La Nina Observatory

I named my observatory ‘La Nina Observatory’ as I started building it in September 2019 and finished in April 2020; in 2021 La Nina started to hit Australia and stayed with us for a few years. I think I managed to take more images in 2020 to mid 2021, prior to La Nina then I have done in any other year since.

I always wanted to build an observatory even though I had never previously owned any telescope equipment or even tried to image the night sky for that matter. I have had an interest in astrophotography since purchasing Sky and Telescope magazines decades prior in my late twenties. I have also watched countless YouTube videos about astrophotography for years prior to owning my first telescope rig. This learned knowledge made an easy transition for me in the type of telescope and accessories that I wanted to purchase. It’s also the main inspiration behind me creating my own YouTube channel ‘donstronomy’, focused on a DIY approach to astrophotography.

I first purchased our property in 1995 and have been living here with my wife and daughter since 2009. Our property is situated well away from any major city and sits on top of a ridge at 930 metres in elevation. The night skies here represent a bortle class 2 sky. Class 1 being the darkest skies and Class 9 being the most light polluted. The clarity, beauty and awe inspiring magnitude of the Milky Way from our property was my biggest source of inspiration for building the observatory.

The design of my observatory represents my budget and location. Looking at the price of a fully automated three metre dome observatory was an intimidating factor. My location on top of a ridge in the middle of the surrounding bush lands in a high fire risk area was another major factor. I decided to construct the observatory from stone that I have in abundance on my property to keep construction costs low. I used iron to protect from an amber attack as a plastic or fibreglass dome would not be as fire resistant. The high wind speeds we have at this elevation was the main reason I decided to not build a roll of roof observatory even though this was the simplest and my preferred choice. Having the protection of a roof while observing and photographing meant that the telescope was not being effected as much by the wind.

Unfortunately this decision also meant a challenge for me to automate the roof as I could not just simply roll it off, instead the observatory roof has to track with the telescope. I have managed to automate the observatory roof with the tracking of the telescope by utilising laser sensors. I have been fortunate to have an interest in electronics from a young age and I have been employed as a technician in the entertainment industry for most of my life. This has armed me with the knowledge necessary to undertake the challenge mechanically and electrically.

I have taken a hands on DIY approach to most things in my life such as building my house, building our own wind generators, building PA and HiFi equipment, own repairs to my cars that I can do without a hoist etc. I have never owned or made a lot of money and this has led me into a DIY approach to life.

Below is a 10 minute timelapse of the construction of my observatory, please enjoy. You can support my YouTube channel donstronomy by sharing and subscribing or purchasing a print or merch item from my shop page.

I wish you all many many clear sky nights.

Don