Starlight Cascade Observatory

Page Created: 2003 September 03
Page Last Updated: 2007 June 23

Latitude: 44.22.39 North Longitude: 76.45.47 West Elevation: 155m

This is our home built roll-off roof design observatory. It was built in the fall of 2003 and consists of an 8x10' deck with an 8x10' garden shed on top of it. The roof was redesigned to detach from the shed and the roll-off track was built. Since then, it has had many modifications, many after the doors blown in from Hurricane Isabel (2003 September 20th) and the roof has blown off in a severe thunderstorm (2003 October 11).

We use it for daily Solar Observing nighttime observing of variable stars, planets, deep sky objects, satellite and more! (sometimes offline and bad sensor data due to failing components)

Major Links:

  • Initial Observatory Construction Fall 2003
  • Observatory modifications (Winter 2003 to present)
  • All sky camera
  • Sky Quality Meter for quantifying the sky glow and light pollution

    Select Imagery

  • 2006 August - Added foil insulation to roof to stop condensation and dripping. This has worked extremely well in the last year!
  • 2006 June - Added new low light allsky camera on post under dome
  • Moved old weather station sensors to post
  • Moved webcam from looking up to looking east
  • 2005 August - Removed lolight supercircuits camera and installed webcam looking up
  • Removed lo light camera and replaced with webcam
  • 2005 July - Added decorative star
  • using looking down allsky lolight supercircuits camera
  • Taped up leaking roof seams
  • 2005 March - Added allsky camera post
  • 2005 February - Added inside blue styrofoam to stop wind from blowing in seams
  • 2004 August - Added three 18" square level pads for dobsonian platforms
  • 2004 July - Before adding the allsky cam post