Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
The observatory has been operational now for a little while. Been accumulating data sets.
The seeing here on the South Coast of NSW can be exceptional sometimes.
The restricted view means I can get about 3 - 3.5 hours of data per night when clear.
Access to my desk is a bit tight sometimes with the counterweights of the mount otherwise it's all working well.
The Bunnings sliding gate rail and wheels are particularly good and I can comfortably close the roof halves by hand late at night without disturbing anyone. The central latches work well too in heavy winds.
The skies here are darker than I thought. Not far off my dark site's darkness (but not field of view) and darker than at Kurrajong so overall better off. Not sure about the predominance of cloud though. So far it's been very cloudy but have had 5 nights of clear skies in the last 2 weeks.
A few minor finishing off touches and I would consider the observatory complete and a succcess.
Greg.
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All sounds like your in business to me, excellent, looking forward to your results
Re the, a bit tight to get to your desk, that's one thing I don't miss about the Sirius dome, I had to crawl around in the dark to get to the laptop quite often as when the counterweight shaft was anywhere near horizontal, my (arhem) stomach bones (and thick jacket of course
), were juuuust a bit too big, to fit between its end and the side walls, even after inhaling and sucking it in
, soooo, the only way to pass was to crawl underneath it and the large counterweights, in the dark
...no such problem in the 3M Scopedome now though...should be able to sink plenty more beer and pasta yet, before having to worry again
Mike