www.baader-observatories.com
Our observatory stands on the flat roof of the extension that was completed at the same time. Thanks to the good advice from Mr. Thomas Baader, all structural problems for a stable installation were solved. Delivery and installation of the dome and the pier worked excellently. The assembly was quick and error-free despite limited space. The cooperation with our carpenter, who constructed the substructure and operated the crane, was also very good. A major concern beforehand was whether the concrete base had been aligned correctly. In preparation, I used the shadow cast by a plumb line to determine the east–west direction. Thanks to Stellarium it was no problem to determine the exact time at which the Sun stands in the west. The accuracy achieved in this way was better than one degree, and the pier was placed millimeter-precisely on the marked base area.
Controlled by the small weather station, the dome closes automatically in the event of unexpected gusts of wind or rain. Thanks to the thermal insulation of the dome, the observatory does not heat up in the sun and no condensation forms on the inside of the dome at night. The observatory is therefore optimally protected.
The 10Micron mounts have a built-in RS232 control interface for Baader domes. If desired, the dome opens automatically when the mount starts and follows the telescope. When the mount is parked, everything closes again. Spontaneous use is therefore possible within a few minutes and worthwhile even for short observing windows. The dome rotates fast enough to track satellites. At the same time, the noise of the dome is practically not noticeable outside. With simple scripts on a Linux mini PC I can run exposure sequences unattended and shut down the observatory in the morning. In the long term I would like to run automatic projects with EKOS.
During visual observation or while photographing, one quickly forgets about the dome and the mount and can concentrate entirely on astronomy.
