Not a surprise at all, but we now have a rotating, opening and closing dome!  Next steps are to putty in the weather seal along edges, and it will be complete. The interior of the building is getting walls and paint soon. Lighting and network cabling come next followed by the installation of the telescope by end of January!  Stay tuned!

A wide angle look at the dome interior with the lower shutter open.

Exterior view with the lower shutter open and the dome rotated to point north.

All three of the observatory’s domes visible for comparison.

Below: Two short movies of the dome shutter being opened. This is a two-part process with the top shutter opened first followed by the lower shutter which tilts out. The top shutter’s lower edge overlaps the bottom shutter thus preventing weather from getting inside.