Clark Lake Observatory


Buried deep in the Canadian shield is my little cottage and home observatory. Although sitting beside a lake isn’t always great for seeing conditions, the remoteness of the cottage eliminates most light pollution and I get to enjoy Bortle 2.5 to 3.0 skies.
Not only is there a lack of light pollution, but living in a forest has the added benefit of having very few other lights to deal with. There’s a trade off however, a lot more trees to my south over the cottage.
360 View from the Lake


Main Imaging Rig


Telescope:
Celestron 8″ Schmidt Cassegrain
Specs & Review


Camera:
ZWO ASI294 MC Pro Cooled
Specs & Review


Focuser:
Celestron Auto-Focuser for SCTs
Specs & Review


Power:
Pegasus Powerbox
Specs & Review


Mount:
Celestron AVX Equatorial Mount
Specs & Review


Alignment:
QHY Polemaster
Specs & Review


Guider:
Orion Starshoot w/ 50mm Scope
Specs & Review
Secondary / Widefield Rig


Telescope:
William Optics Redcat51
Specs & Review


Mount/Tracker:
iOptron Skytracker Pro
Specs & Review
Additional Gear


Camera:
Unmodified Canon 50D
Specs & Review


Lens:
Sigma 105mm f2.8 DG HSM Macro
Specs & Review


Lens:
Rokinon 14mm f2.8
Specs & Review


Accessory:
Celestron Dewshield
Specs & Review


Telescope & Mount:
Celestron Nexstar 4SE
Specs & Review


Lens:
Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC HSM
Specs & Review


Accessory:
Celestron Starsense Autoalign
Specs & Review
Skyshed Pod Observatory












I purchased a home observatory from Wayne at Skyshed Pod in the spring of 2019. By July, I had it delivered to the lake and had it assembled on my new deck.
The PC that powered the equipment had an unfortunate run in with frost in January, and I lost my power supply. After an few small upgrades and some creative wiring, HDMI & USB cables now run into the house to avoid problems in the future.
Software






Sky Conditions

