Mini Rolled-off Roof Astronomical Observatory in Keriam, Tutong

Astro lounge on falak syarie, astro programmes and stargazing activities etc. Supported by Brunei National Outreach Coordinator, IAU OAO
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hazarry
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:27 pm

Mini Rolled-off Roof Astronomical Observatory in Keriam, Tutong

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Note: This page was written in year 2015, of which the observatory has undergone several renovations and facelifts. Some photos and information on this page are outdated.

I became interested in amateur astronomy since my early teenage years, and this year in 2015, I had built a longtime dream of a 1.5 x 2.5 meters observatory (still waiting for a proper name) in my backyard. Well, it is more of a cozy room just enough to fit 2 to 3 people plus a dozen of my telescopes, accessories and storage boxes.

The observatory has a unique designed with a roll-off retractable roof which can be manually moved out to provide an unobstructed view of the sky when open, and critical protection for equipment such as from the rain when closed.
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Kids enjoying their first-time tour at the observatory (new construction).

It is a wonderful place to have a permanent setting for my scopes to save time-consuming setup, avoiding damages to equipment from lugging around and tedious alignment procedures of a telescope.

The private owned observatory is fully functional and ready for astronomical observation when first completed on 1st Syawal 1436H corresponding to 18th July 2015. On that evening, observations began with imaging of the Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8).
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The Lagoon Nebula (M8) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. Image by Hazarry from his backyard observatory on July 18, 2015.


Location

The observatory is located in Kampong Keriam (4.816224°North 114.69145° East), Tutong, which is about 5-minute drive from Tutong Town and just next to Keriam Primary School. Address: #24 Simpang 442, Kampong Keriam, Tutong. Brunei Darussalam. You can use the Map https://www.waze.com/en/live-map/direct ... VO5bD-NttA, and it is high recommended to use Waze map here for driving direction.


Instrument

The observatory itself contains a main Orion 8" f/8 Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph telescope, installed in June 2018. The scope is mounted on a GOTO German Equatorial Celestron CGX computerised mount and equipped with an autoalign Celestron Starsense Technology and autoguiders. A large aperture telescope is also facilitated with CCD camera, autoguiders and plate solving technology for digital astrophotography of the deep sky objects, and the solar system observation. Secondary telescopes such as an a 6-inch f/6.5 Explore Scientific AR152 refractor, Orion Astroview 100 ST plus other mini-telescopes are available to be set outside around the observatory.
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Rolled off roof gives access to the sky and observatory houses a 6-inch refractor on a computerized drive mount (old photo).


Visit to Observatory

I welcome public groups interested in visiting our private owned astronomical mini-observatory site in Keriam Tutong, to promote learning about astronomical/scientific outreach/research/engineering activities in Brunei Darussalam.

As an educator myself and member of the Brunei Darussalam Astronomical Society, I always promote public awareness of astronomy in Brunei Darussalam. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced amateur astronomer, enjoyment and challenges await you here.


Public Observation

The observatory is open to the public, researchers, teachers and students at no fee, but subject to availability and weather. A variety of astronomical objects including the Sun, the Moon, planets, asteroid flyby, double stars, deep sky nebulas & galaxies and the occasional bright comets are ready for viewing (weather permitting).

Or simply visit to get to know the different types of telescopes and their functions. Use this star chart https://bruneiastronomy.org/skymap/ to make plans of your observation during your visit to the observatory.

Since space is limited, visitors are required to make booking arrangement here https://forms.gle/cfjXKKgtg9V84CqdA and reservation stating the purpose of your visit. Please complete above your online request form for visit/observation at the observatory. For more info, please contact me at +6738820277 (Call or WhatsApp) or email at hazarry(a)bruneiastronomy.org, replace (a) with @.
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