The planning, design and the subsequent construction of this observatory was a joint project of Walter Straube and Hans-Henning Herder, a longtime astro-friend of the family. This observatory is in operation since 2007. It’s location offers a good all-round view. The extraordinary roof construction, as seen in the image, offers optimal working conditions as the roof descends on a slope, exposing the entire horizon. When closing the roof on rollers, a cleverly devised counterweight construction helps to limit the necessary force required. The drive is electric but can also be operated by hand. The observatory is a two-storey structure with storage space for transport boxes on the ground floor. A staircase leads to the observation platform. Two massive concrete pillars on their own foundations prevent any vibrations in the building being transmitted to the instruments. Further features include separate power supplies for 12V and 230V for each of the two columns as well as permanently installed dimmable red night-vision lamps.
A Celestron CGEPro mount rests on the first column. It supports GoTo, has an auto-guider connection and a Losmandy 3″ rail, to facilitate the attachment of your own device or you could rent one of our devices, for example the Celestron 11″ or the Williams Refractor 4″. All our telescopes are listed under astro-devices.
You are also welcome to use your own mount. Because of the time-consuming conversion, this is only possible for a rental period of a minimum of 8 days.
The second column can likewise be used with your own/rented mount from a minimum rental period of 8 days.
Please also note our general information for amateur astronomers.