Programming Under the Stars

A little more than a week ago, as I write this, there was a total eclipse of the Moon, and I was too busy doing some computer programming to remember to go outside to look at it. Bummer!

There has to be a better way!

Pick the room of your house where you do computer programming (or some other activity that, quote "burns the midnight oil", unquote). Cut a big circular hole in it (as big as can be managed by the room size), and then cover the hole with a one-piece glass dome. With just a couple of differences from what you might at-first think.

Look up "Dewar flask" (see link). It is single piece of glass, shaped like a test tube or a laboratory flask or (many possibilities), but it is actually double-walled and there is a vacuum between the walls.

We want our glass dome to be constructed like a Dewar flask. Likely, to be tough enough to resist a lot of air pressure, the glass will be pretty thick, weigh a lot, and some extra structural support may have to be added to the house. That could be workable if four places along the edge of the dome reach the walls of the room. Nevertheless, the room is now insulated from cold or hot outside air.

One other thing about the dome, though, is that the center of this spherical surface should be located approximately where your head will be, as you work inside the room. Normally when one thinks "dome", a dome is a hemisphere, half of a sphere, so its center is at the same level as the base of the dome. This dome needs to be a "chord" of a sphere, so that your head can be located as specified. The result is, when you look up through the glass, there will be no distortion caused by the curvature of the glass.

You will probably have to add aluminum foil curtains to reflect sunlight to minimize any greenhouse effect in the room (and of course to foil prying eyes flying overhead). At day's end, though, you can open the curtains and let the glory of the night sky be as easily visible as simply looking up. No more missed eclipses, comets, auroras, etcetera!