Observatory Build Set 1

The first set will concentrate on the smaller telescope - the 1880 Thomas Cooke 16.5 cm brass refractor from York, England in a 3 m diameter dome. 

Here I am preparing the foundation for the observatory - 2 m down, on bedrock.

The walls are starting to be laid.

This is the central pier for the telescope, also resting on bedrock. Solid concrete.

Now, the telescope base is ready to installed on the pier. That base is cast iron and filled with concrete - 275 kg.

The scope is almost installed. 

And it's finally mounted.

For comparison, here is the same scope at a university in the UK - before it was shipped to me.

The frame of the observatory is going up. Note the large exhaust fan.

And here is the dome, which will go on top.

This is what the shutters will look like. They're photo-shopped. I'm still working on them!