April 16. 2023 (Winter and Spring doldrums)

Okay, it has been forever it seems like since I have had a chance to write anything on here, so this may end up being a long post. I haven't really done any observing since October. Cloudy days and nights, when there were clear nights it was very cold with snow on the ground (or falling). I didn't want to drag the scope out across the snow, ice, and uneven ground to where I could set up. it seemed like winter didn't want to let go this year. Spring has been almost as frustrating. Will have a few clear days, but clouds build and move in at night.

That all said, I did get in a few naked eye observations and saw some pretty amazing cloud formations. One of the naked eye observations I did get to see was the lunar occultation of Venus on March 24. We live in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana, which runs north-south. The Bitterroot Mountains are the western side of the valley and the Sapphire Mountains are the eastern side. This can lead some fantastic cloud dynamics to watch.

Since I haven't been able to get out with the telescope, I have been doing more research to figure it out better. This website, https://www.nexstarsite.com/ , has a wealth of information on the Nexstar mount. The gentleman who runs the site also has a book on it, which I ordered through Amazon. Here's the link. https://www.amazon.com/NexStar-Users-Guide-SkyProdigy-Practical/dp/3319649329/ . This has helped me figure out most of the issues I was running into before.

The other issue that came up over the winter was the hassle of trying to get set up in winter conditions. We can go long stretches of time with temps not getting above freezing. When they do get above freezing in the daytime, it creates melts a small layer of the snow which then refreezes, making a nice layer of ice on which new snow can fall. Not great conditions for packing the telescope and tripod around. The solution would be to have it set up permanently. For me, that means building what is known as a Roll-Off- Roof observatory.

The two main amateur astronomy forums I follow are called Cloudy Nights and Stargazers Lounge. Cloudy Nights is sponsored by Astronomics, a telescope dealer out of Norman, Oklahoma. Stargazers Lounge is based in England, and is sponsored by

First Light Optics . Both have people from all over the world making posts and asking questions. Both have extensive forums on amateur observatories. People show there entire build process, and discuss problems and solutions. Without being able to get out and observe, I have been reading these forums almost obsessively. One of the most helpful threads has been one on Cloudy Nights about designing and building the pier for the mount an scope itself.

In looking at various builds people have done, I think a 10' x 10' would be ideal. An 8' x 10' will probably work. I need to do some trial layouts with the scope and see for sure. I will probably use a shed style roof because it's the simplest. I am estimating the south wall will be 6' tall with the south wall 7' or 8'. The roof will roll of to the west, since that is where my greatest obstruction is. I also need to figure out the best location for it. That means trying to set up in the different proposed sites to see how they work. Another consideration is access to power. I would like to stay no more than 100' from a building with existing power.