Welcome! These pages will show you how I built my observatory. It is  located in my back yard - the sky  is far from ideal, but: it is not far from my house! Knowing the laziness of myself, this is the only way I will observe at all... I built a little hut to permanently mount my telescope inside. The roof can be moved away so that I can observe the sky, protected from surrounding light and wind. NOTE: Normally, if you want to see an image larger, just click on it! The location I live in Noordwijkerhout in The Netherlands, about half way between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It is the worst place when it comes to light pollution except for central Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but I have a good job here, so, alas...

The former owner with the telescope.

The telescope In the January 2003 issue of the German astronomy magazine "Sterne und Weltraum" I saw my dream telescope in the small ads - a 16" Cassegrain on a very solid, custom-built mount. When I found out that the seller lives in The Netherlands, about a 1.5 hour drive from my home, I couldn't resist to practise my Dutch (I am actually German) and contact the person. The Sunday after that we did a family trip to Zeeland in the southern part of The Netherlands - and two weeks later we agreed on a price!

12 Aug 2005 - Ready to observe. The roof is opened and the 16" Cassegrain points to the sky.

These pages will show you how I bought the telescope, started to make plans for a permanent observing hut, and actually build it!

Enjoy, Detlef.