Project Notes

Multi-Telescope Private Observatory, Florida

The observatory project was part of a new home construction. It is a fully equipped 14′ 6″ Ash Dome installed on a glass floor so that the owner and guests can view the impressive setup from inside the home.

Observatory Solutions installed the following:

  • Ash Dome 14′ 6″
  • ASA DDM-160 mount – selected for its ability to carry up to 300 kg (661 lb.)
  • PlaneWave CDK20 telescope
  • Celestron C14, TEC 160, Stellarvue 105 and Lunt 85 telescopes mounted on a customized PlaneWave tandem bar
  • Pier designed to allow all telescopes to rotate without a meridian flip

The photos to the right show the range of motion of the setup on the DDM160 mount with equatorial pier.

The bottom photo is a view of the CDK20 imaging train. The imaging setup includes an SBIG STX-16803 with STX Guider and AO-X. The Optec Gemini rotator/focuser was used to allow the system to reach focus.