The Observatory Dome in 1994

Copyright: Stuart Kingsley

The 10 ft. diameter, 6 ft. high fiber-glass dome as it looked after first assembly in the summer of 1994. It then had only a single one foot high wall ring. When it was ascertained that an additional 1 ft. of headroom was possible (with an inch to spare) without the dome fouling the movement of the satellite dish when pointing due south, it was decided to increase the height by 1 ft. during the following year. The wooden platform upon which the dome rests was built over the original 12 ft. square platform that used concrete squares. Extra support members were put under the center-part of the new floor to prevent excessive deflection of the telescope when walking inside the dome around the telescope. Even so, during operation, it is not possible to move around inside the dome without slightly upsetting telescope pointing.

Since it was always planned that the dome would eventually be mounted on a 12 ft. square, 4 ft. high box that would be built into the roof of the detached garage, the relatively low headroom was to be only of a temporary nature. Eventually, there will be 11 ft. headroom at the center of the dome with a trap-door through the floor.