Welcome to Manor Park Observatory, we are located on the western side of Scunthorpe, Nth. Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom. ( 53-34 north longtitude, 00-40 west latitude ). The desire to build an observatory came in the summer of 2004 when I bought a Meade 12" telescope.The tripod alone is a heavy peice of kit, and having to carry and connect the telescope to it, and then align, and adjust every time I wanted to view, made me realise that I needed a permanant base.
The observatory is constructed from two sheds, 8` x 6`, one has a roll off roof that houses the telescope, and the other ,joined to it, a warm room, which has the computers, one for guiding the telescope, and a Laptop for capturing ccd images. I call it a warm room because on cold winter nights I can close it off from the telescope, and view via the computer monitor. The telescope is connected to an equatorial wedge, and bolted to a heavy duty tripod.
My ambition always is to be able to take close up photos of the Moon and Planets, and with the help of fellow local astronomer,Iain Moore, who`s advice on polar alignment, and astro imaging techniques have been invaluable, I can say that my first year has been a learning curve, but with some success. To be able to look inside the craters of the Moon, or the rings of Saturn, and deep sky objects, that just can`t be seen with the naked eye, makes those cold nights of winter all worthwhile. I hope you enjoy your visit to my web site, and maybe we can learn a little bit more about our great universe.....Keith Grice