The Bubble Nebula: (Click to Enlarge)

Blown by the wind from a massive star, this interstellar apparition has a surprisingly familiar shape. Cataloged as NGC 7635, it is also known simply as The Bubble Nebula. The 10 light-year (60 trillion mile) diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Above and right of the Bubble's center is a hot, O-type star, several 100,000 times more luminous and approximately 45 times more massive than the Sun. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from that star has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. The intriguing Bubble Nebula lies a mere 11,000 light-years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia (Text courtesy of NASA/APOD)

The Rosette Nebula (Click to enlarge)

The Rosette Nebula, also known as NGC 2244, spans about 50 light-years across, lies about 4,500 light-years away, and can be seen with a small telescope. Dark filaments of dust are silhouetted by luminous hydrogen gas.Visible are globules of dark dust and gas that are slowly being eroded away by the energetic light and winds by nearby massive stars. Left alone long enough, the molecular-cloud globules will likely form stars and planets. (Text source: NASA/APOD)

IC410 in Auriga (click to enlarge)

Emission nebula IC 410 lies about 12,000 light-years away in the constellation Auriga. The cloud of glowing hydrogen gas is over 100 light-years across, sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from embedded open star cluster NGC 1893. Formed in the interstellar cloud a mere 4 million years ago, bright cluster stars are seen just below the prominent dark dust cloud near picture center. Notable near the 7 o'clock position are two relatively dense streamers of material trailing away from the nebula's central regions. Potential sites of ongoing star formation, these cosmic tadpole shapes are about 10 light-years long. (Text source: apod.nasa.gov/apod)

The Veil Nebula (Click to enlarge)

The Veil Nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred about 5 - 10,000 years ago.
It is located 1,400 light years away in the constellation of Cygnus. (Text source: apod.nasa.gov/apod)

M27: The "Dumbell Nebula" (click to enlarge)

Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloud is over 2.5 light-years across and about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. The hydrogen emission is seen as rust-red (H-alpha) and ionized oxygen shows up in fainter bluish hues. (Text source: apod.nasa.gov/apod)

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.