Telescope Reviews: Your "to do" list?

Jon, Ive been pondering the insulation question myself as I am rapidly approaching build week here. My obs may have additional considerations since it is not a stand alone building but rather a "hybrid" space that is "suspended" within another building.

Looking at the rationale for insulation of a habitable space vs insulation of an observatory there are some questions raised. Why do we use insulation in buildings? The obvious answer is to protect the buildings occupants/contents from extremes of outside temperatures that are uncomfortable or unhealthy for the occupants or may be damaging to the contents. Since the goal for observing is to have the telescope(s) at as close as possible to ambient temperature for best viewing the use of insulation seems counter intuitive. But what about the observer and the delicate electronics that are so much a part of astronomy today? The simple answer is a "warm room" where the observer can escape to a conditioned environment and the bulk of electronics can be housed to protect them from temperature and humidity extremes. Great if you have one or can add one, bummer if you don't.

Having said that, what's the best answer? Pick the solution that will allow for the best viewing conditions in the shortest possible time. With this in mind I think that insulating a roll-off obs would allow you to have a "habitable" space when NOT observing and still allow the telescope(s) to reach ambient temps quickly once the roof is rolled off. What to insulate? Walls, roof, floor? Thermal gain/loss in humans has alot to do with whether or not your head and feet are protected, oddly enough the same goes for an observatory. Insulating the roof is like wearing a hat on a hot or cold day. On a hot day it keeps you cooler, on a cold day it keeps you warmer. Once you remove the hat/roll back the roof you get acclimated quickly to ambient temperature. Simple answer, insulate the roof with radiant barrier foil insulation to prevent some heat transfer thru the roof when it's suuny and hot. During winter when you may be in the space with the roof closed, using a small space heater will be more effective since the radiant barrier on the inner roof surface will help to keep the heat in until you open the roof to observe. The floor? Slabs are great in hot climates but miserable in cold climates. Simple answer is do what keeps your feet and your equipment protected and happy. Decks are close to slabs in comfort with the added benefit of being somewhat resilient for your feet when standing for long periods. The downside is drafts in winter and critters and crawlies can enter. The upside is in summer they help to circulate cool air from the ground below. What about the walls? Tight walls, windows and doors that do not allow air to enter and leave through gaps do the most to protect the inside of a building from drafts/dust and critters. Insulating walls will help with some heat gain and loss and will help to provide a barrier to noise transfer by decreasing the resonance of the wall cavity and preventing it from acting like a drum. Nice if you have a noisy mount or noisy neighbors.

Long story short, I'll probably do a radiant barrier on the inside of the roof to cut down on heat gain in hot Texas summers. I'll be lucky enough to have a studio/control room to escape to when it's too hot or cold in the obs.

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1965Healey (Karen)
Woodlawn Lake Observatory
Celestron CPC 800/FT MIcro/APT Wedge
SV NHNG 80mm #0261/CG5-GT
Celestron Omni 150 XLT
Losmandy rails/rings
Starizona CWeight system
Celestron Neximage
Sony a100 DSLR/ZigView S2
Meade DS60's w/Autostar (2)
Meade LPI/Meade DSI-C/DSI ProII
750cc Honda Shadow Spirit (Thanks Dad!)
1965 Austin Healey 3000 MKIII