It is a brilliant observatory. Unfortunately the roof now leaks. The supplier put cedar shingles over the top of the felt and nailed through causing penetrations which now leak. I will have to strip the roof off as the plywood is rotten (not Marine grade) and replace the deck, felt and be more careful about attaching the cedar planks over the top. It is great to be able to go out, slide the roof and and be ready to go especially when there is a short window of observing time.
Hi, the only other input I’d give would be to think about your sky quality - light pollution, neighbours trees and if you get lots of cloudy nights. While I love having an observatory, I think it’s also good to have ‘astronomy holidays’ implying you need some kit that is suitable for travelling! Good luck.
Greetings from Kuriwa Observatory, Australia, also a ROR Observatory, but all metal construction. A good video and I agree with pretty much all your points. Well done.
Thanks - a metal observatory in the UK climate would lead to lots of condensation problems. I lived in Sydney for 18 years and pretty much travelled to every corner for fun and with work. (plus some pretty special tramping adventures in NZ). I've a dream of renting a place out in Coonabarabran for 6 months and living a nocturnal existence, imaging the southern skies. When I was in Sydney I didn't have much time to do astronomy (work + study) but I did build my own 6" Newtonian on a course run at Sydney observatory!. Whereabouts in Oz are you and what are your skies like?
@@astronomicaltalk5708 HiHo. Almost an Aussie - Ha. My Dad was born in Lossiemouth Scotland so Scot heritage. I live in The Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. The coldest it gets here is about zero once or twice a year. Website www.kuriwaobservatory.com cheers!
Thanks - hope that you can get your own observatory or at least travel to some dark sky locations! (see me recent travel adventures ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xr8RZjg9ISw.html)
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A couple of companies in Austrailia have superb domes. Shutter slides back past zenith and the dome starts near the ground and not on a 4 foot cylinder. I just need to win the lottery.
Depends on where you live too. I was on the Northern Beaches in Sydney (Seaforth) and we had pretty heavy light pollution. However, consider a 'grab and go' option. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kIMkfMvtjJ0.html It can be a lot of fun, quick to set up and you have wonderful skies in Australia. Best skies I ever saw were from Coonabarabran! :) That said, if you have the conditions, it's great to be able to walk out the house and into an observatory with everything ready to go!
Yes, it's really great asset for me. Doesn't solve the cloudy nights challenge in the UK though! I've more recently started travelling to dark sky (and warm) locations which brings another twist to the hobby!!
@@astronomicaltalk5708 - Where I live we just came off of 260 days of no rain or clouds. I have Bortle 8 skies to contend with so have to go to the mountains to see the stars. That problem will be solved when I receive my new electronic telescope (now being developed, I am an investor) early next year. Will be able to see down to 15th magnitude in the middle of a huge city!
@@fnersch3367 Gosh, that's amazing - where are you located? Shame about the light pollution though as nothing beats a view of the Milky Way with the naked eye! :)
@@astronomicaltalk5708 - I live in So. California in a climate opposite that of the UK. Here we often go 6-8 or even more months with no rain and few clouds. With 22 million people around me, astronomy has virtually disappeared in spite of endless clear days & nights . As a consequence I got involved in the development of a new technology telescope that can overcome this dilemma. This is an exciting venture for me that's been in the making for several years. The scope will be announced to the world next year.
@@onurat I've heard that Domes have the advantage that you can rotate them so that you have some protection. They are also less susceptible to having the roof blown off. Good luck and I look forward to hearing what you choose and how it works out.
It can be a lot of fun going to different places to observe the night sky and you can meet lots of like minded people at Star Parties. I did a video on portable equipment and I’ve done a couple of trips to La Palma and Portugal as well as closer to home in the uk.
Hi, sorry for the delay in responding, work issues, family health and some travel!!!! Home observatories are really great, however, you could also consider getting a portable imaging set up and travelling either to dark sky locations or to somewhere warm and with clearer skies. I did a review of some portable equipment recently and have done three trips this year to the Isle of Wight (UK - south coast), Devon (UK South West), La Palma (Canary Islands) and Porto Covo (Portugal). You can see the VLOGs I did on my channel.
Most thoughtful and helpful information, I have attempted to both phone and email the company that you used, in your project. Sadly I received no response to my inquiry. May I inquire as to your own experience with this observatory company?
I’m about to publish a blog in the next two weeks about replacing the roof. They used marine grade plywood, felted over it but then in fixing cedar shingles they punctured the felt causing the roof to rot. I did think that the observatory was well built but I’ve had quite a few repairs to do. I can’t say they used incorrect materials as most of the timbers were preservative treated. You could also try Outsideology. I know the owner and one of the builders who has worked with him and they do build very good observatories. outsideology.com/
I imagine your skies are very clear but that you've a limited section of sky that you can see due to the mountains. You can always think about using binoculars or a portable set up.
Hi, sorry for the delay in replying. The observatory is 3000 x 1800. I've started travelling this year to dark, clear and warm site locations which is something else you might want to think about (I've spent many nights sat in my home observatory under cloudy skies!! Regards Jonathan
Hi Sonya, apologies for the delay in replying. I think a dome may well be cheaper but I've got more space inside. Depends on your set up and what you want to do. I looked at domes as well as roll offs. If you are imaging you could actually get away with something quite compact and if you have WiFi in the garden control the scope and imaging system from the house with Team Viewer (I do this myself when it gets really cold). Regards Jonathan
Kinda disappointed! Thought this was going to be a comparison of personal observatories, especially with the picture provided with the title! A more straightforward title would be "My Choice of Observatory- How and Why"!
