Completed Facility

Here's a front view of The Robservatory, which rests on an elevated, octagonal deck, facing south.

Slide-Off Dome Capability

The initial configuration was for a rotating dome. However, it soon became apparent that no matter the dome position, the sky directly overhead was obstructed. In order to overcome this limitation, a rear platform was constucted. When the dome is opened, it can now be slid completely off, gliding with little effort along three tracks made of synthetic decking material. The sky overhead is now competely accessible.

Inside The Robservatory

Imaging is done with an ATK 314L+ cooled CCD camera (upgraded from 16HR shown) on a TMB92 f5.5 triplet-apo refractor with a Televue .8x focal reducer/flattener.

The guidescope is a Televue Pronto, with guiding via a StellaCam3 video camera.

A dual screen laptop is used for image capture and guiding.

The mount is a Losmandy G11 (upgraded from GM8 in photo).

Octogonal Deck

Here is a shot of the framing for the octagonal deck on which The Robservatory resides.

Pier Construction

My brother Richard helped me pour almost a ton of concrete to create a super-stable pier on which to place the telescope mount. The pier was completed on April 19, 2008. Thanks, Rich!