Observatory

The photos below detail the evolution and construction of “Whitby Observatory”

My original humble backyard observing spot was nothing more than a cleared area in the backyard where I could leave my tripod mount set up for long periods eliminating the need to re-align the mount for each observing session. My original plan was to construct a small 8’x8′ Roll-Off-Roof (ROR) type observatory roughly outlined by the 8 ft landscape timbers shown in the picture.

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Views of the horizon from my backyard are almost nonexistent as can be seen by the heavy landscaping from neighboring homes. This particular location affords me my best views to the south.

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Below is the original concept for my backyard observatory. I was considering building a “Roll-Off Roof” type structure but due to the visual impact of such a large enclosed structure located relatively close to the house and backyard lawn spaces I began to consider something that would be visually less intrusive. The observatory was envisioned as a raised 8 ft x 11 ft wooden deck with a permanent concrete pier for the mount and scope. At the back end of the deck is space for a future small shed structure (3′-3″ x 8′) for storage of equipment with provisions for a small “Warm Room”. The two doors of the shed could be propped open to provide a bit of wind protection and provisions could be made for the attachment of light-weight demountable wind panels to the platform railing to more fully shield the scope from wind and stray lighting if desired. When not in use, the pier and mount could be covered by a weather-proof cover, but the scope would be stored either in my house or in the storage shelter.

Plan View

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Construction Begins: The caissons were poured in the fall of 2018. Their location was based on the original 8’x8′ ROR structure. The timbers shown are aligned east-west and the variation in the height of the caissons clearly shows how steeply the site slopes away to the southwest.

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The change from the 8’x8′ ROR structure to the revised 8’x11′ deck type observatory necessitated cantilever spans at each end of the the ledger beams – I didn’t feel like digging and pouring additional caissons ; ^ )

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Progress as of July 3, 2019. The Platform framing is mostly complete and decking for the shed area is in-place. I am about to start pouring the concrete pier for the telescope mount.

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My four pound Yorkie “Rupert” sits next to the pier top-plate as I get ready to pour the pedestal. The pier plates, which are nearly the size of Rupert, were fabricated from disc-brake rotors.

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Progress as of July 25, 2019. The concrete pedestal for the telescope has been poured and the forms stripped. Handrail on one side of the platform has been installed.
Progress as of August 1, 2019. The platform and mount is now in a useable configuration. The photo shows my TSA120 refractor mounted on the pedestal. I may hold off on building the shed structure until later in the year when the summer temperatures moderate a bit.

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A close-up view of the mounting arrangement for the equatorial head constructed from a pair of disc-brake rotors.

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The deck after stain has been applied. My Celestron C9.25 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is shown mounted on the pedestal. After living with this configuration for a while I decided to forgo the construction of the storage-shed/warm-room at the back end of the deck which would block some of my views to the west and make removal of snow in the winter a bit more difficult. In this configuration it is a simple matter to push the snow off the back end of the deck. I may still construct some light-weight demountable wind-panels which could be stored beneath the platform when not in use.