As some of you may know, I have been considering building a new observatory. Originally I planned to purchase land as Frank had done and build it there. My most recent sudden attack of kidney stones reminded me that it probably wasn't a great idea to be out somewhere remote by myself. And since my main interest in the observatory was astrophotography, I decided to build it in my back yard. The skies are acceptably dark and access can't be beat!
I looked at domes and roll-off types of observatories. "She, who must be obeyed" decided that a dome looked too ugly for a residential neighborhood, especially her backyard neighborhood. She did like the cute look of the SkyShed roll-off, but I didn't care for the nature of the construction and the fact that they have no local installers at present. For that reason I contacted BackYard Observatories in Ohio. They have a more solid plan and I was very impressed by their model at NEAF. They also, for a fee, agreed to come and build it in my location.
