Observatory

The observatory on Iron Mountain is a fibreglass 7-foot diameter model 5500 observatory designed by Garry Boyd. The design incorporates elements seen at the Palomar Observatory in California. The dome rotates on eight 3-inch diameter wheels, operated manually at present. The shutter consists of two pieces and covers a 20-inch wide opening running 11 inches past zenith.

The observatory sits on a wooden deck 22-feet above grade. The observatory housed telescope assembly rests on 6×6 inch adjustable steel pier, with a 45° angled, adjustable extension toward the upper middle of the observatory space. The steel pier sits atop a 7-inch diameter steel post anchored into the mountainside on a concrete pylon 3-feet square and 10-feet deep. The steel post is in turn filled with concrete, providing a very stable platform for the telescope assembly. The steel post extends upward through a hole in the decking without touching the decking materials. The hole is sealed with foam and a round loosely applied flat rubber seal which prevents vibrations from being transmitted to the pier and serves to keep critters out of the observatory.

The observatory provides a very stable, sheltered and comfortable operating environment for viewing or astroimaging. It provides protection from the wind and incindental light trespass, and provides comfort and a bit of warmth against the chilly winds of a winter night. Having an observatory also facilitates the easy setup and termination of viewing or astroimaging sessions with the flipping of a few switches and powering up. In particular and very importantly, it dispenses with the frustrating task of a half-hour or longer setup/dismanteling and transportation procedure when clouds roll in a short time after setting up for an evening at the telescope. It is a highly recommended accessory for the amateur astronomer.

Equipment

Telescope MountAtop the adjustable pier centered in the observatory sits a Paramount ME Robotic German Equatorial Mount, providing a precision pointing and guiding platform for an RC Optical Systems 12.5″ Truss Ritchey-Chretien f9 telescope (~2862mm focal length), with carbon fiber truss and tube base construction. An f6.8 Borg 76ED APO (500mm) guidescope attached to the RC is used with an STV Guide Camera for external guiding and occasional wide-field imaging with the ST-10XME. Accesories used with the 12.5 Truss RC include a Fixed-Instruments Adapter (FIA), the RCOS Telescope Center (TCC), and a Precision Instrument Rotator (PIR). A 9×50 finder scope in a Losmandy RDF-90 bracket and a laser pointer are also attached to the RC. The thermal monitoring of primary, secondary and ambient air temperature, including control of fans, precision secondary mirror focuser position, and dew heater operation, plus operation of the PIR, is managed by the TCC.

The imaging optical configuration includes the PIR, AO-7 (Adaptive Optics Device), CFW-8 (Color Filter Wheel), a Santa Barbara Instruments Group (SBIG) ST-10XME (6.8 micron pixel) imaging camera, and various extension adapters, along with the occasional use of a focal reducer (RCOS.67mods + AO-7mod), and a Hutech LPS (Light Pollution Suppression) filter. A light box, designed and built by John Smith, is used for flat-fielding.

All of the wiring and cables for the various components of the mount, telescope and imaging train are directed through the declination axis of the ME Robotic Mount, either directly, or from the Adapter Panel on the mount base to the Instrument Panel on the Versa-Plate declination attachment which secures the telescope.

A few years ago, I began imaging with the SBIG Digital Integrating Video Camera and Autoguider in conjunction with an LX200 10″ scope. While this was fun and good practice for delving deeper into imaging, especially deep-sky imaging, I soon acquired the SBIG ST-10ME, which was later upgraded to the ST-10XME, incorporating USB and a larger guide chip. The ST-10XME is an excellent deep-sky camera with high QE, and the 6.8 micron pixels lend tremendous resolving power (given good sky conditions). I used the ST-10XME with the LX200 10″ for about two years before acquiring the 12.5″ RCOS Truss RC in November 2003. The STV camera is now used for the above-mentioned guiding and occasional planetary imaging functions. The STV images are under a separate category link on the Home Page; the ST-10XME images will have been acquired using either the LX200 10″ or the 12.5″ RCOS Truss RC as indicated in the details under the medium-sized preview image brought up by clicking on the thumbnail or the title beneath.

SOFTWARE LIBRARY

MaxIm CCD/DL—–CCDSoft—–The Sky—–CCDSharp—–STV Remote—–Hartmann Mask—–CCDOps—–PlanetMaster—–Virtual Moon Atlas—–RITI Lunar Map Pro—–Automapper—–ThumbsPlus—–Robofocus—–FocusMax—–GIF Construction Set—–Visual Pinpoint/ACP2—–CCD Calc—–Atomic Time—–T-Point Telescope Pointing Software—–CalGroups—–Anti-blooming Filter—–DeBloomer—–SuperNova Search—–Sigma Beta 10—–S-Spline Pro—–SGBNR Smoothing—–Qimage Pro—–Neat Image—–Photoshop (Plus Plug-Ins)——Sequencer II—–CCD Explorer—–Planent Software—–RGB Calc—–Astronomer’s Clock—–RegiStar—–STV Snoop—–Orchestrate—–RegiStax—–FocalBlade—–Ozone—–Background Toolkit—–Telescope Control Command Software (RCOS)—–Paramount ME Software Suite