Building

The original idea for the observatory was a standard 3 m x 3 m (10 ft x 10 ft) roll-off roof design. However, it was soon discovered that an additional space for use as a "warm room", storage and sleeping area would be a welcome addition. This was achieved by transforming the "empty" area underneath the rolled off roof into a 4 m x 3 m room.

The building is a straightforward elevated timber construction with PVC siding. The warm room has insulated walls, roof and floor. The roll-off roof is a shallow pyramidal steel structure covered with plywood and asphaltic tiles. It has 6 casters that run on inverted V angle iron tracks. Although it is quite heavy, the roof can easily be opened and closed manually by one person.

The 35 cm x 35 cm (14" x 14") concrete pier protrudes from its 1 m x 1m x 1m foundation through the observatory floor and tapers to a 25 cm (10") diameter cylindrical concrete support for the mount.

The warm room has a table, dual bunk beds, a large storage cabinet and an operator desk.

An internal door and a few steps connect the warm room with the observing area. A large window in the connecting wall gives a good view of the telescope and the northern sky when the operator is sitting at the desk.

Underneath the desk is a 300Ah 12 VDC battery bank that powers everything and is kept charged by roof-mounted photovoltaic panels.

In November 2003 a 12 foot Astrohaven clamshell dome was added to the site in order to house the 14.5" RCOS Ritchey-Chrétien telescope on an AP 1200GTO mount.