David's Astronomy Pages Observatory   Introduction   Home Page   Observatory Construction

Description

Clair Observatory is a wooden shed construction 6' 6" x 6' 6" , with a roll-off roof.  It is located in the back garden of our home which lies around 12 miles north of Aberdeen. The site has good sky access.  The minimum viewable altitude (around 20 deg) is limited by the observatory walls. The site suffers only minor local light pollution 

My LX200 telescope is mounted on a permanent 7" diameter metal pier, bolted to a concrete base.  The observatory has ample room for storing the LX200's case/tripod if necessary  and has sufficient room to take 1-2 visitors.  

The observatory has been built using the same shed and pier that were used for my previous observatory (Hilltop Observatory and Kingcup Observatory). The observatory was designed to be capable of moving, the only thing that doesn't move is the concrete pier base. !

Clair Observatory (roof open)

Observatory Interior with equipment (larger view)

Back to Top 

Observatory Construction

The observatory uses the same sliding roof shed and telescope pier used for Hilltop Observatory (please refer to Design and Construction of Hilltop Observatory)

Key Dates : 

2004-02-05 : First Light
2004-01-24 : Observatory erected
2004-01-11 : Pier base constructed
2003-12-05 : Site cleared and levelled
2003-08-28 : Position for observatory within garden of new home chosen
2003-08-25 : Kingcup Observatory dismantled in preparation for moving. 

The following picture shows the observatory base and pier

Pier & observatory base (larger)

The reconstruction plan used  for re-erecting the observatory is listed below.

Back to Top

Roof Changes (June 2005)

The roll-off roof was originally constructed with sets of wheels along each side of the roof. These ran along rails mounted on the top of each sidewall of the observatory and allowed the roof to be rolled-off/on.   Whilst the design originally worked well, there were increasing problems with it during 2004-2005, whereby some wheels would occasionally loosen and twist, causing the roof to jam when shutting (not the most desirable event when you're tired and cold).  

In June 2005 remedial work was carried out to relocate the wheels into positions on the top of each sidewall, thus allowing the roof to easily roll off/on, using the sides of the roof as rails.

Old Wheel/Rail Design
New Wheel/Rail Design

Back to Top

Telescope

Pictures showing LX200 and associated equipment are shown below

LX200 Telescope  in Observatory (Front & Side Views)

Back to Top

Gallery

Moon above Clair Observatory  (2005-01-25)

Back to Top