elcome to the Hubby Observatory. After several false starts and winter delays, I was able to complete construction. Rather than being bound by typical plans, I opted to stretch my engineering skills a bit and let the wife make suggestions as to what she thought would be neat to include. So & the observatory includes some features I haven’t seen in other plans. While I can’t show all the features in just 2 photos, I hope you find the discussion peaks your interest and the photos enjoyable. The observatory itself is an 8’x8′ building with 10’x12′ buildings on either side. The building to the right is the computer/warm-room with the desired man-cave comforts. The building on the left is the wife’s art studio (in a color that can burn retinas). There is an enclosed passageway between the buildings. Comments from previous observatory blogs seemed to recommend that the observatory be larger. However, with the telescope on a pier, I found that the 8’x8′ floor space is very comfortable for 4 adults to move around. In addition, my visitors don’t look through the eyepiece very long in the Alaskan night, all preferring to watch from the warm-room. The observation level is elevated and accessible by stairs. The most unique observatory feature is that the observation-level floor can be raised up when I want unrestricted movement between buildings, or it can be lowered if I want 360o access to the scope. The pier supports an LX200 12 SCT at a height of 10′. The pier was constructed and then reassembled in the dome. Additional stiffeners and dampeners were used to eliminate movement and vibration. The plate attaching the scope to the pier was also custom designed to provide a little extra adjustment. (It’s a little difficult to locate Polaris during Alaskan summers.) Passage from the warm-room is through a well disguised sliding bookcase. A second set of doors further isolates the observatory from the other buildings to keep the heat and cold in the appropriate places. The exterior includes a large deck with a fire pit appropriately named Celestial Caldron (found at Home Depot). It’s a perfect fit for mixing observing with a little entertaining.