 After months of planning and construction the Northwood Observatory opened for first light in July 2006. The photo above shows the observatory in 2008, some 2 years after opening.
It was my good friends Bob and Brendan that convinced me to build an observatory. In fact without both of them the project would have never have started or finished. I have to also thank Keith Venables from Camberley who gave me the design and the mould for the dome segments. My dome of the above observatory is one of 2 domes that were built at the same time. It's sister dome in white, is part of an observatory that is still under construction with Bob and will be finished in the summer of 2009. The rough time line of the construction of my observatory hfollows:
August 2005 - Start of project
October 2005 - 24 segments of 2 Domes completed
March 2006 - Observatory structure completed
July 2006 - LX200 16" fitted, First Light
May 2008 - Paramount ME Upgrade completed
The construction link below takes you to a slide show that shows the construction of the observatory. I hope you enjoy the photos and if I can be of any assistance with details please contact me and I will try to help.
Clear Skies
Dave
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