Mythenquai Observatory

In early 2021, after deciding to take the plunge into Astrophotgraphy, I soon realised that having to take down my equipment every night was eating into my imaging time. So I decided to build my own Observatory in the bottom of my garden to permantly have my setup ready to go on those rare nights when there are no clouds.

  • Finished observatory with the door to the warm room, roof is off to the side.
This is with the Celestron Edge8HD, with the ASI AIR Pro, Guiding with the Skywatcher Evoguide 50ED. All mounted on the Celestron AVX mount, this is before I got a pillar made to mount it better. The problem here was the legs just got in the way so opted for a pillar. Cable management still an issue. Behind the dew shield is the hyperstar lens with the imaging camera shooting at f/1.9. Otherwise this setup would be f/10 for closeup imaging.

  • Willaim Optics redcat 51
  • William optics Redcat 51 with ASI AIR pro.
Above is my is my wide angle setup.

  • William Optics 81GT for f/5.9
  • With filter wheel, interesting use of electrical tape.
  • Cat bed for dew control, hey it works for half the price.
  • William Optics 81gt with the Redcat above for color imaging, with the skywatcher guiding above that.
The above is the setup I like to use most as it captures most targets, as I can crop the ZWO ASI 6200mm pro to zoom in on the smaller targets.
The warm room, this now has 3 monitors one for guiding , one for the control of the mount. And then the image capture software. Whole system is wireless and can be control from the house if needed.
The custom mount, this is bolted to separate concrete base inside the observatory. Avoiding any vibration from entering the observatory. It weighs almost 130kg took two us to drag it through to the garden. I was able to walk it to its final position.

In 2022  and more permanent building will be built of brick with room for 3 telescopes to be left up at all times. Its construction will be brick with wood cladding and a sliding roof that will be automated. With full electrics for all power needs. Rubber flooring to reduce vibration. Watch this space for build updates mid 2022.

Clear Skies