Io

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Throughout 2005 it became clear that the use of my 8-inch telescope was limited by continually having to carry and load up the telescope, tripod, 3 cases of accessories, laptop, portable power station and the vitally important coffee and biscuits.
I than had to spend anything up to 1 hour unloading and setting up only to have repeat the process in reverse at the end of the nights session invariably leaving some vital component behind.
At a meeting of Callington Astronomy Club a group of us were sat around discussing this problem and the idea of building an observatory in my garden was suggested as the answer.
It would:
a) Eliminate wasted time for set up, cooling down and dismantling.
b) Reduce the risk of losing or damaging equipment.
c) Be permanently mounted and polar aligned.
d) Have a mains electrical supply.
e) Be able to vary the amount the roof opens to block glare of the moon and any light pollution.
f) Have a level area to stand, tripod mounted scopes with seating and an area for charts etc.

We then drew up a list of requirements for the project which were
1) Cost
It must not exceed a budget of �500 (excluding tea & biscuits)
2) Complexity
a) The design should not be subject to planning or building regulatory bodies.
b) It must be built using materials that were readily obtainable.
c) Only tools that the average homeowner would have should be required.

3) Ease of use
a) It should take no more than 5 minutes to open up and set up for observing sessions.
b) It must be sturdy, light and the run off section manageable by one person.
c) Operating it in the dark should be simple and safe.

4) Aesthetics
a) )The finished observatory had to look as natural as possible in the garden.
b) It should not attract unwanted attention

5) Flexibility
a) It should be simple to build
b) It should be easy to extend or alter in the future.
c) It should be capable of taking my existing LX90 but suitable for a larger scope at a later date.

Many hours were spent on the Internet examining self-build projects from the simple design of a wooden sentry box type shed that was lifted on and off which would only be suitable for small scopes. And the most complex block built structures with a driven fibreglass dome, which was well beyond our budget and probably would not fit into the garden.

A pre-manufactured dome was quickly discounted because of cost; prices start at around �4,000. The technical difficulties of building one at home and the problem of driving it counted against it. With small domes the internal space is severely restricted and unfortunately they never look right in a back garden.

So throwing away everything we found we decided on our own design using a green plastic shed and a run off system that satisfied all of our criteria.

After careful consideration a plastic shed was decided upon because it is light, flexible and requires no maintenance and of course it is relatively cheap.

A site was now chosen roughly halfway down the garden, which was approx. 70 foot from the house and shielded from the house lights by a large hedge. This allowed sufficient room for the observatory with a level paved area in front for setting up other scopes. The site gave a full 360� view with the effect of trees and bushes minimised and also left room for some careful planting to help the structure blend in. Although my site was level this design is easily adaptable to cope with a sloping site.
The observatory was oriented North/South which meant that the obstruction to viewing when the shed was open was limited to the South which suffered from Plymouth�s light pollution anyway.

It is worth remembering that as soon as you take a saw to your new shed the warranty becomes a worthless piece of paper and there is no going back.
The project was completed over a period of 4 Saturdays with a few evening brainstorming session to iron out small problems during construction. Particularly additional bracing as we had not realised how much the structural integrity of the shed had been compromised.
The last job was to decide on a name for the observatory and this task was put a full meeting of Callington Astronomy Group where the name Instant Observatory or Io was chosen.

No real building skills are required for this project and it could be completed by virtually anyone who has a suitable site and enjoys DIY.
I have already added a dedicated double mount for solar observing and sometime in the future the observatory may be extended to include a warm room when the top is rolled back.

The observatory is without doubt the most useful astronomical accessory I posses. It now means that I can start observing in about 5 minutes and with a stab le level polar aligned scope I can start to think about CCD imaging when funds permit. I have a stable level mount, which will be ideal for astrophotography.

There is mains power for the telescope and a laptop with shelving and seating arranged to ensure a comfortable night and all the necessary star charts to hand. The lower section also offers some protection against the wind.
If I want a coffee or something a bit stronger I can just go into the kitchen and maybe have a chat with my partner who is dragged out (sometimes reluctantly) to view the heavens.
At the end of the night the scope is parked and is then ready to begin observing another time without having to align etc.
And as all too often happens in this country when clouds rollover and block the sky I can pack up and be sat in front of the TV in minutes.
Observing is no longer the chore of setting up and packing away on cold damp grass but has become quicker, easier and a lot more fun. I now remember why I love astronomy.

Background to the creation of Io