Dome West (right, built 1995) and Dome East (built 1999) and the rising constellation Orion (5.11.2010).
Brief history of origins
The observatories were built in 1995 (West) and 1999 (East).
This beautiful place is located in the first foothills of the Alps in the canton of Bern (Switzerland).
Since 2011, both observatories can be operated remotely. Remote operation is associated with some challenges, as the power must be provided by solar cells and the Internet connection must be established via the normal cell phone network.
In 2015 we expanded the small observing site with an outdoor place. There you find a renovated 18 inch Cassegrain telescope (f12) from the 60s of the then famous Swiss telescope builder Eugen Popp on a very stable and precise Alt7 mount. The Cassegrain shows a good imaging quality, but needs a relatively long time to cool down.
The two observatories. On the right the shelter for the Cassegrain telescope. This shelter can be moved to the side on fold-down rails (8.4.2020).
Impression January 2021:
Either wait for the sun to clear the snow on the dome or go shoveling.