Category: IMT3

Viewing Report 26th/27th May 2019 – IMT3 Observatory

Viewing time period – 23:46 – 02:54

Well after another long day continuing the commissioning of the observatory it was time to test out Bob’s Tak and see if we could get focus. The first challenge was a bunch of devices were not recognised including the Lakeside focusers. It transpired this was due to me performing cable management by the UPS and accidentally pulling the mount power cable out of the UPS, thus no power to anything on top.

Once I got everything running again I reinstalled the Lakeside v1.1 drivers ( not the v2 drivers as they are for the USB version of the focuser), this meant the focuser was then available and connecting on COM 9. Oh and of course both the hand controllers for the Lakeside where physically powered off with their switches that we forgot to turn back on, so that set me back 20mins to figure out.

I slewed to Arcturus and opened up the dome, the dome being slaved to the scope got very close to where it needed to be. The camera was extremely out of focus as it was set to 0, so all the way in, however it also needed another 57mm of adapters to get the camera to focus!

SGPro downloaded image from QHY168C

I also noted visually the offset on TheSkyX for the Tak so that later I could move the FoV indicator to match it.

Tak offset, Arcturus centre, Yellow circle and dot telescope pointing

As can be seen above the offset due to the mounting of the Tak on the side of the RiDK is clearly noticeable and we will have to adjust for this offset when pointing.

I then had problems getting the other Lakeside to connect and noticed the Optec Flip-flat panel software was temperamental and required disconnecting and reconnecting if I left for some time and wanted to open/close. So instead I moved to the RiDK to get the pointing for it instead.

Here is the screenshot from TheSkyX for the RiDK so just slightly off for pointing but I have not Pointed yet nor have I adjusted the polar alignment with PHD2.

RiDK 12″ and Arcturus

I then took a quick image to prove it worked with the camera again since we had all the cabling in bits yesterday.

Arcturus through 12″ RiDK

I also noted a couple of other things that I could start to adjust, so I initially kept the dome and telescope slaved, I then went to Arcturus and then disconnected the slaving of the dome and manually moved the small distance to allow the RiDK to be through the slot and then moved a chunk more for the Tak. We will need a camera with night vision to be able to see the slot and adjust for the Tak and Sky-Watcher Esprit 120.

So fairly cold and tired and I was getting up at 8am to head out for a coffee with my friend Paul, I packed up just before 3am to head off to bed.

Viewing Report 9th January 2019 – IMT3 Observatory (Visual)

Viewing time period – 18:31 – 19:20

Well after moving house on the last day of November last year, I have finally unpacked enough boxes and have the house straight enough to find my rather large binoculars (100mm refractors) and set them up in the garden where the IMT3 will finally be built.

Tonight was really about testing out the visibility of the new site and making sure the large binos were working for the following days lecture at Basingstoke Astronomical Society, along with seeing if I could see the comet 46P/Wirtanen that my other friends were looking at.

Screenshot from SkySafari of Comet 46P/Wirtanen location

So it took me a while to find the red dot finder, strap that on with a plastic tie wrap from Alan Lorrain and then align it. Once done then it was much easier to find things. So the seeing was not great tonight and the site is clearly not as good as Sherborne St John, however I could easily make out the magnitude +3.3 star, Muscida in Ursa Major. The comet could not be seen visually with the naked eye, this was due to it being magnitude +10.9 as reported by SkySafari. Once I put my 100mm binoculars on it however after star hoping from the main star at the end of the saucepan, Dubhe, then I could just make out the comet there with Averted Vision (AV). With Direct Vision (DV) I could not see the comet at all.

To test the seeing I also referenced the double star HIP 40734 in Lynx (which is where the comet actually resided) and I could make that out with DV as it was magnitude +9.44 for the main component. Therefore I put my visual ability to see objects on this night at around mag +10. I will add further data to this as I progress my visual astronomy from this site with my binoculars, which are now nicknamed the BFB a bit like Elon Musks rocket the BFR, if you catch my drift ….

IMT3 Starts

Site of the IMT3 (slightly blurry)

On Thursday the 10th January 2019, Ripton Windows, who are also building me an Orangery, marked out for the first time the location of the main slab of concrete that the IMT3 will be built upon. It is with great excitement that a new IMT is being built even if this time it is not manufactured by myself, Bob and Brendan.

I will undoubtably blog about the progress of the observatory here that will house 3 setups for myself, Bob and GingerGeek which will be used by all three of use remotely. The idea is this is a dark site setup not requiring any hands on for most of its use.

IMT3 Schematic C/O Pulsarastro.com

The observatory will be a full height 2.7m dome with full automation, both of the shutter and the dome rotation. The equipment within will be accessible from any remote location in the world and with the planned suite of software will automatically close should the conditions require it.

I look forward to giving more details as they come, for now I await the first spade of digging next week as the foundations of the orangery are finished and the observatory and patio foundations are started.