Star-Gazing Hut Protects Farm Field Telescope

Star-Gazing Hut Protects Farm Field Telescope AG WORLD When Nick Reed wants to gaze at the stars he takes a short walk to a field behind his home opens the retractable roof of a small hut and aims his Dobsonian telescope at the sky The Park Rapids Minn amateur astronomer designed the 9-ft -sq star-gazing shed and now builds them to sell for $2 495 plus delivery “One advantage of my design is that it’s vented so the temperature inside is similar to the temperature outside so you don’t have to wait an hour in cold weather for the telescope to cool off and the optics to adjust ” says Reed “As an observer I like a wide open sky and this works very nicely ” Reed says He can open the roof quickly for views just above the horizon in the east and west and a good view of the southern sky The wall on the north is taller to stabilize the building but the sky from the North Star and above is visible The roof sections are counterweighted and open easily on hinges The part of the floor where the telescope sits is isolated from the rest of the floor to eliminate vibration The whole floor is off the ground secured to 4 by 4-in treated posts on cement blocks that are anchored to the ground with iron stakes “I’ve had over 50 mph winds and no problems whatsoever ” Reed says His telescope also stays dry during the most humid days of summer Contact: Farm Show Followup DobHut Observatory P O Box 586 Park Rapids Minn 56470 ph 218 251-1007; www dobhutobservatory com

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