Observatory

Claines Top Observatory

52º 13' 52.2" N 02º 12'11.1" W

This is my old Observatory and no longer in use.

These pages document the construction of my observatory . The scope of my project was to provide a coverable pier at the best price possible ( i.e. as cheap as possible without compromising functionality & security ) and I decided after much investigation to create a shed using a roll on/roll off roof. Most of this idea has been blatently copied from John Rowland's creation with modifications neccessary for my requirements, so credit for this must go to him. Another excellently documented converted Yardmaster is Mark Baines's observatory.
Project completion Feb 2007

Construction

First Light

First image before the clouds rolled in . M57 only 5 x 45 sec -df, IR filter, hx516 + mn56. Note the mag 15.3 white dwarf in the centre of the ring, the remnant of the original star before it blew its outer layers off. Better images of M57 can be found in my gallery, here

Image very slightly out of focus, IC1296 faintly visible in the negative image. M57 is 2000 ly away, & IC1296 is 200,000,000 ly away. Better image coming soon !