TAG Polar Alignment
Camera / Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount
Another frustrating night
The sky has cleared up at least a little on 3 successive weekends — it’s like the stars miss me and want me to come visit again. So I’ve been giving my […]
Gear / General / Maintenance / Mount
Test things while it’s light out
In a stroke of strange luck, it was clear out tonight, the very next day after I got the new VM. I took the mount out in stages, first just the mount […]
Prosthetic limb for the mount
The NJP doesn’t like high northern latitudes. Because of the way the altitude axis is adjusted, if you live north of about 40º latitude, you start being unable to adjust the 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 / 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 Polar Scope repair — Preamble
The polar alignment scope in my NJP has never been accurate. It’s been off since I got the mount, and there are a couple of other things that I wonder about, too; […]
General / Maintenance / Techniques
WCS lesson
After getting the mount “close” last night but then moving the pier topper and redoing, I took a couple of runs at polar alignment tonight, too. One thing I definitely learned is […]
Gear / Mount / Observatory
NJP First Light
ad Astra Observatory is back online. With the newly-leveled mount, I worked the polar alignment some more. It still needs tweaking, but once I gave up on PemPro (which has never really […]
General / Maintenance / Techniques
I want my WCS
Polar alignment still sucks. Once I get the mount aligned, everything will be fine. Until then, it’s a bunch of hooey. I need to get the mount level, because, as usual, it’s […]
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.