Friday 18th October found me outdoors for 1st light with my new ESATTO 2-inch robotic motorised focuser, manufactured by
PrimaLuceLab (Italy) and supplied by
Sidereal Trading Pty Ltd (Victoria).
The suburban Brisbane skies were hazy with some thin, high cloud and although I pointed the ‘scope with ASI1600MM Camera at Nereid, a magnitude 18.7 satellite of Neptune, I had low hopes of recording the faint signal through the cruddy skies.
I got lucky and after 180 frames at 30 secs, Nereid just poked its head above the sky noise.
The 1st time I operated the ESATTO 2-inch robotic motorised focuser, I got the fright of my life, as I thought my EM200 mount had spontaneously performed an uncommanded slew, as the motor sound was very similar. It was very confusing; my ears heard the motor sound of the ESATTO, but my eyes were expecting to see the mount slewing, which of course it wasn’t.
It took a few microseconds to reconcile the contradictory signals from my auditory receptors and visual cortex before I realised it was the ESATTO motor and not my mount that was making the Maserati-like purring sound.
Loving the red bling.
Cheers
Dennis