Hi all,
I've been given some free time on the robotic telescopes at RentAScope in New Mexico courtesy of Arnie Rosner and last night took this image of NGC6888 in Cygnus.
Nah rent-a-scope across the internet... That's not real astronomy..
Where's the cold? Where's the dew? Where's the batteries running flat, and the race to beat the clouds?
Nah this is not astronomy
Still a very nice image, but I'm not sure who really gets the credit??
The technology today is amazing. It opens up a whole new area for people.
Especially for those that don't want to or can't afford to buy that sort of equipment.
People can try their hand at imaging to see what it's like.
I hope no-one was offended by my earlier post.. It was a very tounge-in-cheek comment based on the frustration I/we all have in getting astro-imaging setups working!
The rent-a-scope is a great idea, and I'm sure it will be a growth industry. Especially as it can make night time skies virtually a 24hr thing. We can rent-a-scope in Mexico during the day and do the real stuff at night..
You still can't beat getting out there and observing/imaging yourself to truely appreciate what amature astronomy (& the universe awe) is all about.
Top image Eddie, but I'm sure you understand my comment of not being sure who to credit fully
Mike,
I think they have robots that walk around changing filters etc on the scope
PS. I wonder what happens when you rent-a-session that is cloudy? Or perhaps it's never cloudy in Mexico.
Looks like fun to me Should really appeal to the cyberjunkie astronomer. Plus give the non-trackers a chance to see if they like imaging before they buy.
Wonder if someone will come up with an Online Dob experience so we imagers can try before we buy
Hi to all,
I'm writing an article about the experience for AS&T so you'll be able to "read all about it" soon.
About the credit Robby (no I wasn't offended), it goes to the operator. Taking images via the internet is not all that different to what I do here with my own system. You still have to select an object, slew the telescope, find a guidestar, start the guiding, setup the imaging run, which filters, how many images, etc. Then the images are saved as raw FITS which you have to download and process. You still need to consider the weather so most sites have a plethora of realtime weather information available and will automatically close if it detects clouds/rain.
The real differences are that the scope belongs to someone else, they have to maintain it and it's in another hemisphere giving you access to objects you can't get to from here.
Also, there is more than one 20" RCOS out there that is rentable. Unless you have the approx. $200k to spend on one, time renting is not a bad option
Imaging across the internet is a very interesting concept too - who does all the setup , changing filter wheels, focusing, etc?
All the scopes have motorised filter wheels and they are changed as part of the image run that you set. i.e. Which filter, how many images, etc. Pretty much the way I do it here. Focusing is digital and is set automatically with each filter change. I have that capability here too, but not accurately enough to use the setpoints. An internet-based system needs to be very tight and accurate with respect to pointing, tracking and focusing.
Thank you Eddie for introducing us to the wonders of internet astro photography.
In an era where miracles present on a daily basis I think that stopping for a moment to think about this amazing proposition is in order.
I certainly dont see it as almost being there as I think to do so overestimates our own importance. I have only known about such things for about 6 weeks? although I had a loose idea that such things would be tecnically possible for some time. I suppose the fact that people are running these scopes is a little miracle in itself.
I look forward to the story behind the event the proceedures, the problems, the availability etc etc.
And a not to shabby capture either.... arr here is a full blown compliment with superlatives as well....
Absolutely fantastic magic capture Eddie ...you gotta be happy with that.
Just been to the site.. wow
I had thought casualy about setting up such a thing up in the hills and this tells me it is possible effort and cash would see it there.... how I would love to be gainfully employed sweeping the observatory and maintaining the gear...
well I have the land anyone got the cash??
Again thanks Eddie for sharing your fantastic experience.
AND I would rather spend $200 "playing around" with their gear to get the "next" scope out of my system rather than spend months, years drolling and wondering what they are really like.
ALex
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