Category: Mount
Trying to get back under the stars
It’s been a long time since I’ve had the telescope out. I’ve considered selling all the gear and picking up some other hobby. Between spotty access to clear skies, a new latitude […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount
NJP repair – mount is on the way home
NJP 04026 is on the way back to Ad Astra Observatory! The repair bill was paid, and it was shipped out UPS Ground from Takahashi America today. I expect I’ll receive it […]
ATM / Gear / Mount / Telescope
Veronica Dob conversion
Veronica is now a Dob/Equatorial Newtonian! I have been wanting to do this for years. I am forever sitting around on a nice night, camera cranking away on the mount shooting something, […]
Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount
NJP maintenance update – coming back together
I gave Takahashi America a week off of NJP updates. When I called them today for an update, they said that the part that’s in Japan is complete and in transit back […]
Trixie rebuild 2011, day 6 – fits and starts to the finish line
Trixie’s new OTA is complete. I woke up this morning with a significant to-do list. I had to complete the LTA clamps, cut the LTA tubes to length, and construct the LTA. […]
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.