This site was active from 2002 to 2020 and is retained for informational and sentimental reasons.
Welcome to The Curdridge Observatory. The majority of our astronomy and narrowband astrophotography imaging is done using CCD cameras and reflecting Skywatcher telescopes in Curdridge, Southampton, UK. Our work does not produce regular entries into Astronomy Picture of the Day or rival the Hubble Space Telescope, but is sometimes quite unusual! We try and make an effort to image more obscure targets, especially narrowband imaging of dim objects from the Sharpless Catalogue. We also enjoy the DIY aspects of astronomy and much prefer to build our own solutions utilising techniques such as a mini-lathe and home anodising for extra satisfaction.
I have some strong views on astronomical equipment. We dislike the current mind set found in some amateur astronomers of spending to solve problems. Whilst we accept that some astronomy equipment must be purchased, we will only take this course when it becomes impossible to devise a solution on our own. DIY homemade astronomy kit gives a much better satisfaction per astrophotograph. And it is cheaper. Time spent solving a problem properly is time well spent. Going for a quick retail fix rarely works, it is always better to understand the problem properly.
Astronomy software is just as important as the hardware these days. We do astronomy software programming including ASCOM drivers, arduino microcontrollers and third party scripting.
