? I actually had never heard of it before you mentioned it. I was trying hand warmers, body warmers, toe warmers, electric socks, and blankets over my head and when all else fails running into the house. I will need to look into this, for sure. Thanks for the tip!

@@tsulasbigadventures Yes, you can get everything from electric gloves, boot insoles, etc. to full electric, heated coveralls. As long as your observatory has a free 120V wall outlet socket, you should be able to plug in a switching DC power supply of 20A-30A, which would also power your equatorial mount, computer and even camera equipment, if you need. I'm not familiar with powering equipment for astro-photography or how sensitive that is to needing clean DC power, but if size and weight are non-issues, linear power supplies are available as well. Check out Samlex, PowerWerx and Astron for power supply and power distribution options.

@@markihde4381 Yes, it has a free 120V wall outlet socket. Thank you for all this information. Heated coveralls sounds great. I will look into those power distribution options you mentioned. Thank you so much.

Ricardo: Thank you so much! I am very aware of the dearth of women astronomers. I'm not sure why but I hope that I can inspire some more to get interested in this great hobby. I've never been to Guadalajara but I would imagine it's pretty light polluted. I am not on FB.

Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, but first I have to figure out how to use the ASCOM driver to operate the mount and rotate the dome simultaneously. I have not had a chance to set that up yet.

@@tsulasbigadventures I'd think with Sequence Generator Pro or N.I.N.A. It depends also on your choices. For example, I'm fully equiped with ZWO brand exept the mount which is recognized ( every type of dome too ). So my ASIAIR plus drives all my setup. A friend of mine uses SGP, ascom drivers and an IPX 800 V4... Clear skies.

Thank you. So, the instructions say that you connect a computer inside the dome to the in-dome electronics with the ASCOM Driver and that you can operate the in dome computer with a computer inside your house if you have something like Remote PC or similar software. However, as I live in a rural area my internet does not extend out to the dome. Once I walk outside I have no phone service and no internet. I have not read the entire instruction manual to find out if what you are suggesting is possible. I first have to connect to the in dome computer and get that set up and running. The dome was just completed and I have more to do.

@@tsulasbigadventures i would look into putting a wifi extender in the dome and another on the side of the house closest to the dome. That, or run a hard line out there and bury it. How nice would Hot Chocolate and Astronomy be together. 😁

@@Known_as_sk That sounds very appealing. I have a lot more work to do for sure.

A mountain lion took down a deer right in the middle of the road in April. I found deer parts in my meadow. So, it really is a concern but they are very reclusive and I don't worry too much.