The DWO
Astro Kit
The Dome
The dome is of GRP construction and is 7 feet in diameter.
Shortly after getting the dome operational I discovered one of the main shortcomings of a circular dome - it has no corners to store any of the mutlitude of bits and pieces that the average astronomer, especially an astrophotographer, gathers. To improve this situation a friend, who makes surfboards, made me a fibreglass cupboard (a box with doors). A suitably sized hole was cut in the side of the dome wall and the box installed. This gives a place to store eyepieces, adaptors, etc., without encroaching into the internal floor area. This white box can be clearly seen.
Adjacent to the dome is a shed, which contains the computer with dual screens. comfy chair and an electric heater. The heater is rarely needed because being well insulated, the shed soon warms up just with the heat from the PC - so much so it has been christened The Sauna!!
There is a watertight umbilical between to Sauna and the Dome. This allows the cables connecting the mount, cameras, etc., to connect through to the PC. There is a monitor, keyboard and mouse in the dome and so the PC can be controlled from either in the Dome or the Sauna. A most useful arrangement.
Shortly after getting the dome operational I discovered one of the main shortcomings of a circular dome - it has no corners to store any of the mutlitude of bits and pieces that the average astronomer, especially an astrophotographer, gathers. To improve this situation a friend, who makes surfboards, made me a fibreglass cupboard (a box with doors). A suitably sized hole was cut in the side of the dome wall and the box installed. This gives a place to store eyepieces, adaptors, etc., without encroaching into the internal floor area. This white box can be clearly seen.
Adjacent to the dome is a shed, which contains the computer with dual screens. comfy chair and an electric heater. The heater is rarely needed because being well insulated, the shed soon warms up just with the heat from the PC - so much so it has been christened The Sauna!!
There is a watertight umbilical between to Sauna and the Dome. This allows the cables connecting the mount, cameras, etc., to connect through to the PC. There is a monitor, keyboard and mouse in the dome and so the PC can be controlled from either in the Dome or the Sauna. A most useful arrangement.
The horizons from the east through to the west are good - to the north it is less good because of some neighbours trees.
However - the streetlights are very 'strategically placed' and are a damned nuisance when the target is in a position that it cannot be screened by the slot on the rotating dome.
