This is my Observatory, or should I call it an Astro Shed. Well that`s what it is, a shed with a roll off roof..It is custom made with materials bought from the local builders merchant. I installed electricity, and am able to run two computers, one for guiding, and one for imaging. I power the Canon DSLR, both Telescopes and a Dew Controller, sadly no coffee machine. My wife Jeanette, gave me permission to use the land close to her garden shed and green houses..This is the darkest area in the garden, away from the dreaded street lighting

This is me, Keith, and my wife, Jeanette.  My wife enjoys looking at Saturn and breeding Shi Tzu puppies. She also grows from seed, all the plants we need for our garden.

We are located on the western side of Scunthorpe, Nth. Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom. ( 53-34 north longitude, 00"40'47.87" 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 piece 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 permanent base.I sunk an 8" dia. x 6ft. long length of steel tubing into a 3ft hole, then filled with steel rebar and concrete leaving 3ft. above ground level.I then filled the pipe with sand to reduce vibration. After about 48 hours, when the cement had hardened, I placed an equatorial wedge at the top of this steel pier and mounted my Meade 12" LX 200 Classic Telescope. After adjusting the levels of the wedge, I had to Polar Align the scope, so that it would accurately track the night sky. I have a clear unobstructed view of the southern sky, where most of my astrophotography objects will be.

During that winter I had to make small adjustments to the wedge, and now am pleased with its accuracy. During the summer of 2005 I learned about imaging the solar system with a webcam. The webcam would be attached to the telescope eyepiece and a computer. Once focused the results can be seen immediately on the computer screen.For a more detailed introduction to Webcam Astrophotography, please go to Ray Shore`s astrophotography website. Ray is an accomplished astronomer and astro imager, with an informative and excellent website for the novice student to the more experienced astronomer.

My ambition is to be able to take close up photos of the Moon, Planets, and Deep Sky objects.. I can say that my first year was a learning curve, but with some success. To be able to look inside the craters of the Moon, or view the rings of Saturn, or to see 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