Morning Star Observatory (MSO) is located in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. My old observatory in Virginia was dismantled in late 2017 and all the equipment packed and stored, awaiting completion of a new observatory building.
Some first steps were done on the Lancaster dome, trying to sort out what goes where, but since I don't have a real assembly manual, It's a bit like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle without the picture. I'm also migrating away from Window-based computers to Linux. Most of the initial setup is complete but it won't be totally finished until the dome is up.
My plans for the new observatory have been on hold for the last three years while the homestead was being completed. That work is mostly done, but now we have yet another holdup. We are again looking for a new location due to an unforseen problem in the development we live in (unrelated to the observatory). So I've decided I'm not going through all the effort of constructing another observatory unless it's on unrestricted land.
My EQ-8 has always been pier mounted and I don't have the tripod for it, and its too heavy to lug around anyway, so I amuse myself with binoculars for the present. I also still have my old Celestron Ultima 8 and its tripod that I can fall back on for some higher magnification planetary or moon gazing.
If and when we do get the dome completed, it will house my Orion HDX110 EQ-G (EQ-8) GEM mount and Celestron C-11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope (SCT). Also an Astro-Tech AT6RC astrograph for imaging and, of course, another piggybacked guide scope with camera.
My imaging cameras are a modified Orion StarShoot Pro 6MP one-shot color camera and an 8.3MP QSI 683 mono camera with LRGB, Ha, SII and OIII filters. There is also a ZWO CMOS mono camera for autoguiding and possibly planetary imaging.
Some first steps were done on the Lancaster dome, trying to sort out what goes where, but since I don't have a real assembly manual, It's a bit like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle without the picture. I'm also migrating away from Window-based computers to Linux. Most of the initial setup is complete but it won't be totally finished until the dome is up.
My plans for the new observatory have been on hold for the last three years while the homestead was being completed. That work is mostly done, but now we have yet another holdup. We are again looking for a new location due to an unforseen problem in the development we live in (unrelated to the observatory). So I've decided I'm not going through all the effort of constructing another observatory unless it's on unrestricted land.
My EQ-8 has always been pier mounted and I don't have the tripod for it, and its too heavy to lug around anyway, so I amuse myself with binoculars for the present. I also still have my old Celestron Ultima 8 and its tripod that I can fall back on for some higher magnification planetary or moon gazing.
If and when we do get the dome completed, it will house my Orion HDX110 EQ-G (EQ-8) GEM mount and Celestron C-11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope (SCT). Also an Astro-Tech AT6RC astrograph for imaging and, of course, another piggybacked guide scope with camera.
My imaging cameras are a modified Orion StarShoot Pro 6MP one-shot color camera and an 8.3MP QSI 683 mono camera with LRGB, Ha, SII and OIII filters. There is also a ZWO CMOS mono camera for autoguiding and possibly planetary imaging.
N 39.05° | W 78.74°
1840 ft EL
I have several other hobbies, not related to astronomy that I occupy myself with while waiting to build the dome, and I've created some pages relating to those. And, of course, there are some pages showing our progress on the log home that occupied my every waking minute for more than two years.
The layout for the pages on this website are best viewed on a desktop. The mobile views usually look OK, but sometimes not so much. I've just learned to live with it, being it's a free website provider and all.
The layout for the pages on this website are best viewed on a desktop. The mobile views usually look OK, but sometimes not so much. I've just learned to live with it, being it's a free website provider and all.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork... Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork... Psalm 19:1
Disclaimer: The information contained on this and related pages is believed to be accurate, but no guarantees are expressed or implied. Any information on these pages should be considered "as-is" and the reader is completely responsible for the way it is used.
Copyright © 2011-20 Stephen Statts, All Rights Reserved
(Last update to this page - 9/20/2020)
(Last update to this page - 9/20/2020)
