Ad Astra Observatory

I headed out to the observatory this morning to level the pier. I had originally planned on it being a quick task, then ready for tonight (which is supposed to have some clear sky — we’ll see).

When I got out there, I decided that I really should do the maintenance on the pier topper that I’ve been putting off. The topper is made of steel, and it’s been slowly rusting since I got it in 2006. At this point, there were little “popcorn ceiling” type rust balls clinging to the surface all over. So I decided that now is a good time to get it done right; once the mount goes on there, I’m not going to want to move it again.

So I pulled the mount off of the pier (I figured out how to take out the CW shaft extension, too! Maybe Pumpkin will balance properly now…), and put the mount on the tripod for safekeeping. It’s nice having somewhere to put a big heavy object like that, especially when it’s almost the same height as the pier. The mount is still “portable”, but it’s a real grunter. I don’t think I’d want to set that up every night.

Then I pulled the pier topper, grabbed a wire brush and the drill, and proceeded to get off as much rust as I could. The surface feels pretty smooth now, but definitely still has a little bit of texture and looks like it will start to rust up again immediately.

Then I applied Rust-o-leum to the various parts of the pier topper. I had a choice of Black, Red, or Blue, and against my better judgment went with Black. It looks pretty cool anyway. I can’t remember what color the knobs are going to be on the new saddle for the NJP; maybe I’ll repaint once that gets here. But probably not. (:

So, now the pier topper is out in the sun drying for the afternoon. I’ll reassemble the rig tonight, and then get serious about the polar alignment.