You have just discovered Scopehill Observatory. It all started, "long, long ago in another galaxy", about 30 years ago to be more exact. We moved from inside a small Kansas town to living outside the city limits in the dark countryside. I started "looking up" and slowly but surely evolution has kept things moving ever since. The existence of this web site is to share the ideas, design and construction tips of my observatory buildings, telescopes and the various paraphernalia that goes with it. Heck, who knows, eventually I may actually take some images again too. The original observatory has been standing the test of time for over 20 years or so and new building has been under construction since December 2009 and although it is mostly done and in operation at this time, additions are still ongoing as of today. There are new things happening all the time. I am trying to keep up with adding information and images of things ASAP after they are created. Please check back again in the future and see what new things have arrived since you last visited. I have a "New Observatory Construction" page that contains several photos of the the new building site, actual building construction and the Roll Of Roof wheels and track set up. A lot has been updated as the work on the new observatory has progressed over the last two years. 

January 23, 2011: The latest updates are on the "Meade Ultra Wedge Modifications" and "Motorizing The Roof" pages.

This is a picture of me as I was hitting the "on" switch of the RCX for the first time in almost 2 months since I had dismounted it from the old building. That's when I started to finalize the pier and Meade Ultra Wedge modifications. I even had all the covers off the scope and took a peak at all the boards and connections inside (cleaned a couple of bugs out from in there too). I even changed the CR-2032 battery in the base for the first time ever on the 2005 vintage scope! Needless to say, I had a moment of trepidation as I hit the switch for the first time.

This the "Clear Dark Sky Clock" for Scopehill Observatory. It is a neat little software that gives you lots of information about the current and upcoming conditions at the observatory.

Click on the image above to see Scopehill Observatory's Clear Dark Sky Clock web page, which contains a full explanation of how it works and just what it means. Thanks goes out to Attilla Danko and The Canadian Meteorological Center for providing this weather chart!