AINA 20 Inch Telescope Project
The Observatory
I've always wanted to have my own observatory and now Exploradome has made that possible. After seeing the Exploradome at the 2007 Riverside Telescope Makers Conference I just had to have one. The price is affordable and it does exactly what I wanted it to do, keep the wind off of me and block any unwanted light. The best part...my wife said YES!
Here is the Exploradome as it was delivered. Note the box against the wall, that's the round building.
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Here is the round building after it was assembled. Note the wheels on top. This is the Exploradome wheel kit. It works very well and and is included with the round building and dome assembly. I am now changing from the original plywood door to a foam core steel door. The new door is much sturdier and should be a little more secure.
Here is the assembled building before it was placed on its permanent slab. You might wonder why one would set up their observatory only to have to move it later. We wanted to get a feel for where the door would be and the pier height before we poured the concrete so we set it up 15 feet east of the permanent location.
Here is the finished Observatory. We are now working on the automation so that we may operate it over the internet. We are hoping to have kids from all over the world be able to access the scope over the internet and be able to image our night skies. Note the dish in the background, that is our project in radio astronomy that is just getting started .
More photos to follow, The Observatory is now on its permanent slab and about to be automated so that it can be controlled over the internet. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.