 Click on the thumbnails for a larger view. Close one zoom view before opening another. Gallery Page 1, 2 We never get the time we need to post all the great SkyShed photos that come in. With so many astro photos coming in as well it looks like we'll need to create an Astro Photo Gallery! I assume you've seen the Meade Ad with Chuck Reese, who built a SkyShed using our Plans software and now takes great shots from it. Luckily with the SkyShed Yahoo Discussion Group Shed owners and builders can upload their photos and don't have to wait for us to post them here. I encourage you to join our discussion group regardless of what stage you're at in your ob plans. We will keep adding more photos here as often as we can. Please enjoy the photos we do have
listed. They're' a pretty good indication of the fun
our friends are having in their SkySheds. |
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| A Favorite
Quote "anyone who tries to do this without your CD is out of their mind...its inexpensive, nicely formatted and filled with great ideas. Thanks again... " Keith Quattrocchi PhD, MD |
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| Larry S of Los Angeles. Included is a warm room (photo on right) that provides extra head room by being built away from the side walls. This will make things nice and cozy for Larry on those chilly Southern California nights! | |
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SkyShed Survives 5.6 Earthquake!Yesterday morning, I had just stepped into my 10X12 SkyShed when a 5.6 quake hit (epicenter about 40 miles north). At first, it sounded like an animal was up on the roof and was jumping down, but when I felt the motion, I new what it was. Only lasted about 5 seconds, but the building, scope and my nerves came through just fine. Scott Baker Mountain High Observatory, Director, New Member Mentor San Diego Astronomy Association, |
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) SnowShed!Todd Carslon, is a hearty astronomer who uses his SkyShed throughout the Ontario winter. He reports this year as having the most snow he's seen. Of course Todd wasn't about to let a little snow mess with his observing time! That's the spirit Todd! |
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| Comfy SkyShed Replaces Small, Expensive Dome | |
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next 4 pics are nearly two years old but we keep them at the top because
we like them so much.
Arthur wanted more room, easier access and less setup time so he replaced his old dome with a 10X10' SkyShed. The Shed houses a 16" Meade SCT GPS a Televue Genesis APO along with an assortment of computer and astro photography accessories. In the winter Arthur runs the equipment remotely from his house a few feet away. Arthur opted for a residential style door and painted it red to make it easier to locate in the dark. Update
After two years of use Arthur reports WAY more quality observing than
he's ever experienced. In the past Arthur owned a BIG dome that he built
himself before moving into town and putting in the small dome you see
here. That really says a lot. Thanks Arthur! |
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| RAS Building Seven Obs Based on SkyShed Design | |
| The Riverside Astronomical Society in California is built seven roll off observatories based on the SkyShed design at their GMARS dark sky site. | |
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SkyShed on a Roof! |
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Dr. Harold B.'s 8X10' SkyShed on his home's first story roof. The shed houses an F7 AP155 with a 92 mm F7 Stowaway on an AP900 GOTO mount. The pier is an 8 5/8" SkyShed Pier mounted on a 500 lb. slab of steel. Vibration is not a major problem since the shed will be used mainly for remote astro photography from in the house. Harold's kind testimonial is below. |
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Dr.
Harold B. Testimonial Wayne Parker is the consummate professional, a hands-on business owner whose attention to detail and commitment
to follow up was impeccable. Building a SkyShed was a two-fold experience: Finally, having a wonderful roll-off observatory, and at the same time, meeting a great guy. |
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Here's a Beauty!
John M. of Flagstaff AZ writes "I just finished my 10x10 SkyShed, and wanted to send you a few pictures of
the finished product. The only deviations I made from the plans involved the floor and the door, and a bit of the trim work. Guys, all I can say is
a huge gigantic THANKS! There is absolutely no way I could have ever completed this project without your plans. I was able to build this thing
with no carpentry experience at all... so if I can do it I'd pretty much assume anyone can."
John's 10X10' houses a 10" Meade LX200 GPS with LPI Imager / SAC8 CCD |
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And Another!
Brian W. from Haverhill, MA writes "As you can see, the plans for the
8'x10' were modified a little: windows on one side, door on the other, built on a deck (you can see why - it's on a
hill), composite floor, log-look (these worked great - they are essentially
ship lap and that made it easy to put together), and complete window units.
THANK YOU for all your assistance and support. It was great fun to build, great to use, and so far everyone that sees it is amazed. I am part of a local astronomy club and I will definitely show it off to the members." Brian's SkyShed houses a Meade LX200GPS 7"
Maksutov-Cassegrain on a SkyShed pier. |
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Paul Mortfield, Toronto, ON, professional astronomer and noted astro photographer,
chose a 10X10' SkyShed to house his beautiful 16" R.C. on a Software
Bisque Paramount.
Paul creates amazing astro photographs and real science, working remotely from an office in his house nearby. There are no eyepieces on his scope, only cameras. Paul is so happy with his 10X10' that he's added SkyShed info to the astronomy lectures he gives throughout North America. He has a great astronomy website with lots of information and fantastic astro photographs. Installation by SkyShed, photo taken
day of construction, Paul Mortfield pictured. |
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Rodger sent us a great note -
"It is with great delight I announce first light with the Robinson Rd. Observatory (weather permitting). A few comments are in order. My wife, Louise, is not into astronomy at all but when she saw the SkyShed come together she was really pleased. She has been a great help to me during the construction and that didn't end there... |
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Brad did a great job with his 10X12'
SkyShed. Notice the charming residential door. Brad writes "I want you to know that the
SkyShed was the best investment I have made in astronomy." Thanks Brad. You made my day! Wayne |
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Doug's charming new 10X8' SkyShed is named "Sunnybrook
Observatory". His 10X8' houses a Meade 10 inch f/6.3 LX200 w/wedge on a 6 5/8" SkyShed Pier.
Doug writes "SkyShed was the best
investment I ever made for my astronomy hobby." |
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Terry's in Nobleton, ON. The Shed houses a Celestron Nexstar 8i on a 6 5/8" SkyShed Pier. Terry is a retired fighter pilot (reserve, he never fired a shot in anger) and engineer who worked on numerous NASA projects including Apollo, Skylab and the Canada Arm. Terry's a great guy and "The Right Stuff". We're proud to have him as a customer. I've included a photo I took of Terry in his office. You'll notice just a few of the accolades Terry has hanging on his wall. I consider myself fortunate to have met him and spent time with him while planning for and building his Shed. One of the fringe benefits I get from building SkySheds is the great people we meet, like Terry! |
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Ken's 8X8' SkyShed features a Celestron Nexstar
8 on a 6 5/8" SkyShed Pier. Ken's pier is offset 1 foot toward north to
take advantage of a good southern horizon over Lake Erie. He chose the 6
5/8" in case he moves up to a larger scope in the future. Photos were
taken day of construction |
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Dob in a Shed
Another installation by our excellent
Southern Ontario installer Jay Leis and his crew. Dave W's 10X10'
SkyShed features a Sky Mentor 12 1/2" Dobsonian mounted on the
Carlson/Stonehenge Dob Mount. The mount was offset 2' to the north to make
the most of the southern sky with the big scope. Photos were taken shortly
after construction. |
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Manny M. from New Bedford MA built a
SkyShed using the SkyShed Plans CD . He writes "The Skygazer
Observatory, an 8'x8' SkyShed with pressure treated plywood on the floor and walls and stained Cape Cod gray. I also added a 1'x2'x3' cubby for my laptop and installed a 2" pipe below the floor for all my cables (as I plan on doing CCD imaging in the future).
Next spring I plan on running electricity to the shed and putting paneling on the walls and possibly installing a ceramic floor."
Great job Manny! |
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Rob from Smithville Ontario's 10X12'
SkyShed housing a beautiful Celestron CGE 14" on a 8 5/8"
SkyShed Pier. |
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Russ M. from near Spencer WI built this
beautiful 10X12' SkyShed using our Plans CD. It houses a computer assisted
C-8 and a Coranado Instruments PST. Russ says, "GREAT PRODUCT, I love my
SkyShed". |
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John from Huntington VT sent us these
photos of his 8X8' SkyShed he built using SkyShed Plans that houses a
Meade LX90 and a 4" concrete filled tube with metal plates at top & bottom per the
SkyShed plans. Great job John! |
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| We recently
installed a 6X8' SkyShed for Dr. Colin Barron of Toronto Ontario. His
SkyShed houses a Celestron Nexstar 11 mounted on a Celestron wedge and a
SkyShed 6 5/8" pier. Colin was so pleased with his shed he'd like
another one up at the lake! Photos were taken day of construction. |
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| Hello Wayne, thanks for the wonderful
SkyShed. It's everything I always wanted. There's plenty of room in the 6X8 and the
(SkyShed) Pier has curbed my mount envy. My 20 year old Super Polaris is very solid on the pier. It's a beautiful thing. Set up in the observatory is a 5" e130 Takahashi astrograph and Celestron C5 on the super polaris. Robert Lenz, St Catherines |
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| Bob and Kate
from the San Lorenzo Mountains just north-east of Santa Cruz sent these
photos of their nearly completed SkyShed. They used SkyShed Plans
as a starting place for their own ideas and have ended up with a great
place to spend time under the stars.
The SkyShed, named "Buddha's Hand Observatory",
houses a Meade LX200 10" on a Milburn wedge and a SkyShed Pier they
had fabricated by local metal fabricator David. |
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| Dick
from Washington, D.C. built this beautiful 6X8' Shed using SkyShed
Plans. It's nice to see a SkyShed in traditional "Observatory White". Dick added a sliding window, residential door and more. The Shed houses an 12" LX200 Classic on a 6 5/8" SkyShed Pier.
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installed a 10X10' Shed for Dr. Paul B.. His Shed is located at his
cottage near Orillia ON and houses a Celestron 8" SCT on a SkyShed
6 5/8" Pier.
The Shed is stained to match his
cottage colour. Photo taken day of construction. |
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Julie and Terry's 6X8' houses an 8" Meade LX200. They write "We just wanted to let you know what a great job Russ Mannigel did with our Sky Shed construction and installation. He and his girlfriend, Veronica, we're wonderful to work with." Thank Guys! Wayne |
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| Ralph Sawrey
of Centennial, Colorado, sent us this photo of his SkyShed that he built with the assistance of our Plans CD. The SkyShed is 6X8' with 4'5" high
walls housing a Celestron NexStar 8 GPS. |
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| Troy
Hudson our Western Canada SkyShed Dealer recently built this
beautiful 10X10' SkyShed for Johannes in the Edmonton area. The Shed houses a Meade 10" LX200 on a SkyShed Pier. Nice job Troy! |
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| Michel
from Quebec, Canada sent us this photo of his SkyShed incorporated into
a new addition on his house. Michel had a heat from below problem at
first but was able to locate the source and solve the heat problem.
Michel wanted to get the Shed up
high to be able to see over trees that surround the house. Great job
Michel! |
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| Tim
from Baton Rouge, LA writes "I thought you might like to see my interpretation of your plans... This is an 8x10' Shed that incorporates Hardipanels for the walls. It houses a Meade 10" and an Orion 80ED." Very nice interpretation Tim! |
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| Mike McCarville
of Mazon, IL sent us this photo of his 10X14' SkyShed which houses a Nexstar 8 and a 14" T-Scope. Mike has named it "Mazon Creek Observatory" Another excellent job by a SkyShed Plans owner! |
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| On the
right, Ian Phillips' 8X10' SkyShed which houses a Celestron 9.25" GE GOTO on a 6 5/8" diameter SkyShed Pier. Below, Todd Carlson's 10X12' with 6'6" high walls (Todd is 6'3") housing a 4" Vixen apo mounted on a Losmandy G-11 mated to a 60", 8 5/8" diameter SkyShed Pier and a 12.5" Portaball on an equatorial tracking platform. |
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| Bill
Braithwaite's 10X12' with offset door, day of construction |
Bill's
Astro Physics 155mm F7 and a AP 900 Goto mount on a 8 5/8" SkyShed Pier.
Note
the new gray/black "TyPar" wall covering |
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| Theo
Dimson's 10X12' SkyShed (door is on the other side) |
Keith Quattrocchi's
nearly
completed custom Remote SkyShed |
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Rob Sharpe's "CCR Bustin Dog House" SkyShed.
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Glenn Mac Donald's
"Indian Creek" SkyShed ready for staining... and his trusty dog "Bow" |
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