Oh my goodness, what a project! Well done, it just looks absolutely amazing in the mountains. I am so jealous 😊. I wish you many happy and clear nights in your new observatory. 🔭
My 70 foot Ponderous fell through our bedroom. The tree man pointed to another that would likely blow over. Homeowners insurance said "no, we don't cover trees till they fall". At least astronomers have more common sense. It's fun to see your progress on the dome. I love your video style... Something very satisfying about watching progress on an observatory going up! You take care now.
Wow. I watched a Lodgepole Pine fall on the house. You just watch helpulessly. The observatory is undergoing changes and is still a work in progress but I have changed gears now.
I must say I’m really looking forward to future videos for using this nice dome. This was one of my favorite videos that you’ve done recently. Thanks looking forward to the future.
Thanks for taking the time to document the whole process. It seems like every person's observatory build has different complications to work through and this is helpful for your viewers to create realistic expectations about the process. So happy that you get to observe in the new dome and don't have to lug everything out!
I’m so excited that you’ve got the observatory built I know it’s been a headache but it’s so worth it I know it’s not heated but surely at a minimum it should feel warmer with no wind chill ? Looking forward to the first video from inside the dome 🎉🙂🙂🔭🇬🇧
Woohoo congrats Tsula, that looks awesome even though you had a few headaches along the way. When I see ads saying "anyone can do it", I generally think "I need a specialist for this 😂". I'd say it suits you very well, enjoy your observing in your new Dome. -Ollie
A super-sized congratulations, Tsula!! That's so terrific, and the site and observatory are both beautiful. All the best of luck with it. I'm sure it was super stressful, but that Montana-sized smile permanently pasted on your face as you were giving us a tour tells me it was worth all the effort. Thanks so much for sharing the experience and all the pitfalls. We're having a second landscaping project done this spring after 'mud season' is over here in VT and it will be a fire pit area away from the house. (My wife thinks it's for sitting around a fire pit -- I didn't tell her it's really a site where I can set up my telescopes. 😁Not an observatory (yet), but it will give me some additional sky views.) Congrats again and enjoy that great observatory! (No more animals creeping up on you while you're observing, either. Yeah!)
Thanks, Greg. I've been having to use all kinds of weird angles in my videos for the past year trying to keep the mess out of the background and the project a secret. I was able to remove the excavator from the middle of my double rainbow picture with Photoshop. I'm very happy with the observatory and it was worth all the trials and tribulations. Good luck with your fire pit/outdoor observatory! I bet Vermont is like Montana-- May is the month of mud. Thanks again.
@@tsulasbigadventures You know, I wanted to say before that I think you are amazing having been so stoic about all the anxiety you had when the observatory was being built, and the way you kept that a secret you should have been in the CIA! (Geez, you weren't, were you?!) 🤣 You're incredible, Tsula! Enjoy the heck out of that wonderful observatory.
@@gregerianne3880 Thank you, Greg. That is so kind of you to say. There were times when I thought my head was going to explode. I don't think I could get clearance for the CIA. I could not even qualify for Global Entry. Ha ha.
Hi Keith: The sky is nice and dark where my house is and when it's clear it's a great place for star gazing but yes, it can get very rough in the winter trying to stay warm and constantly shoveling snow to make a place to get my telescope out.
Congratulations! You're truly a dedicated amateur. And congratulations on the video itself - with the narrative interest of your construction ups and downs, and the narration itself, it's one of your very best. And your smile, as you rotated the observatory dome, brought one to my lips, as did your remark about Montana being a "do what you want" state. 🙂 I'm one of those whose first thought was that you'd finally be warm - but at least you'll be out of the winter wind. Wind chill, especially from a steady breeze (I used to work outdoors), is a thing. Also, I totally agree about not trusting the "easy-to-install" promises of vendors. Last week, I undertook the "easy" process of switching cellphone carriers. It turned into an all-day hassle which left me bereft of both cellphone and (because I use two-factor authentication) email.
Thanks Walter. I took one look at that installation video and knew immediately it was way over my head. And that was just clamping the rings together. You are correct about the wind. It might be 42 degrees but if there is wind you cannot stay warm especially your fingers. And the dome will provide protection against wild animals. A skunk has been coming around after dark lately. I yelled at it one time but its tail was up and so I couldn't really do anything to get rid of it for fear of being sprayed. Thanks for your kind comments on the video itself.
@@tsulasbigadventures I can understand being afraid of wild animals which might be rabid - which is why you should never let a seemingly "friendly" wild animal, like a skunk, raccoon, opossum or bat, approach you (that's how rabies spreads itself - there's an initial phase which makes the infected animal unusually sociable, the better to salivate on you) - but I've never thought of Bullwinkle, for example, as a clear and present danger. I'd enjoy living around moose - the only thing I'd worry about in your neck of the woods are brown bears (which are more aggressive than the Eastern black bear) and perhaps cougars and wolves. (Not to mention poisonous snakes and black widows and brown recluses - but we have those in the East as well, and I fear them less than I do ticks.) Also, didn't your dome equipment come with a silicone sealant? I was on the Home Dome web site and saw that a sealant was a part of the package.
@@waltergold3457 Walter: There are lots of animals around my house but they are for the most part afraid of people. The black bears are very shy and I've only seen one anywhere near the house. Poor thing was an orphan and probably starved to death. It ate my hummingbird feeder. The moose is rare. There are mountain lions. I've seen their tracks but they are very elusive. This winter the whole neighborhood was up in arms (literally) about a mountain lion that killed a deer and left the carcass in the road. I have found deer parts around the property. You ask a very pertinent question. The dome came with silicone sealant. At first I thought that the contractor had forgotten to apply the sealant but I asked him and he said he had applied it discretely to the exterior so it wouldn't look bad. I went around the exterior and found he had missed a whole section of the exterior in the back that never sees the sun. So, when the snow melted it came in through the unsealed section (I think). I then bought two more tubes of sealant and applied it around the entire perimeter at the base and also inside (although he told me that was not a good idea and might cause mold to develop if water gets trapped in between). I'm waiting for it to rain to see if any water intrudes. If it does then I need to figure out what to do next.
@@tsulasbigadventures I hope you don't get a mold problem - it can be genuinely dangerous. Your property has hummingbirds, and cougars feeding on deer? I'm envious. "The whole neighborhood was up in arms (literally)..." - well, Montana is a do-what-you-want state. 🙂 During one of my recent trips to Maryland, I was in a car going through farmlands covered by a low-lying mist, on which the moon shone brightly. That was pretty enough, but the memorable part was when a herd of whitetail deer, their tails aloft, appeared and raced beside the car, leaping over the fences in their way. Speaking of an irrational fear of animals, I vividly remember seeing my first (and last) driller wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus), many years ago in Maryland. A field guide on insects has the following to say: "She terrifies many who don't know she's harmless." PS: Do you remember me asking if the name of your LLC has a special meaning? I thought, the other day, of that exchange while housecleaning with my Eureka vacuum.
@@waltergold3457 Walter: The contractor waited until after I started putting sealant inside the dome to tell me that that might trap moisture in between the inside and outside. I really don't want to scrap it off. One of my brothers is coming to visit this summer and I'm going to put it on my list of things for him to do for me, to help me figure out the best way to keep moisture out. I can't remember if I told you that I found deer parts on the property-- left overs from the mountain lion's meal. Curiously as much as I hike around there I have never seen a mountain lion; I've only ever seen tracks in the snow and some great photos on my trail cameras. The hummingbirds should be returning soon. I love seeing White-tailed Deer jumping with their tails lifted high. I had to look up that insect. It looks very scary. Yes, you asked me about my company name. It is the old Latin word for the MacGillivray's Warbler which nests on my property in the summer. Should be returning soon. I'm afraid to ask you why your Eureka vacuum cleaner reminded you of my logo.
Thats really fantastic. Maybe there was a little pain, but its going to be worth it. Maybe you can get a heating pad or something like that for when its cold. When it gets hot, you can definitely use a fan in there. I hope you get a lot of use out of it. I'm jealous lol
A 6" refractor pretty much needs a permanent home, so congratulations on finishing your project. Having a 6" f/12 achromat, I can relate to problems setting up in the middle of Winter. I'm wondering if you've considered wiring your dome with 12V DC. That way, you could plug in one of those electric snowmobile suits on those clear nights here in Montana when it's below 0 degrees.
An electric snowmobile suit? I actually had never heard of it before you mentioned it. I was trying hand warmers, body warmers, toe warmers, electric socks, and blankets over my head and when all else fails running into the house. I will need to look into this, for sure. Thanks for the tip!
@@tsulasbigadventures Yes, you can get everything from electric gloves, boot insoles, etc. to full electric, heated coveralls. As long as your observatory has a free 120V wall outlet socket, you should be able to plug in a switching DC power supply of 20A-30A, which would also power your equatorial mount, computer and even camera equipment, if you need. I'm not familiar with powering equipment for astro-photography or how sensitive that is to needing clean DC power, but if size and weight are non-issues, linear power supplies are available as well. Check out Samlex, PowerWerx and Astron for power supply and power distribution options.
@@markihde4381 Yes, it has a free 120V wall outlet socket. Thank you for all this information. Heated coveralls sounds great. I will look into those power distribution options you mentioned. Thank you so much.
Tsula, hello. Just two days ago I "discovered" your helpful and entertaining videos on RUclips. I have already seen several and I liked them a lot. I saw this one about the construction of your observatory and he gave me a lot of pleasure. As you surely know there are almost no videos of amateur female astronomers. I am a Mexican amateur astronomer living in Guadalajara. Greetings and thanks for your videos. By the way, are you on Facebook?
Ricardo: Thank you so much! I am very aware of the dearth of women astronomers. I'm not sure why but I hope that I can inspire some more to get interested in this great hobby. I've never been to Guadalajara but I would imagine it's pretty light polluted. I am not on FB.
Thank you. Yes, but first I have to figure out how to use the ASCOM driver to operate the mount and rotate the dome simultaneously. I have not had a chance to set that up yet.
@@tsulasbigadventures I'd think with Sequence Generator Pro or N.I.N.A. It depends also on your choices. For example, I'm fully equiped with ZWO brand exept the mount which is recognized ( every type of dome too ). So my ASIAIR plus drives all my setup. A friend of mine uses SGP, ascom drivers and an IPX 800 V4... Clear skies.
Thank you. So, the instructions say that you connect a computer inside the dome to the in-dome electronics with the ASCOM Driver and that you can operate the in dome computer with a computer inside your house if you have something like Remote PC or similar software. However, as I live in a rural area my internet does not extend out to the dome. Once I walk outside I have no phone service and no internet. I have not read the entire instruction manual to find out if what you are suggesting is possible. I first have to connect to the in dome computer and get that set up and running. The dome was just completed and I have more to do.
@@tsulasbigadventures i would look into putting a wifi extender in the dome and another on the side of the house closest to the dome. That, or run a hard line out there and bury it. How nice would Hot Chocolate and Astronomy be together. 😁
A mountain lion took down a deer right in the middle of the road in April. I found deer parts in my meadow. So, it really is a concern but they are very reclusive and I don't worry too much.
Congratulations Tulsa! A learning experience, but well worth it.
Oh my goodness, what a project! Well done, it just looks absolutely amazing in the mountains. I am so jealous 😊. I wish you many happy and clear nights in your new observatory. 🔭
Thank you, Leon. When you are feeling jealous just think about me shoveling endless mounds of snow.
That’s awesome. Congratulations 🖖🏼
My 70 foot Ponderous fell through our bedroom. The tree man pointed to another that would likely blow over. Homeowners insurance said "no, we don't cover trees till they fall". At least astronomers have more common sense. It's fun to see your progress on the dome.
I love your video style... Something very satisfying about watching progress on an observatory going up! You take care now.
Wow. I watched a Lodgepole Pine fall on the house. You just watch helpulessly. The observatory is undergoing changes and is still a work in progress but I have changed gears now.
I must say I’m really looking forward to future videos for using this nice dome. This was one of my favorite videos that you’ve done recently. Thanks looking forward to the future.
Thank you, Geoffrey!
You know this means less carrying of heavy gear and more fun time observing from now on...😊
Indeed!
Thanks for taking the time to document the whole process. It seems like every person's observatory build has different complications to work through and this is helpful for your viewers to create realistic expectations about the process. So happy that you get to observe in the new dome and don't have to lug everything out!
Thank you.
WOW! Very cool.
Congratulations.
Thanks, Chris!
Amazing. Have lots of fun.
Thank you. Can't wait to use it some more.
I’m so excited that you’ve got the observatory built I know it’s been a headache but it’s so worth it I know it’s not heated but surely at a minimum it should feel warmer with no wind chill ? Looking forward to the first video from inside the dome 🎉🙂🙂🔭🇬🇧
Thank you. Now I have to figure out how to set up the ASCOM driver to rotate the dome in tandem with the telescope. More videos coming soon!
Fabulous Tsula. You did a great job. Wish I had an observatory
Thanks, Craig.
Woohoo congrats Tsula, that looks awesome even though you had a few headaches along the way. When I see ads saying "anyone can do it", I generally think "I need a specialist for this 😂".
I'd say it suits you very well, enjoy your observing in your new Dome.
-Ollie
Thanks, Ollie!
A super-sized congratulations, Tsula!! That's so terrific, and the site and observatory are both beautiful. All the best of luck with it. I'm sure it was super stressful, but that Montana-sized smile permanently pasted on your face as you were giving us a tour tells me it was worth all the effort. Thanks so much for sharing the experience and all the pitfalls. We're having a second landscaping project done this spring after 'mud season' is over here in VT and it will be a fire pit area away from the house. (My wife thinks it's for sitting around a fire pit -- I didn't tell her it's really a site where I can set up my telescopes. 😁Not an observatory (yet), but it will give me some additional sky views.) Congrats again and enjoy that great observatory! (No more animals creeping up on you while you're observing, either. Yeah!)
Thanks, Greg. I've been having to use all kinds of weird angles in my videos for the past year trying to keep the mess out of the background and the project a secret. I was able to remove the excavator from the middle of my double rainbow picture with Photoshop. I'm very happy with the observatory and it was worth all the trials and tribulations. Good luck with your fire pit/outdoor observatory! I bet Vermont is like Montana-- May is the month of mud. Thanks again.
@@tsulasbigadventures You know, I wanted to say before that I think you are amazing having been so stoic about all the anxiety you had when the observatory was being built, and the way you kept that a secret you should have been in the CIA! (Geez, you weren't, were you?!) 🤣 You're incredible, Tsula! Enjoy the heck out of that wonderful observatory.
@@gregerianne3880 Thank you, Greg. That is so kind of you to say. There were times when I thought my head was going to explode. I don't think I could get clearance for the CIA. I could not even qualify for Global Entry. Ha ha.
Very informative!
That is very impressive. I am excited to say I've got the exact same little folding table! I share a bit of the Tsula lifestyle.
Ha.
Hi Tsula! I’m in Montana too, near Bozeman. Astronomy is a little rough here, but when it’s good, oh man is it good.
Hi Keith: The sky is nice and dark where my house is and when it's clear it's a great place for star gazing but yes, it can get very rough in the winter trying to stay warm and constantly shoveling snow to make a place to get my telescope out.
Congratulations! You're truly a dedicated amateur. And congratulations on the video itself - with the narrative interest of your construction ups and downs, and the narration itself, it's one of your very best. And your smile, as you rotated the observatory dome, brought one to my lips, as did your remark about Montana being a "do what you want" state. 🙂
I'm one of those whose first thought was that you'd finally be warm - but at least you'll be out of the winter wind. Wind chill, especially from a steady breeze (I used to work outdoors), is a thing.
Also, I totally agree about not trusting the "easy-to-install" promises of vendors. Last week, I undertook the "easy" process of switching cellphone carriers. It turned into an all-day hassle which left me bereft of both cellphone and (because I use two-factor authentication) email.
Thanks Walter. I took one look at that installation video and knew immediately it was way over my head. And that was just clamping the rings together. You are correct about the wind. It might be 42 degrees but if there is wind you cannot stay warm especially your fingers. And the dome will provide protection against wild animals. A skunk has been coming around after dark lately. I yelled at it one time but its tail was up and so I couldn't really do anything to get rid of it for fear of being sprayed. Thanks for your kind comments on the video itself.
@@tsulasbigadventures I can understand being afraid of wild animals which might be rabid - which is why you should never let a seemingly "friendly" wild animal, like a skunk, raccoon, opossum or bat, approach you (that's how rabies spreads itself - there's an initial phase which makes the infected animal unusually sociable, the better to salivate on you) - but I've never thought of Bullwinkle, for example, as a clear and present danger. I'd enjoy living around moose - the only thing I'd worry about in your neck of the woods are brown bears (which are more aggressive than the Eastern black bear) and perhaps cougars and wolves. (Not to mention poisonous snakes and black widows and brown recluses - but we have those in the East as well, and I fear them less than I do ticks.)
Also, didn't your dome equipment come with a silicone sealant? I was on the Home Dome web site and saw that a sealant was a part of the package.
@@waltergold3457 Walter: There are lots of animals around my house but they are for the most part afraid of people. The black bears are very shy and I've only seen one anywhere near the house. Poor thing was an orphan and probably starved to death. It ate my hummingbird feeder. The moose is rare. There are mountain lions. I've seen their tracks but they are very elusive. This winter the whole neighborhood was up in arms (literally) about a mountain lion that killed a deer and left the carcass in the road. I have found deer parts around the property.
You ask a very pertinent question. The dome came with silicone sealant. At first I thought that the contractor had forgotten to apply the sealant but I asked him and he said he had applied it discretely to the exterior so it wouldn't look bad. I went around the exterior and found he had missed a whole section of the exterior in the back that never sees the sun. So, when the snow melted it came in through the unsealed section (I think). I then bought two more tubes of sealant and applied it around the entire perimeter at the base and also inside (although he told me that was not a good idea and might cause mold to develop if water gets trapped in between). I'm waiting for it to rain to see if any water intrudes. If it does then I need to figure out what to do next.
@@tsulasbigadventures I hope you don't get a mold problem - it can be genuinely dangerous.
Your property has hummingbirds, and cougars feeding on deer? I'm envious.
"The whole neighborhood was up in arms (literally)..." - well, Montana is a do-what-you-want state. 🙂
During one of my recent trips to Maryland, I was in a car going through farmlands covered by a low-lying mist, on which the moon shone brightly. That was pretty enough, but the memorable part was when a herd of whitetail deer, their tails aloft, appeared and raced beside the car, leaping over the fences in their way.
Speaking of an irrational fear of animals, I vividly remember seeing my first (and last) driller wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus), many years ago in Maryland. A field guide on insects has the following to say: "She terrifies many who don't know she's harmless."
PS: Do you remember me asking if the name of your LLC has a special meaning? I thought, the other day, of that exchange while housecleaning with my Eureka vacuum.
@@waltergold3457 Walter: The contractor waited until after I started putting sealant inside the dome to tell me that that might trap moisture in between the inside and outside. I really don't want to scrap it off. One of my brothers is coming to visit this summer and I'm going to put it on my list of things for him to do for me, to help me figure out the best way to keep moisture out.
I can't remember if I told you that I found deer parts on the property-- left overs from the mountain lion's meal. Curiously as much as I hike around there I have never seen a mountain lion; I've only ever seen tracks in the snow and some great photos on my trail cameras. The hummingbirds should be returning soon. I love seeing White-tailed Deer jumping with their tails lifted high.
I had to look up that insect. It looks very scary.
Yes, you asked me about my company name. It is the old Latin word for the MacGillivray's Warbler which nests on my property in the summer. Should be returning soon. I'm afraid to ask you why your Eureka vacuum cleaner reminded you of my logo.
Thats really fantastic. Maybe there was a little pain, but its going to be worth it. Maybe you can get a heating pad or something like that for when its cold. When it gets hot, you can definitely use a fan in there. I hope you get a lot of use out of it. I'm jealous lol
Thank you. A heating pad-- I had not thought of that. That's a great idea. Thanks.
Impressive setup
Thank you.
😎👍
A 6" refractor pretty much needs a permanent home, so congratulations on finishing your project. Having a 6" f/12 achromat, I can relate to problems setting up in the middle of Winter. I'm wondering if you've considered wiring your dome with 12V DC. That way, you could plug in one of those electric snowmobile suits on those clear nights here in Montana when it's below 0 degrees.
An electric snowmobile suit? I actually had never heard of it before you mentioned it. I was trying hand warmers, body warmers, toe warmers, electric socks, and blankets over my head and when all else fails running into the house. I will need to look into this, for sure. Thanks for the tip!
@@tsulasbigadventures Yes, you can get everything from electric gloves, boot insoles, etc. to full electric, heated coveralls. As long as your observatory has a free 120V wall outlet socket, you should be able to plug in a switching DC power supply of 20A-30A, which would also power your equatorial mount, computer and even camera equipment, if you need. I'm not familiar with powering equipment for astro-photography or how sensitive that is to needing clean DC power, but if size and weight are non-issues, linear power supplies are available as well. Check out Samlex, PowerWerx and Astron for power supply and power distribution options.
@@markihde4381 Yes, it has a free 120V wall outlet socket. Thank you for all this information. Heated coveralls sounds great. I will look into those power distribution options you mentioned. Thank you so much.
Tsula, hello. Just two days ago I "discovered" your helpful and entertaining videos on RUclips. I have already seen several and I liked them a lot. I saw this one about the construction of your observatory and he gave me a lot of pleasure. As you surely know there are almost no videos of amateur female astronomers. I am a Mexican amateur astronomer living in Guadalajara. Greetings and thanks for your videos. By the way, are you on Facebook?
Ricardo: Thank you so much! I am very aware of the dearth of women astronomers. I'm not sure why but I hope that I can inspire some more to get interested in this great hobby.
I've never been to Guadalajara but I would imagine it's pretty light polluted.
I am not on FB.
Kudos🔭🔭🔭
Thank you.
Fantastic site, fantastic observatory and fantastic rig inside.
Tsula, do you plan to do astrophotography with it ?
Thank you. Yes, but first I have to figure out how to use the ASCOM driver to operate the mount and rotate the dome simultaneously. I have not had a chance to set that up yet.
@@tsulasbigadventures I'd think with Sequence Generator Pro or N.I.N.A. It depends also on your choices. For example, I'm fully equiped with ZWO brand exept the mount which is recognized ( every type of dome too ). So my ASIAIR plus drives all my setup.
A friend of mine uses SGP, ascom drivers and an IPX 800 V4...
Clear skies.
Are you able to network to the laptop from the warmth of the house? Fully remote operation would be ideal. Super cool build!
Thank you. So, the instructions say that you connect a computer inside the dome to the in-dome electronics with the ASCOM Driver and that you can operate the in dome computer with a computer inside your house if you have something like Remote PC or similar software. However, as I live in a rural area my internet does not extend out to the dome. Once I walk outside I have no phone service and no internet. I have not read the entire instruction manual to find out if what you are suggesting is possible. I first have to connect to the in dome computer and get that set up and running. The dome was just completed and I have more to do.
@@tsulasbigadventures i would look into putting a wifi extender in the dome and another on the side of the house closest to the dome. That, or run a hard line out there and bury it. How nice would Hot Chocolate and Astronomy be together. 😁
@@Known_as_sk That sounds very appealing. I have a lot more work to do for sure.
Can you at least heat the stairs? It would be nice to have clear steps. Maybe put in a handrail. I'd tumble down those stairs for sure.
I would be afraid of cougars and wolves
A mountain lion took down a deer right in the middle of the road in April. I found deer parts in my meadow. So, it really is a concern but they are very reclusive and I don't worry too much.