ARCHIVE March2011
The sun sets on Ad Astra Observatory at Newark, CA
After a nearly five-year run, I closed the roof of the observatory for the last time last night. Spring has sprung in the Bay Area, and it’s been clear for the past […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Last minute scramble
I’m in the process of changing houses. Among all the other concerns, this means that Ad Astra Observatory at Newark, CA is nearing the end of its run. I’ve had a lot […]
Gear / Solar System Photography / Telescope
Trixie the Astrograph — first light!
I had a few small tweaks to do, and I was ready to roll with Trixie 2011. I focused the camera on the moon; this involved no small amount of gymnastics, as […]
Trixie Rebuild 2011 — mounted up at last!
Trixie needed a new mounting plate in order to get installed and balanced on the NJP. The Triad bar took a little finagling to get in place; I had to build a […]
Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount / Observatory
NJP maintenance – getting my shed together
The NJP’s state when it got back from “repair” was pretty sad. I mean, even a poorly working NJP is better than I’d ever really gotten with the G-11, but it needed […]
Getting the observatory back together
It was sort of clear last night, so I decided to go out and continue getting the mount back together. It took me awhile to get the cable harness re-installed. It’s always […]
ATM / Gear / Mount / Telescope
Trixie Rebuild 2011 – Mounting plates need work
WIth the NJP back in the observatory, I spent a little time trying to get Trixie mounted up, to test out the rebuild. I was a little worried about how the mounting […]
Gear / Mount / Techniques
NJP new polar alignment reticle — First in North America!
My NJP is future-proofed. According to Texas Nautical, nobody but me has yet requested the new, updated polar scope reticle for the NJP. The old one is good until 2015, so I […]
Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount / Observatory / Observing Reports
NJP 04026 – Triumphant return
Finally. Ad Astra Observatory at Newark, CA is back in business. The UPS guy dropped the very heavy box containing the mount around 3pm. I’m not entirely happy with the state of […]
Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount
NJP repair – report card
The mount came home under a cloud of controversy. The folks at Texas Nautical were not exactly pleased with me, but they made good on the charges for the repair, so I […]
RECENT UPDATE
Polar Alignment Calculations
Here’s a page that derives Polar Alignment Calculations. (update 5/2020: the original site is gone, so I found the text on Wayback and am inserting it below. This is by the original […]
Gear / Observatory / Telescope
Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O
The Astro Jedi needed somewhere to store his light sab—- I mean, bucket, and I was only too happy to accommodate him. I have decided that I need to come to a […]
General / Maintenance / Observatory
Dome shutter is motorized again!
I finally decided to bite the bullet and fix the shutter motor. Things went sideways last winter, and I’ve been opening the shutter manually (and tying it shut with rope, so we […]
Trixie 2017 – tube mods
I finally got around to cutting the MTA-UTA tubes to length; the only eyepiece that would come to focus with the focuser spacer in place is the Televue 55mm Plossl. If I […]
MOST COMMENTED
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – Time has come today!
General / Maintenance
First Light, a deeper look
Mount / Observatory / Telescope
Observatory 2.0 – Result!
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – The Pier goes in
Gear / General / Maintenance
Martin Farmer Wormblock installation notes
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
NGC2244, The Rosette Nebula
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Another beautiful night.