Building Construction

I always wanted to have my own observatory. In 2012 we were able to make that dream happen. The project started out as an Observatory with a roll-off roof. This is why you see two concrete piers outside of the building. These were to be supports that held the beams which held the roof. Time and opportunities changed the design from a roll-off roof to a dome design. This essentially made the roof support piers moot but, as you will see from the pictures, they ended up performing a vital function in supporting a much needed lightening rod for the observatory. We get a LOT of lightening in Overgaard. So much so, that I ended up putting them on my house, garage and observatory. I won’t dwell on it but they literally saved the life of my son Matt, as he was in our garage when a huge strike hit our garage. It completely wiped out an adjacent airplane hanger and horse barn. My garage was pretty much undamaged. Had I not had lightening rods, the propane heater in my garage would have probably exploded, with my son right underneath. The change to a dome allowed for an observatory that can withstand far higher winds and still operate as well as ensuring that opening/closing the roof will never result in damage to the telescope. This cannot be said for a roll-off roof design.

You can see from the procession of the construction pictures that we increased the size of the pier foundation. The change from roll-off roof also modified the possible long term size and scope of equipment we might put in the observatory. The new design was able to accommodate up to a 20” aperture telescope with all of the necessary mount, counter weights and imaging equipment up to a 500lb capacity. Quite a feat give that they would all be 10’ up from the ground. The next gallery shows you a detailed explanation of the pier design and pictures of the construction of the pier.

The observatory currently has a Meade 10”, F 6.3, LX200 SCT OTA. It is my hope to replace this with a Planewave CDK reflector in the 14”-20” range. The mount I currently am using is a Astro Physics AP1600. This is probably one of the best mounts that can obtained today in this class of instruments.