More "finished product" pictures.
Complete 8'x12' structure, showing the 8'x8' roof in the rolled off position. The dark blue wall visible is the start of the 4x8' warm room. I used an old storm door between the observing area and the warm room. I ordered a special swing OUT door for the main entrance (with deadbolt, thank you). I insulated the walls and ceiling of the warm room, paneled the walls, and put linoleum down for the floor. No need to live like a barbarian when doing an astrophoto run!
This shot gives a nice idea of the structure viewed from the north, looking south to my home.
This shows the sky when looking southwest. Yes - the warm room blocks some of the view to the north. There is a light dome to the north (Cities of Salem and Roanoke), and also this direction has the neighbor's outdoor lights. By making a full 2' roof height above the walls, I was able to install FULL size doors (I'm 6'3.5"...).
Important signage is always key to a well-run facility.
This view, looking southeast, shows a lot of trees, but catch this: in November a huge blast of wind hit behind our home, and took out 3 trees, including two monster walnut trees, rootball and all. I now have a wonderful view to the south-east, and a friend from church has a large truck-load of wood to make custom furniture using his saw-mill. Just to the right of the observatory are two raised bed gardens - you can see sunflowers in one of them.
Back to Observatory Pix Back to HOME PAGE