Ad Astra Observatory

I got a bunch done in the observatory this weekend — I wired up enough outlets that I now have “wall power” all the way to the pier, including the desk area downstairs! woot. I am still running off an extension cord from the shop, but what it means is that things are starting to migrate to their “final” positions, like the mount wiring harness is now plugged into the pier, the 24v power supply is now plugged into the wall “under the eaves”, instead of being plugged into a power strip, and I can fully close the hatch again, now that the extension cord can stay downstairs. It seems dumb, but it really and suddenly makes the building feel like it’s “working”, instead of just being “under construction”.

Things are rocking right along. I did a bunch of visual observing on Friday evening; the GOTO performance is not great right now, but I need to look through my old blog posts to see if that is normal or not; I seem to remember having problems with it earlier, so this may or may not be a blocker. It’s hard to recall, since it’s all 4 and 5 years ago…

I like that I am starting to try to pick up where I left off in 2011. I am inching closer and closer to first light.