Tom Clark
sage
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 325
Loc: Chiefland, Florida
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I have never gotten around to coming up with a name for our observatory. At first glance the sign seems to be a name for it, but the sign was there long before the dome was finished in '03.
When we moved to Chiefland in '98, it was an astronomy community with 15 observatories in the neighborhood. The first thing I did was build another 36" Dob. It was named The Yard Scope II for obvious reasons, and the cedar sign was made for the fence near the gate.
Building an observatory in your yard is not a project to take lightly. The building will last a lot longer than the scope inside it, as scopes tend to come and go - not so with whatever monstrocity you build! It took me 4 years to decide what to build, and only 4 months to build it.
Now that it has been finished for 6 years, thousands of observers have had a chance to observe with us.
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Tom Clark
sage
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 325
Loc: Chiefland, Florida
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The original 36" Dob was rolled in and out of the workshop until it was replaced by the dome and new scope.
Jeannie often thinks that a good name for the observatory would be the same name the kids in the Robin Williams movie "RV" gave to the motorhome. I think it has something to do with the groans the dome makes as it is rotated around the sky.
Edited by Tom Clark (01/25/09 08:51 PM)
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csa/montana
Den Mother
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 43974
Loc: montana
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Beautiful, Tom; great photo!
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory
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Starman27
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/29/06
Posts: 718
Loc: Illinois, Iowa
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I guess I'm not very creative. I looked up and said "Dark Sky" observatory in North Central Iowa. I live in Lily Lake so... you guessed it "Lily Lake" observatory for the one in Northern Illinois.
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Enjoy the dark,
Herman
Meade
14 LX200 GPS SMT
12 LX200 GPS
7 LX200 Maksutov
ETX 125
TAK FS128 NSV
Sky 90II
Lunt LS60ThaDS BF1200
Canon 5D Mark II
Illinois
Iowa
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starquester
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/03/04
Posts: 594
Loc: Three Rivers, MI U.S.A>
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Hi All,
Just a quick hello,
I don't want to get too off topic but my mom made it through surgery but is having a rough time recovering fro the antatesia (SP?).
Every ones names and how the came up with them is truly great.
Thanks all.
Alan
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Alan D. Otterson
Windy Ridge Observatory
41-58.966N
85-43.069W
http://www.flickr.com/
Alan Otterson
Founder&Owner
A Yahoo Observatory Group
Flip Top & Clamshell & Rubbermaid Observatories
http://tinyurl.com/yz9ckk
The Nikon D40 Astrophotography Group
http://tinyurl.com/5j8qw2
A Yahoo Astrophotography Group
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RobertED
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/11/03
Posts: 1402
Loc: Johnston, RI
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Great to hear about your Mom, Alan!! Fingers are crossed!!
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csa/montana
Den Mother
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 43974
Loc: montana
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Alan, our thoughts & prayers are with your Mom, and also with you. Glad the surgery is over; hopefully today she will be better.
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory
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hm insulators
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/22/07
Posts: 1539
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Hope your mother is feeling better tonight, starquester! When I had my hernia surgery some four months ago, it took me longer than usual to recover from the anesthesia.
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hm insulators
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/22/07
Posts: 1539
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Quote:
Quote:
Looking at the map you mentioned, I see Aguanga's not too far from Mt. Palomar; you might even get a distant view of the observatory there. If you do, maybe your new observatory can be called "Observatario Vista de Palomar." Or just "Vista Palomario Observatory"--I don't know if that would technically be correct in Spanish but it would be less cumbersome to pronounce.
The dome at Palomar is about 15 miles as the crow flies and is visible from my new observatory site. Here is a picture. The inset is a 2x magnification of the dome. There is a broad view of the mountain on my website.
I think your idea for a name is very good. I'll have to play around with that theme. It is also on the foothills of Cahuilla Mountain, so "Cahuilla Mountain Observatory" has been considered.
Thanks and clear skies,
--Andy
Next time I come to Los Angeles and go hiking to the top of Mt. Lowe, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains only about two miles from Mt. Wilson, if I can see Mt. Palomar, I'll wave to you!  On clear winter days, you can see Mt. Palomar from parts of the Los Angeles basin; looking from Mt. Lowe or even driving on the I-210 from La Canada to Pasadena, it's quite prominent on the southeastern horizon, at least when smog doesn't murk the skies.
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andyschlei
sage
Reged: 03/05/06
Posts: 417
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Next time I come to Los Angeles and go hiking to the top of Mt. Lowe, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains only about two miles from Mt. Wilson, if I can see Mt. Palomar, I'll wave to you! On clear winter days, you can see Mt. Palomar from parts of the Los Angeles basin; looking from Mt. Lowe or even driving on the I-210 from La Canada to Pasadena, it's quite prominent on the southeastern horizon, at least when smog doesn't murk the skies.
A local has told me that he has seen Mt. Wilson and Mt. Palomar at the same time from a local hilltop. On a clear, dry day, that just might be possible.
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Observatorio de la Ballona
Mar Vista
Lake Riverside Estates
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Cotts
Just Wondering
Reged: 10/10/05
Posts: 1051
Loc: Richmond Hill, Ontario
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Mine is "Cnoc nan Rionnag" which is Gaelic, reflecting my ancestry. Idiomatically translates as "Star Hill" Observatory. I would note that I named it so in 1990 before I ever heard of the New Mexico Astro-tourism place.
For pronunciation, 'Cnoc' is pronounced like 'croc' but you have to roll the 'r'. The English word 'crag', for peak or summit derives from 'cnoc'. 'nan' is the prepositional phrase 'of the'. 'Rionnag' is, of course, 'star'. The female name 'Riannon' derives therefrom and would make a lovely name for an astronomer's daughter...
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David Cotterell
14th Floor Observatory
Richmond Hill, Ontario
200 mm Intes f/10 Mak-Cass
80mm WO Zenithstar FD
66mm WO ED
250mm Meade Lightbridge with Obsidian Mirror (Mar '10)
Discmount DM6
Canon XSi
99% Visual Observer - Double Stars, Clusters, Planets, Deep Sky...
Liberal Humanist Skeptic
Happy Citizen of Earth
"No matter how tall or short you are, your feet just reach the ground..."
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canadiens
newbie
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 3
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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I had a hard time deciding upon a name for my observatory. I overlook a couple of holes of a local golf course and was thinking for a long time of a golfing theme as my dome looks like a plugged golf ball or a ball on a tee from a distance. Keeping things simpler, it dawned on me that the name of the farm that my lot was severed from 40+ years ago was Fairview Farm. Hence came the name of my Fairview Observatory.
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10' homemade dome on elevated platform
CG14 on permanent pier with sitech servo controller
Meade DSI 3 colour camera
6" f8 homebuilt dob with telrad finder
20*80 skymaster binocs on homemade parallelogram mount with homemade adapter for red dot finder
barn door tracker
Fairview Observatory
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Chris Schroeder
Postmaster
Reged: 12/11/04
Posts: 6820
Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow
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And a well deserved name it is.
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Chris
Mallincam Color Hyper Plus
10" DSH with SC DSC, CPC 800 XLT
M110 Doublet ED, AT 102Achro, ZS80FD 10th Anniv, ZS66SD, PST
CG5-AGT, EZ-Touch, Voyager
POD XL3 http://POD.SchroederCity.com
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starquester
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/03/04
Posts: 594
Loc: Three Rivers, MI U.S.A>
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Boy their are sure a lot of great names out
their.
Keep them coming in,
Alan
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Alan D. Otterson
Windy Ridge Observatory
41-58.966N
85-43.069W
http://www.flickr.com/
Alan Otterson
Founder&Owner
A Yahoo Observatory Group
Flip Top & Clamshell & Rubbermaid Observatories
http://tinyurl.com/yz9ckk
The Nikon D40 Astrophotography Group
http://tinyurl.com/5j8qw2
A Yahoo Astrophotography Group
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HUsher
sage
Reged: 04/14/06
Posts: 203
Loc: South Wales, UK
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Mine is called 'Ty Seren' (Ty is pronounced tee) and its the Welsh for Star House.
(One of my friends saw the photo and asked why I had 'TV Screen' on the side  )
Helen
Edited by HUsher (01/31/09 08:17 AM)
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csa/montana
Den Mother
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 43974
Loc: montana
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Helen, what a beautiful name for a beautiful Observatory! 
Thanks for adding yours to the thread.
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory
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Bob Myler
sage
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 296
Loc: St Louis, MO
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Love that log-look siding and T-Lok shingles - a beautiful, warm combination! Any pics of the interior or roll-off of the roof?
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5" AP StarFire on Dobbins mount
10" Custom Dynascope on HD Criterion mount
12" LightBridge - extensively moded
Meade ETX90EC w/Autostar
Fujinon 6X30 FMTR-SX
8' Exploradome w/Bay Extension
18 various eyepieces/barlows
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RobertED
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/11/03
Posts: 1402
Loc: Johnston, RI
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Really is a beautiful building!!!  Yeah, I'd love to see the interior set-up, too!! Always fun to see the equipment of other observers!!! 
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Bowmoreman
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 4152
Loc: Bolton, MA
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We live in a fairly unique "development" which is actually 23 homes sharing about 250 acres. The builder cut a deal with the town to dedicate about 100 acres to perpetual conservation land, and the rest to our houses, most of which are all around 1/4 to 1/2 mile off the road.
The road is named Wilder Road, in honor of a late 18th century "noble citizen" of the early american revolutionary war timeframe. He owned all this land (and much more) and it was almost a little "burg" - had a cart path (early form of railroad), several dams/ponds for water power, etc. Anyways, the land had been known as "Wilder Farm" for hundreds of years.
I found out through our historical society that Sir Wilder was a close personal friend of Napoleon (yes THAT one), and he even had a small house built for him to "retire to" before that unfortunate (for him) incident on Elba!
So, with all that history, I figured that "Wilder Skies Observatory" would be a good and respectful name. Plus its kinda fun...
Not sure what a LOGO would look like, though? (for some weird reason I keep thinking something on the Lou Reed - take a walk on the Wilder side keeps popping up, but the visuals there might be scary!)
clear enough skies
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Dave
Imaging: MI-250+ADM/SBS/Optec Libra: C11Hyperstar,TMB80SS
Visual: XT10i RTP
EP: 31T5,22T4,17T4,12T4,13Ethos,10XW,8Ethos;2x Powermate,Paracorr, 1.6X Antares, Hyperion8-24Zoom
Cameras: Mallincam Color Hyper Plus, QHY8
Guider: SBIG STV eFinder
Key Add-ons: Gerbings Heated clothes, WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO#90), Speco 9"Monitor
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Chris Schroeder
Postmaster
Reged: 12/11/04
Posts: 6820
Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow
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Pretty cool Dave and Helen I like the look of yours 
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Chris
Mallincam Color Hyper Plus
10" DSH with SC DSC, CPC 800 XLT
M110 Doublet ED, AT 102Achro, ZS80FD 10th Anniv, ZS66SD, PST
CG5-AGT, EZ-Touch, Voyager
POD XL3 http://POD.SchroederCity.com
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