The Smoggy View Observatory 2 Project Renderings
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Section view to the west
My four-inch Alvin Clark refractor is currently depicted within the observatory in this section view but my C-14 OTA on a Mathis Instruments MI-500 equatorial fork mounting will eventually be modeled.
Smoggy View Observatory 1 interior
Interior of first version of the Smoggy View Observatory dome with the C-14 OTA on the MI-500 fork mounting as originally constructed.
Smoggy View Observatory 1 exterior
Exterior photo of first version of the Smoggy View Observatory dome.
Smoggy View Observatory 1 with some of my telescopes
The telescopes include: a 4-inch Alvan Clark Refractor, an 8-inch Cave Astrola Newtonian Reflector, a 4-inch Quantum Maksutov, and an Edmund Scientific 4-inch Newtonian Reflector.
Smoggy View Observatory 2 project overview
The Smoggy View Observatory 2 project involved creating a Revit model of my 10'-6" observatory dome by ASH-DOME upon a circular support wall assembly. The Smoggy View Observatory was originally erected in my backyard and was used to house a C-14 Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) by Celestron upon a Mathis Instruments MI-500 equatorial fork mounting. The dome was disassembled and placed into storage when a residence was designed and built on the observatory site. It is my intent to design and build a new circular support wall at a dark sky site and then reassemble the dome upon the new support wall housing the same C-14 OTA upon a MI-500 equatorial fork mounting.
Revit Project "TO DO" list:
- Change the exterior finish of the dome to white paint
- Add channels to the dome skin to emulate the individual gore segments
- Model a white corrugated aluminum sheet wall covering over the plywood sheeting on the support wall
- Model an entry area and internal stair steps with a trapdoor cover for the elevated floor within the observatory
- Model the C-14 OTA and MI-500 mounting on a concrete pier and swap out the Alvin Clark model
- Add trees and a few plants around the observatory for a more realistic look
- Generate an animation of the dome rotating upon the support wall with the upper and lower shutters opening and closing.