Christopher Baker’s Split Roof DIY Observatory (Observatory Tours #3)

Today we are touring Christopher Baker's home observatory that he designed and built himself. It is a roll-off roof, shed-style design with many cool features you will have to watch the video to see!
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[@christopherbaker8621]

Thanks for visiting Nico!

[@NebulaPhotos]

The pleasure was all mine. Wishing you lots of clear skies in 2023!

[@ahmedwaddah9391]

Great job 👍

[@bruschi8148]

That's one hell of an observatory Chris

[@christopherbaker8621]

@@bruschi8148 Thank you. It has been the biggest improvement in my adventure called astrophotography.

[@orionm4268]

Thanks for the tour Shogun!

[@asadfarraj]

Imagine you being a kid 70 years later, who also happens to be a fan of astronomy. When your family moves into this home, you find the shack in an absolute desolated state. You immediately find it intriguing, and start exploring it. You love the shack and start loving it more and more although your mom tells you leave the dusty shack and stay away from it. You go there whenever you are sad, bored, or just want to have some alone time. It becomes your treehouse on the ground, a little secret base. Then one night, hanging out over there, you accidentally press a button. You wonder what did because it's pitch black and you can't see a thing. Then you look up, and see the star-adorned sky revealing itself in all glory to you. It is a personal observatory. Feels like the premise of a movie.

[@w3tua]

I discovered astrophotography at the age of 49 and I'm now 52. It is amazing and I wish I had known of it decades ago!

[@johnpetty8932]

Yay for another Chicago area observer. That actually makes me want to buy a house so I can build one of these.

[@wascadoo8946]

What a Great Job you did there. Congrats to you & your hard work Friend 👍🇦🇺🍺

[@flyboyu777]

Thanks for making these videos of observatories-I need all the help I can get!

[@ricardocastaneda7511]

Wow!, thanks Nico and Chris for allowing us to take a look to observatory, is so awesome!

[@lukomatico]

What a lovely observatory Christopher has made for himself! Superb work :-D The murals really set it off! - Thanks for showing this Nico!

[@angelriper20]

beautyful Observatory,i wish iwould have the space for that.Thank you for sharing

[@chrisalmanza3773]

Nico, while you were here in the Chicagoland area, you should have stopped by the Naperville Astronomical Association observatories, of which I am the Media Relations officer for the club. We would have loved to give you a tour of our observatories.

[@FaustKnight]

Just wanted to say that you've inspired me and I just ordered an AVX to mount my Z7ii onto with my various lenses (14-30, 150-600, etc). Can't wait to get started.

[@davidg5898]

Great interview. He's got a fantastic observatory set up. 7:07 As with every hobby, there will be purists/elitists saying "Why would you waste your time doing that?" At university in Philadelphia (*IN* Philadelphia, not just near it) we used the rooftop observatory to great effect. Bortle 9 skies. Sure, it takes longer/more exposures, but never underestimate a good telescope/camera and processing routine.

[@RandallWagoner]

Excellent! I feel I'm in the same boat (Being in Chicagoland also), so I may be looking to build one someday. This gives me more ideas. Thanks to the both of you. Side note: Nico, you were in Chicagoland, and didn't look me up. HAHA!

[@yannso1o681]

Definitely need more of this series ! Awesome idea Nico !

[@woody5109]

Fantastic build, I’ve built my own home a number of times and each time I’m always second guessing myself, should have done this differently 😂. Life is a journey.

[@daniels_astrophoto]

Great videos as normal Nico! Appreciate your hard work!

[@NPCPhotography]

Such a awesome looking observatory.

[@davewinum7879]

​I love the murals you have on your observatory. I did something similar inside my observatory. I have a scale model of the solar system that was painted on the inside walls to help illustrate the size and distance differences of the planets. Of course, you have to keep in mind that the Sun and planet sizes are all proportional to one another as are the distances between the objects, but the sizes and distances need to be compared on their own.

[@63sgjunior]

Ingenious a great idea and a huge time saver. Been thinking along these lines myself and seeing this has me measuring up already. Thanks for the inspiration.

[@robb7342]

Well done and inspiring Christopher, I like the split roof design and tip. Thanks Nico for showcasing, this definitely is of value for me as I'm giving it serious consideration.

[@lwizzit]

I’m watching this series and taking notes. I have a summer place in a Bortle 3 zone and my dream is to make an observatory that I can access even when I’m not there in the winter. Just have to pay some neighbors kid to clean the snow.

[@elefja1]

I love it! And the murals on the outside make it feel like such a happy place too

[@ChristianPsencik]

That’s super cool.

[@melissasalasblair5273]

Wow, thanks so much 🤸‍♀️🦚💙🔭🌌

[@StarlancerAstro]

Nice build, I too live in Chicago area and understand the need for something like this.

[@christopherbaker8621]

Hi Jason, saw the nice article in the Daily Southtown / Chicago Tribune about your AP work and speaking at the library. Great job. We are practically neighbors.

[@StarlancerAstro]

@@christopherbaker8621 Awesome thanks, yes it was quite an article more than I expected, you happen to be a member of any club, may we can share knowledge some time.

[@maggiethrash]

I love the murals so much

[@maggiethrash]

the patches, too!!!

[@KingLoopie1]

Nicely done! I want something in my backyard, but due to trees there's only a small window straight above and another window to the northwest from another spot. Hmmm. Maybe a shed on wheels?

[@Literofcola77]

This is absolutely incredible 😳😳

[@Outdoorastro]

Absolutely amazing!! I dream of the day I can build one

[@uprightape100]

Wowza......sweet observatory.

[@davidleejenkins]

Love this series on backyard observatories!

[@Barbaria_Sailing]

I agree with Christopher about building two piers.

[@bruschi8148]

Awesome setup he has!!

[@TheMje1963]

Nice setup. I'd like to see the plans he used. Still deciding on one for myself

[@kevanhubbard9673]

Looks like a kids wendy house on the surface.Alway interesting to see none traditional dome observatories.

[@chrisoriordan6975]

Inspirational ! I’ll be out in the garden with a tape measure if anyone want to know where I am. Thanks for sharing !

[@HelenasAstrophotography]

Excellent video Nico and Christopher!

[@christopherbaker8621]

Thanks Helena. I really enjoyed your observatory tour with Nico in the first tour of the series. Great job saving it and the upgrades.

[@High2you311]

Man I love his OBS. Need to steal his idea and hire him to come help me lol

[@christopherbaker8621]

Thanks Soup!

[@montanausa329]

That is the way I would do it except I would wall off the office area to heat it up

[@fabiangeneral7678]

so cool!

[@BrandonJEvansPhotography]

Less chance of damage from constantly hauling equipment around. None of us likes the repetitive process of alignment either. I've had too many failed nights of imaging because I got frustrated and packed up because of alignment.

[@christopherbaker8621]

100%! I have iPolar on my CEM70 but even then was a task every night. Since I have the observatory, I PA maybe once every 4-6 months just to check. Usually when a swap a scope and play with balance.

[@azrayastrophotography2260]

Hi Nico thanks for the great video. I hope you can build your observatory the way you would like. I really like having mine.

[@ahmedwaddah9391]

That was nice 💜

[@robertnick2260]

Thankyou so much for a great tour. I especially love your mural! I just completed (today actually) my 8 x 10 ROR observatory and wondered what motor you were using?

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Woah

[@DavidJohnson-xr7ep]

i like the split roof design as long as you have your pier high enough shouldnt be a problem i wouldn't think

[@christopherbaker8621]

I don't like to image below 35 degrees above the horizon (too much atmosphere) and have other obstructions anyways. I can see to at least that, even with the split roof.

[@mikehardy8247]

I live just north in Milwaukee. Same light pollution problems. Soon as you mentioned Chicago, I grimaced. It's so annoying. I'm just now trying to set up a real scope, asiair, SA GTI mount on a dedicated tripod. So I can at least have cables and all in a setup, so I can grab it from garage, polar alignment, and be imaging. Weather is doggy in these parts. With these frigid Temps. I have to move some stuff around other night, Clear Outside said clear night. Just got my target aligned, and clouds rolled in.Grrr With your rigs, you have Filters for light pollution. What do you recommend as a single LPF? Before getting a scope I've been just using lenses. Anywa, thanks Niko! As usual you keep this hobby real for people in my bracket.

[@christopherbaker8621]

I use Antlia 3nm Narrowband SHO filters.

[@michelleronald1794]

fantastic Chris and Nico...a couple of questions, do you have optimal view at that point, it would be difficult to have this in a static position in a garden that has say 3 or 4 different areas depending on the areas with no obstructions...and secondly, did you install heating to let you process on cloudy nights?

[@christopherbaker8621]

Hi Mimi. One reason I chose this location in my yard is I get the best views of the S, W, and E. My house and trees block my northern views a bit. If I choose a different part of my yard I could have had better views N, but sacrifice the other directions. Bottom line, this spot optimizes my views and made the most sense related to my garden. I still setup a portable mount on occasion and have a pad about 10' just west of my observatory with similar views. No heat. I do have a portable, electrical heater I use sometimes. But on the coldest (and hottest) days of the year, I do everything inside as everything in the observatory is on my network.

[@KD2HJP]

@NebulaPhotos Got to ask, at 0:20, what are you using for the fisheye/global sky camera? I have had a few POE IP fish eyes pointing up. What are you using there?

[@andromonite506]

When will you review our astrophotos?

[@MakeAMark]

Nice. I have a question for Christopher. Have you used it through a winter? How does it deal with snow, or does it have to be cleared off first. I live in Colorado, so you know why I'm asking!

[@christopherbaker8621]

I use it all year long. In the Chicago suburbs, we get snow and very cold temps. I imaged down to about -20 F (even colder considering wind chill). If you use the "v track" rollers, the v track sits on top of the rails the roof rolls out on. One reason I didn't like this idea is we get a lot of ice (snow that melts) and I felt that ice on these rails would be problematic. My garage door track sits on the side of the roof rail. It is hard to explain but is slightly "covered" by a 2X6 (Rail is two 2x4s with the rail attached on the inside, and is covered by a 2x6.) So snow falling would have to be at an angle to land inside the rail as it falls on the 2x6. Bottom line, maybe 1 or 2 times last winter I had to dust some hardened snow off the face of the rail but more for making it move with less resistance. No real issues with it.

[@christopherbaker8621]

One other comment about snow... Always roll your roof parallel to the roof peak. If you roll it perpendicular, half of the pitched roof will be angled into the observatory when it rolls. Snow can fall into you observatory as it rolls open or closed.

[@chrisalmanza3773]

You can check out the NAA (Naperville Astronomical Association) KZbin channel.

[@jurabondarchook2494]

I look at all the observatories people build. And I have a question. Is all this delicate equipment is weather proof enough that you can store it permanently in humid environment? Observatories like this definitely not sealed from outside air. And that air will be quite humid (depends on geographical location of course) significant part of time.

[@christopherbaker8621]

Most people that have an observatory keep their equipment in it 24 x 7. Some people do condition their observatory while others might keep their mounts outside and bring their scopes in at night. All depends on the equipment and the user. I think the biggest concern is for particular type of equipment. For example, certain older refractors that have oil spaced lenses might be sensitive to excessive heat or electronics might be sensitive to super cold temps. I have read about some people using light bulbs or insulated blankets to keep computers warm so they don't go well below 0 F, for fear of damaging the electronics. Really cold temps can also make some plastic very brittle. I haven't had any of these concerns, not yet anyway.

[@ssfalk41]

I couldnt help but notice some of his language in the video... So I gotta ask. Nico when are you building your remote observatory?

[@musa7606]

"What's inside there?" "Why, can't you see, space is in there!" Fun fact: If you put a NASA sticker on your stuff, you become part of NASA too :)

[@selfworthy]

Why didnt he just roll the whole roof instead of the split? if he wanted space he could have just not roll the roof all the way, leaving him one part on the left side.

[@NebulaPhotos]

Smaller overall footprint this way since the supports don't have to extend as far. And there were big trees in the direction of the roof section that stays put, so he doesn't lose any sky.

[@sigma-wh3uw]

Do you realy need a mic?

[@NebulaPhotos]

There is a lot of noise (wind, traffic, etc.) when you shoot outdoors. A dynamic interview mic like the one I was using is good at not picking that stuff up (as much). It's why they use them for news.

[@sigma-wh3uw]

Oh. Um. Wasn't expecting a reply but cool. Also thanks for clarifying. Also you should try shooting the Andromeda galaxy with only oxygen 3, apperantly there's a nebula just above it.

[@NebulaPhotos]

@@sigma-wh3uw I saw, awesome discovery!

[@sigma-wh3uw]

Indeed

[@sigma-wh3uw]

Hey that's a good video idea. You should try capturing it!