[graaja]

Installing the Piers and Final Setup:

The next step was to install the piers that will hold the mounts and telescopes. With my earlier rolling enclosure setup, I had a short pier which was about 2.5 feet in height. As the walls of the observatory are 6.5' in height, I needed taller piers that will raise the telescopes above the walls when deployed. So, I got two new piers fabricated. These piers are bolted to the floor using 4 bolts using anchor grout. Below are a few pictures of the pier installation.

The piers arrive. This picture was taken after one of the piers was taken out of the vehicle. The shorter one is the older pier which I got refurbished and will send to another friend who will use it on his terrace.


Both the piers inside the observatory. The piers are made of steel pipes of 6" diameter and 5mm wall thickness. They weigh close to 50 kilos each.


Holes were drilled for the anchor bolts.


We did a trial fitting of one of the telescopes to check if the height of the pier was fine. The fabricator had made some mistake in calculation and the piers were about 5 inches taller. So, he had to cut them short and reweld on site. After this rework, the height was perfect.

The parked position. The telescope is parked horizontally just a few inches below the roof. Notice the damage to the paintwork on the pier due to the cutting and welding.


The telescope, once deployed rises above the walls and has a clear view of the sky. The rolling roof adds some obstruction to the eastern sky for about 30 degrees. But I don't shoot objects that are below 30 degrees on the eastern sky due to light pollution.


After the piers were fixed, I had the room cleaned up, the walls and floors painted, and the piers too touched up with white paint.


The base that holds the telescope. This is mounted over the pier using 6 bolts. The check nuts in these bolts are used to properly level the base.


The base is perfectly leveled.


Both the mounts are fixed to the piers.


The EQ6-R Pro mount which is an equatorial mount that requires counterweights to balance the weight of the telescope. This mount is quite heavy and weighs about 30 kilos including the counter weights.


The ZWO AM5 harmonic mount. This type of mount does not require balancing counterweights and is very light and weighs under 5 kilos, but can carry almost the same payload as the EQ6-R Pro.


I have not yet fixed the telescopes and other gear (cameras, guide scopes, computers etc.), as we have a couple of months more of Northeast monsoon. I prefer to store all the optics and electronics inside the house in a dry environment. I will mount the telescopes and other gear once the skies clear up and Astro season begins. I will update the thread with pictures of the complete setup then.

I made a video of the complete process of building the observatory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT0myXB25Ds

That's all folks, I have for now. I will come back with more updates in a couple of months once the Astro season starts.

[Entsurgeon]

That gives new dimension to the phrase "follow ypur passion." All your efforts , physical, mental and financial àre worthy of accolades.
Congratulations and best wishes.

[Chetan_Rao]

Fair to say it's about time we took 'hobby' out of the thread title.

The dedication, time, effort and down-to-millimeters precise attention to detail in this setup, 'hobby' is a paler dot in your rear view mirror than some of the stuff you'll capture through this setup.

[dailydriver]

A bit out of context, but I wouldn't be stretching the truth too far if I say that the OP is living a life that many people can only dream of:

A mid tier city with enough amenities so that one doesn't miss the metros, yet small, cozy enough to feel 'at home'; a job that gives him enough money to fund his hobbies, yet provides him sufficient leisure and freedom to travel around using lovely wheels of his choice; a lifestyle that helps him be healthy, yet alliws him to gorge on on his favorites; a family that not only allows him his quirks but also chips in with encouragement and participation.

The latter part of his username is conspicuously eponymous!

@ graaja, best wishes with your aiming to/for the sky project!

[adrena]

@graaja - This is just terrific. I'm here making a cushioned case for my lil Orion Apex 90 and you have reached a whole other level with the hobby. Loved it. Following for more.

What Bortle numbers are you running there? I have to get out and far from the city to do anything meaningful. Every chance I get, I haul that lil scope of mine with the EQ mount as far as I can and spend all the dark hours just looking up.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Entsurgeon

Congratulations and best wishes.

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Fair to say it's about time we took 'hobby' out of the thread title.

The dedication, time, effort and down-to-millimeters precise attention to detail in this setup, 'hobby' is a paler dot in your rear view mirror than some of the stuff you'll capture through this setup.

Thank you so much for the kind words mate

Hope I am able to do justice to this setup in the coming years.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

@ graaja, best wishes with your aiming to/for the sky project!

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes

After a couple of decades of hard times in the beginning, of late, life has been kind to me, and I am very grateful for this.

Originally Posted by adrena

@graaja - This is just terrific. I'm here making a cushioned case for my lil Orion Apex 90 and you have reached a whole other level with the hobby. Loved it. Following for more.

What Bortle numbers are you running there? I have to get out and far from the city to do anything meaningful. Every chance I get, I haul that lil scope of mine with the EQ mount as far as I can and spend all the dark hours just looking up.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I live in the outskirts of Coimbatore where it is between 4 and 5 on the Bortle scale. Not ideal for visual observation, but quite good for astrophotography with narrowband filters.

It's great to know another astronomy enthusiast. Do you primarily do visual observation or are you into photography as well?

[keroo1099]

@graaja, considering the constraints that really is an impressive structure. I don't know what the wind loads in Coimbatore are, but would consider cross bracing the frame at the parapet end.

Did you consider a flip open roof with a counterweight?

Looking forward to many more stunning pics of the universe.

[adrena]

Originally Posted by graaja

It's great to know another astronomy enthusiast. Do you primarily do visual observation or are you into photography as well?

Thanks! Never miss an opportunity to look up. Only visual right now. I don't have the means to get into astrophotography yet.

But the scope is great to get a bunch of kids interested in astronomy. We've done a few trips from my kid's school and the interest is really encouraging. Only thing is we need to get out of Mumbai and find a decent camp site for anything. We're in a 7-9 Bortle skies unfortunately. Even a 50km drive out and the skies really clear up. Specially in the winter months.

I'm going to be following your work for sure.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

@graaja, considering the constraints that really is an impressive structure. I don't know what the wind loads in Coimbatore are, but would consider cross bracing the frame at the parapet end.

Did you consider a flip open roof with a counterweight?

Thank you for the kind words. We don't get hurricane type of winds, but see wind speeds of 20+ kmph a couple of months. I did several calculations on the lift-off force for the roof at maximum wind speed of 50kmph and designed the welding strength of the locking structures in the 4 corners.

Can you explain more about what you mean by "bracing the frame at the parapet end"?

I did not consider a flip-open roof design. I came across one or two of these during the research, but most of the observatories were either dome type or roll-off-roof type. So, I just focused on these two architectures.

Originally Posted by adrena

But the scope is great to get a bunch of kids interested in astronomy. We've done a few trips from my kid's school and the interest is really encouraging. Only thing is we need to get out of Mumbai and find a decent camp site for anything. We're in a 7-9 Bortle skies unfortunately. Even a 50km drive out and the skies really clear up. Specially in the winter months.

That is great to know. It's definitely fun to have kids interested in astronomy.

I am part of a group in Bangalore (BAS - Bangalore Astronomical Society) that visits Coorg every month during winter. We have both visual folks and photography folks. If you happen to visit South India during the winter months, would be great to have you at one of these star parties.

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by graaja

Can you explain more about what you mean by "bracing the frame at the parapet end"?

Judjing from your pics the columns opposite the stairwell seem to be about 15' high with a horizontal tie at about 10'. Diagonal bracing will just give additional insurance when the roof is open.

Enclosing a pic of what diagonal bracing does under load.

[V.Narayan]

Graaja, my friend this is you at your very best. Our own Mount Palomar Observatory. You passion for and depth of knowledge of astronomy is simply legendary and something to aspire for. Congratulations on your new observatory. wish you many nights of star gazing.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

Enclosing a pic of what diagonal bracing does under load.

Thank you so much for this input. I will definitely get this diagonal bracing done soon.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Graaja, my friend this is you at your very best. Our own Mount Palomar Observatory. You passion for and depth of knowledge of astronomy is simply legendary and something to aspire for. Congratulations on your new observatory. wish you many nights of star gazing.

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes VN 😊

[madurai_dude]

Wow! I started to learn about star gazing just few days ago & now I found a worthy thread to follow in this forum. You people are inspiring me to learn this wonderful hobby more and more. Thank you.

[sukhbirST]

Amazing and proud of you.