About Us...

The site was setup by Mark Lawrik-Thompson, Chairman of the Norwich Astronomical Society and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Mark is a keen amateur astronomer with around 20 years experience. This experience not only covers practical astronomy but also popularising it through lectures and the media, including a monthly slot on Radio Norfolk and publisher of their astronomy web pages, found at BBCi Norfolk Website.

The majority of the observational aspect of Mark's work is performed at the Horning Observatory.

The dome is constucted enirelty of high quality fibreglass, measures 2.4 metres in diameter and 2.7 metres tall. It was manufactured by a company called SkyDomes and was purchased from their supplier Broadhurst Clarkson and Fuller.

It was delivered in 7 main sections, 4 for the circular walls and 3 for the dome section. Construction was easily completed in one day with no need for special equipment. If anyone is considering purchasing such a dome I would highly recommend this one for quality and price.

I have since installed electrics into the dome for lighting and power and eventually intend to motorise the rotational motion of the dome and install a mechanism for opening and closing the roll back shutter.

The dome comes white inside and out which I found a little too much when trying to observe faint objects. To counteract this, I have painted the top inside portion with a black masonry paint.

Given the need to keep dampness to a minimum to protect the electronics, I have installed a dehumidifier inside the dome which is run from early evening until mid morning.

The only other modifications in addition to the painting and electrics is the installation of a spring latch to hold the door shut. I have had a few moments of unimaginable terror when the wind sudddenly blew the door shut with a BANG!

More recently I have motorised the dome so that I can now control its pointing in azimuth from a two way switch. The motor and wheel employed came from an electric wheelchair. The wheel relies on friction on the outsider lower lip of the dome which did initially cause problems due the smoothness of the fibreglass. This was easily remidied by painting mixture of epoxy glue and sand along the friction surface. The remaining modifications include computer controlling the motor and motorising the slit. Watch this space....

The telescope inside is a 10" Meade LX200. I cannot sing its praises enough. Some may say its computerised capabilities 'take the fun out of astronomy'. In my opinion they help keep the fun in astronomy, making hard and sometimes laborious jobs quick and easy. For astronomical imaging, their advanced features are a must.

Attached to the top of the main tube is an ETX70 which I use as a guide scope. The ETX is attached to the main tube by a Losmandy bracket, expensive piece of kit but almost completely irradicates flexure between the two tubes. A neccessity if a guidescope is to be used.

Attached to the back of the ETX is a Starlight Express MX716 CCD camera. I use the camera for both digital imaging and guiding for good old fasioned film photography using the STAR2000 guiding attachment.

Also housed in the dome is a computer with various astronomical programes in addition to the CCD software.