www.baader-observatories.com
After my 3 m observatory dome from your production has now reached an age of 20 years and recently went through a relocation, I thought that you would be pleased to receive a customer review. It may perhaps come very late, but it is all the more objective for that.
When I ordered an observing dome from you in 1992, I could not yet imagine what a good and lifelong investment this would be.
Every amateur astronomer who seriously engages with astronomy and is willing to spend money on a high-quality telescope and a good mount is faced with the question: “How can I accommodate my equipment safely and protected?” I considered all kinds of possibilities, and especially for me as a trained carpenter, it would have been no problem to build or convert one of the very popular wooden huts with roll-off roofs. But what I wanted was an observatory and not a wooden hut. So I had to decide whether to put more money into my dream telescope or to establish my hobby from the very beginning with a proper protective building.
In the past I had several opportunities to observe with telescopes that were set up in a wooden hut, and that was fun too: in summer when there was no wind!!! In winter at minus 10 degrees, when the expensive telescope together with its accessories was covered with a shell of ice, or on windy autumn nights when the whole equipment was set into vibration by the lever arm of the telescope, it was no longer so much fun.
So I decided in favor of an observing dome and for a less expensive telescope — and I have never regretted that approach. No matter how often I observed under adverse weather conditions, I would never have done so in a wooden hut. And smaller telescopes, set up in a dome protected from wind and light, show more than when vibrating or exposed to stray light under the open sky.
The assembly of the dome was completely problem-free and finished in one afternoon by two people. A truck crane then lifted it onto the masonry substructure, and there it did its job for the last twenty years. The exterior surface of the dome was cleaned every 2–3 years with a car-washing brush and soap, and everything was given a brief inspection (oiling the chain for the observing slit and greasing the rubber seal), and it still looks good to this day, so that the dome can easily do its job for another twenty years.
The construction and purchase of a good observing dome is an expensive matter, although there are also cheap domes, from which I would keep my hands off, because on closer calculation the matter becomes relative. A dome that perhaps costs €28,000 and easily lasts 40 years costs less than €60 per month, so that in the meantime I also now have my dream telescope.
Every serious amateur astronomer who is faced with the decision, “Wooden hut or observatory?”, should ask themselves how often and how long they want to observe and to what extent they are willing to expose themselves and their instruments to the hardships of the weather. In our region, the starry clear nights are far too rare not to make use of them — and with an observing dome one will be able to make use of every clear hour.
