Every man's dream is to go to space and most cannot afford to do so, one easy way is to get immersed in the world of stars and infinite space by being a star-gazer. Hours and hours can be spent just to watch the bright and not so bright objects in the night sky. The best way to start if one is not studying the subject is to have a personal home observatory at the backyard itself or at least somewhere reachable. Building a home observatory is not a difficult task especially now when it is possible to buy ready-made domes. On the other hand there are lots of people out there who prefer to make the home observatory from scratch. There are lots of mistakes that can take place while building a home observatory and it is essential to be aware of these points before going ahead with the project.
It is essential to sit and write all the details for building the home observatory. There are major parts and lots of minor details that need to be considered.
Choice of Location
One essential starting point while planning to build a home observatory is the location. It would be preferable if the location is suburban or rural as this would reduce the amount of diffuse light. The black sky is required to ensure the capturing of even faint details of the objects in the sky, diffuse light reduces the contrast. One can also use specific protection against diffuse light if the location cannot be changed.
Choice of Material
Home Observatories should be made of materials that absorb less heat. If the material absorbs heat during the day then the chances are that the heat will be radiated in the night reducing the chance of viewing planets and double stars. Material like concrete blocks, bricks, close by walkways and parking lots need to be avoided. The best are wooden structures.
It is preferable to have a complete extensive research of the material and equipment cost and in some cases labor cost also if one cannot do all the manual work. The budget should be managed to the tightest extent, though there are chances of surprise costs like building permits, fencing, electrical supplies and many more. Always keep a higher range in the budget this will help in preventing overshooting than planned.
Imagine a wooden structure in a field; be sure that there would not be enough number of insects and animal visiting it during the day and night. The home observatory is an ideal place for the birds, wasps, rats and even snakes to thrive. Be careful and make sure pest control is done frequently.
There are places where these observatories cannot be built, as per the law. Make sure to check with the local authorities and get the required permissions. It is best done at the earliest to prevent the dismantling of the observatory later.
If astronomy is a serious hobby then plan and build with enough space to buy more equipment and more complex telescopes.
Ensure to have more number of power points in the home observatory, one never knows what needs to be plugged in the future. All these points can be considered and the mistakes have to be prevented while building a home observatory for now and the future.