Building a Roll-Off Roof Observatory

Almost every practical astronomer who takes the pursuit to its second level aspires to a fixed, permanent housing for his telescope, permitting its rapid and comfortable use and avoiding hours of setting-up time for each observing session. A roll-off roof observatory is the simplest and by far the most popular observatory design for today’s practical astronomers.

Building a Roll-off Roof Observatory will help you decide whether to embark on the venture and will certainly provoke your enthusiasm for the project.

The author, both an amateur astronomer and professional landscape architect, answers many of the common questions asked around observatory construction covering the following topics:

• Site planning, zoning, and by-law requirements common to most states, towns and municipalities
• Opportunities for locating the observatory
• Tailoring the observatory for your particular use
• Tools and structural components required to build it
• Variations in footing design to suit your soil conditions
• Variations possible in design through photographs from owners throughout USA and Canada
• Opportunity to utilize the structure for in combination with others–(incorporating a Garden patio under the gantry for example)

This fully-detailed book outlines step-by-step construction and the accompanying CD-R provides complete, professional, detailed diagrams for each phase of construction.

A professionally designed roll-off observatory could cost as much as $3000 just for these plans – which are provided with Building a Roll-off Roof Observatory. Three sets of scale plans are provided on the CD-R that accompanies the book and full-size prints of the plans are available from the author at a cost.