Category: General
Trixie out, Pumpkin in
Between the higher magnification of the new camera, and the fairly untested nature of Trixie, I was beside myself trying to get things to behave properly. I finally decided to give myself […]
More magnification = more problems
The T3i has been a mixed blessing for the rig. On the one hand, it’s nice to get rid of the bulb cable, which has added an extra layer of complexity to […]
Astro knowledge / General / Techniques
Stumbling towards plate solving
I planned to solve all the images I’d shot so far, so that I have good data about where the telescope has ben drifting about. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this until halfway […]
First Light, a deeper look
Part of the reason that it’s taken so long to get to First Light is that I am actively knocking the rust off of my astronomy workflow. There are so many little […]
Sky 1, Trixie 0
Let us say that the night culminated in me recollimating my telescope at 1:45 am. That about sums up “how it went”. At sunset, there was a rather large sucker hole over […]
Maintenance / Techniques / Technology
Observatory 2.0 – We control the horizontal and the vertical
The observatory just inherited two computers; the 2010 iMac from the house, and my old 2009 Macbook Pro laptop. Both of them had full hard drives, and needed a refresh, so I […]
Return of the Jedi
An exciting development! But first, the news. When we last left Hilltop Observatory, I had just gotten the encoder assembly hooked up to a dome wheel, and was thinking about how to […]
Step by step, inch by inch
i got the DC power working a little better today. The 12v (battery) and 24v (power supply) are now under the NE corner eave, and they are supplying power to the dome […]
One week later…
I am still working my way towards First Light. It took me a little while to get all the “build” info unloaded from my head, and to start being able to get […]
Setting up shop
With Hilltop Observatory’s primary construction complete, I can now start getting ready for First Light, my first image of a “deep sky” object, or DSO, from the rig. There are several things […]
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.