I built my Merry-Go-Round Observatory (MGRO) during the summer of 1990. My goal in building it was to have a small, cozy structure from which to observe, right in my very own suburban backyard. Getting up for a pre-dawn observing session is always a lot easier when you know that your equipment is already set up, and is only seconds away!

The finished product. The observatory is 6' square, the roof ranges from 5' to 6' in height, and the building is turned manually by the observer.

My inspiration for the design came from Leslie Peltier's MGRO. Many of the requirements are the same -- namely that the observatory would be: small, cheap, comfortable, close by, and easy to disassemble and move. Additionally, I wanted to be able to store all of my equipment inside it.

I used the MGRO for doing variable star observations with my Celestron 8, and enjoyed 4 wonderful years of observing before Oshawa's light pollution made observations too difficult. In November 2003, MGRO was moved to a new site in Winchester where the Milky Way can be easily seen on any clear night. Despite being 13 years old at the time, MGRO is in virtually perfect condition and should endure for decades to come!