Hi all,
this is a story of building an observation shelter KuuMaja (finnish for MoonHut), which is located in Toijala, Finland approximately at 61 degrees 09 minutes Norther latitude and 23 degrees 50 minutes Eastern longitude, at an elevation of 104 meters above the sealevel.

The aim was to construct a simple shelter to get rid of the light pollution due to the direct and close glow of several streetlights shinging from the North onto the yard.

I also wanted to have decent protection from wind, have the rig ready for quick sessions and be able to observe the most of the skies (i.e not to have a dome) and deliver fast tempering for the scope.

The hut also had to be on the backyard and the roof had to be quickly opened and closed. The northern side of the hut should allow to see the Stella Polaris for appropriate Polar alingment, yet protect from the streetlights as was mentioned earlier.

I have clear vision about from Southeast to Northwest, over trees and houses upward from about 30 degrees from the horizon.

The KuuMaja (MoonHut) is 2,5 x 2,5 meters and the maximum height on the Northern wall is 2 meters. The South-tilted roof is made of transparent plastic material, and it slides up and down (on rails down into the South), hanging on a sliding rails system.

The structure is made of lumber preprocessed (impregnated) to be water resistant. The walls and the floor are made of filmlayered plywood board, which is also water resistant.

At this point my EQ6 Pro –tripod is simply mounted on concrete slabs resting on a sand bed, thus having no contact with the structure to prevent any vibrations from transferring into the scope when observing.

The stucture is made in a fashion it breathes under the roof, so I might experience minor amount of snow pouring in occasionally, but this should not be a problem (knock-knock).

Also the ventilation is important, as the transparent roof gathers considerable amount of warmth into the hut especially during the summer months.

In the following messages I'll share with you 17 pictures to present the ida of the KuuMaja (MoonHut). It took some 70-80 hours to build, and of course required permission from the neighbours and authorities to be built. There are also a few closeups on the building of the sliding system just in case somebody would benefit from the ideas.

Be well all!

First, the foundations...