Above is a shot of the observatory when it was being used one of the first nights, telescope was being operated locally and I shot a picture of the observatory with roof open and the red lights on with the summer milky way behind it.
Below, August 1st, 2026, first light from the observatory. Mount is not attached to the pier at this point. An adaptor is needed to go from iOptron bolt pattern to the bolt pattern for the AM5 mount, so went with the tripod setup. The AM5, pier extension and guide scope are all new gear. The scope, camera, filter wheel, and rotator have been around for a while. It was nearly a full moon, so it was more of test run than any actual acquisition.
August 21, below is an image of the Celestron telescope after it was mounted on the pier. You can see in the background the wiring for the weather station and all sky camera right below the gate opener. The adaptor is the 3d printed white piece between the pier and the pier extension in the pictures below.
Image below is from the webcam mounted inside the observatory. The picture was taken during the day showing the scope in parked position and ready to go.
Electrical
Below is a ceiling view of the warming room, there are two sets of lights, the first set are relatively bright shop lights for working on different scopes, working on the automation, etc. the second is red lights for preserving night vision when doing visual observations. In the right picture, also in the warming room, there is a relatively large load center/breaker box, provides some room for expansion over time.
Below is the two piers installed on the pedestals with the electrical boxes next to each one on the floor.
Below, first pic is the internet repeater, connecting the internet from the farm to the observatory. Second picture shows the all sky camera that was relocated and a relatively new Ecowitt weather station. Everything is wired and functional.
Below is the installation of the Power Bank to provide electrical power to a safety monitor that closes the roof when the power goes out, internet goes out or rain is detected. The power bank is in an old cooler along with a reptile heating mat and a heating control that will keep the power bank at a temperature over freezing in the winter.
