Building a backyard observatory 25 years ago usually meant one of two things: Buy a dome or do it yourself from scratch. A simple “roll-off roof ” observatory was also an alternative.

Next decision: type and size. I built a big roll-off roof observatory in the mid-’80s. No one helped me, and I made major mistakes. I put the roof on swiveling casters. Don’t do that.

With the roll-off roof structure open and revealing the sky, Sierra Remote Observatory technician Sam Miller stands next to a telescope Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 near Auberry. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ...

The observatory features a 17” PlaneWave telescope on an L-500 mount. The telescope is housed in a structure with a roll-off roof offering a 360° view of the night sky and surrounding skyline.

In the building closest to the planetarium, two telescopes were set up Friday under the building’s open 20-foot roll-off roof. When not in use for a workshop, Vinski said the observatory would ...

the Grundy Observatory has no dome. It has a roll-off roof — one of the few such constructions in the country — that opens up the entire building and provides a wider view of the night sky.

Six or eight nights a month, weather permitting, the Chandlers open the roll-off roof of their observatory and focus 25- and 30-inch reflecting telescopes on whatever objects are on their current ...