Gear / Observatory

The long-exposure photography rig gets a new home

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This is an updated photo of Rig now installed in the Ad Astra Observatory at Newark. This was taken very soon after the observatory buildout was complete.

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Maintenance / Observatory / Observing Reports

Re: Ad Astra Observatory now accepting photons

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Looking good. D — “Jimbo S. Harris” <jimbo@jimbo.net> wrote: > I thought the Build Team should get the first look > at the output of the > fully functional Ad Astra Observatory […]

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Techniques

Polar Alignment Calculations

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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 […]

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Gear / Observatory / Telescope

Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O

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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 […]

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General / Maintenance / Observatory

Dome shutter is motorized again!

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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 […]

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ATM

Trixie 2017 – tube mods

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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 […]

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