The Durin Observatory
A home built observatory that can be opened and closed remotely. It hosts a Dwarf Smart Telescope (II or 3). It is powered by one 12V power line. This provides power to both the box mechanism and the Dwarf.
Setup
- Tripod: I use an old tripod and placed a piece of MDF on top of it. This needs to be changed to something more durable.
- Box: In my astronomy club we call the Dwarf an AstroLunchBox. So this lasercut box is called the AstroLunchBoxBox. It is still a beta-version in MDF which is coated 3 times with gray paint.
- Lid: The lid is also coated MDF. It is operated by 2 linear acctuators that are driven by a Wemos motor driver.
- Arduino: I use a Wemos D1 Pro Arduino device with a motor driver. It is running Easpeasy as OS. The Wemos is connected to my WiFi and via an URL I can open and close the lid.
- Dwarf: The Dwarf 3 is placed on a photographic ballhead so I can easily tilt it. The box can also host a Dwarf II.
- Power: Only one 12V cable arrives in the box. This is connected to the motor driver and via two 12V to USB-C converters to the Wemos and the Dwarf. A 1A power supply is enough. Often I use a 15Ah battery pack
- Control: I use a smartphone or tablet to control the Dwarf from within my house. When I'm away I connect the smartphone to my PC via USB and run Vysor & DWService to have remote control.
Why ?
- Bortle 15: I live close to Antwerp, so light pollution is a significant issue. Behind my garden to the south we have a parking lot with permanent LED fixtures. And behind that a soccer field with those enormous lightpoles. So I received my own Bortle class for my location: 15. Visual astronomy is very difficult in my garden.
- Time & weather: The weather at my location is not often good. So when I have a clear sky I want to quickly setup my gear. But I'm often away at night so I need a setup that I can pilot from a distance.
- Budget: My budget for astrophotography is limited. So Dwarf is a nice alternative. I now own two Dwarf II's and one Dwarf 3.
Next steps?
- Hardware: I will build a new version of the box in some kind of plastic or aluminium, maybe with another type of opening mechanism. A small PC inside the box would also be an option.
- Weathloerstation: I'm building a weatherstation with a rain and cloud detector so I can close the observatory if the weather changes.
- Software: I'm studying the possibilities of the Dwarfium software suite. My goal is to pilot the Dwarf via a PC without using a smartphone or tablet.
- Location: Soon I will place the box on the roof of my garage so I can leave it outside all night. In the long term I'm looking around to find a location to place my setup with a lot less light pollution.
Messier marathon
The Dwarf II has a fixed field of view of 3°x1.8°. This led me to undertake a Messier marathon with this telescope. The idea is to photograph all the Messiers with the same settings. This will give me an idea of how big all the Messiers are relative to each other.
Meanwhile, I have already done more than 90 of them. You can follow my progress through this link.
Contact
Please email me if you want more info or provide feedback: durin@metro.ws.