About the Starry Night Observatory

About the Starry Night Observatory...
I have enjoyed amateur astronomy for more than 30 years, and for most of that time I have dreamed of having my own observatory. With the support of my wife Jackie and the construction efforts of my brother Mark, I was able to build the Starry Night Observatory.
This observatory project began back in the summer of 2001 and has been a "work in progress" ever since. The structure is an 8' x 8' roll-off roof type observatory. I knew the observing shed was on the small side when I started it but was in denial... it really needed to be bigger. Actually, in its original form with a 12" LX200 it was about the right size, but now with a 14" SCT on a large German equatorial mount things are just too tight. I will probably do some major remodelling in the summer of 2004 or 2005.
This is a picture of the completed observatory in the spring of 2002. At the time it housed my 12" LX200... a wonderful scope that I still miss at times.	The 12" LX200 that was originally housed in my observatory... a fun scope!	A close-up of the 12" LX200
		Set up for my last night under the stars. "Big blue" ... my 12" LX200... a great scope.
My Celestron 14 on MI 250! In the spring of 2003 I had the good fortune of purchasing a C14 on a Mountain Instruments 250 Goto mount. This seems to be a nice mount and scope combination for both visual and imaging work. I have also purchased an Orion 80mm ED apochromatic refractor that rides piggy-back on the C14. It is used stricktly for imaging purposes. My CCD cameras have varied over the past couple of years from my intial SBIG ST7, an ST8, and now an ST2000XM with a CFW8 using Astronomik LRGB filters as well as an H-alpha filter.

About the Starry Night Observatory...

My Celestron 14 on MI 250!

My CCD cameras have varied over the past couple of years from my intial SBIG ST7, an ST8, and now an ST2000XM with a CFW8 using Astronomik LRGB filters as well as an H-alpha filter.