Finder scopes piggy-backed on the main telescope.
nights when people could come
over and learn about our night
skies. These are held around each
new moon, weather permitting, or
by appointment. I thought it would
be interesting to describe the
observatory to get an insight as to
the workings of a serious amateur
astronomy setup.
The observatory was built over a
number of years, with the planning
phase started in 2009 and first light
occurring in December 2012. The
observatory is in a great location,
there are dark skies to the south,
with little light pollution. The northern
aspect is less ideal with the light
dome from Kissimmee and Orlando
encroaching on the view. However
it is just a few minutes drive from
St Cloud and is very accessible
by road. As with most things it is a
balance between location and
accessibility and the KPO has got it
just right.
The observatory itself is a multiuse facility split into two main parts.
It consists: a 12 foot Observatory
04
04
Dome with viewing platform; and a
Warm Room / Studio / Workspace
(often called a Man Cave). The
Observatory Dome houses an 18
inch reflecting telescope, along
with various smaller telescopes
for finding and guiding, plus
computers to control the entire
system. The warm room is a bit of a
misnomer as it is in Florida and has
air-conditioning, but does serve
to environmentally isolate the two
sections. Both areas are connected
via a local network to the main
house which is where the power for
the observatory originates.
The Observatory Dome has
been installed some 10 feet above
ground level with the observing
deck 5 feet below. As the dome
is round and the observing deck is
square there are plenty of recesses
for equipment computers and
general storage, not forgetting the
observing ladder. The observing
ladder is required to gain access
to the eyepiece of the telescope
that may be positioned way above
Photo: Mike Barrett
head height depending on what
object the telescope is pointed at.
The telescope is mounted on what
is known as a pier. The pier, in this
case, is effectively a concrete pillar
rising 10 feet above ground level
having a 3 foot cubed footing for
stability. The footing is isolated from
the main floor of the observatory to
ensure that movement in the Dome
or Warm room are not transmitted to
the telescope causing it to wobble.
Having all this concrete may seem
like overkill, but not when you see
the telescope.
The telescope is an 18 inch
reflector, meaning that light falls
on to an 18 inch mirror. This is then
concentrated onto the secondary
mirror back near the top of the
telescope. Having an 18 inch
aperture means that the telescope
itself is quite long and heavy, which
in turn means it needs some hefty
counter-balance weights. From
this you can see the need for the
substantial pier to mount it on.
Apart from the main telescope
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