Tag Archives: observatory

Dec 21 2019

There is a Roof and a Dome

Progress has been swift on the construction of the new building.  Roofers have installed the waterproof roof layer and sealed around the dome’s base structure (framing). The dome has been built in place, and the shutter also installed.  Interior work now progresses with the installation of the walls, trim, lights and such. Remember that for any of the images below, just click on them for a larger view.

Prior to pouring the concrete walkway we were expecting both rain then snow and freezing temperatures. Heating pads were placed to prevent frost on the ground before pouring the cement.

Prior to pouring the concrete walkway we were expecting both rain then snow and freezing temperatures. Heating pads were placed to prevent frost on the ground before pouring the cement.

One wall has siding in this image, and the dome opening has been covered to protect the interior from rainfall.

One wall has siding in this image, and the dome opening has been covered to protect the interior from rainfall.

All four exterior walls now have been sided, ventilation louvers have been installed, and the roofers are working on the rubberized layer on top the structure and around the dome, base frame.

All four exterior walls now have been sided, ventilation louvers have been installed, and the roofers are working on the rubberized layer on top the structure and around the dome, base frame.

Inside the control room, the base bearings of the dome have been unpacked for inspection and comprehension! So many parts are in this package, that it is a little mystifying.

Inside the control room, the base bearings of the dome have been unpacked for inspection and comprehension! So many parts are in this package, that it is a little mystifying.

The view of the telescope room through the framed wall of the control room. The window casement has been installed along with initial conduit for electrical. network and telescope control lines.

The view of the telescope room through the framed wall of the control room. The window casement has been installed along with initial conduit for electrical. network and telescope control lines.

The dome is almost complete in this image taken at 6:30am with the sun rising. The dome's motion is smooth and has that familiar rumble to it as it rotates in azimuth on its well-aligned and level bearings.

The dome is almost complete in this image taken at 6:30am with the sun rising. The dome’s motion is smooth and has that familiar rumble to it as it rotates in azimuth on its well-aligned and level bearings.

A wide-field image of the dome interior. Note that edges are a little warped in this image due to the camera's odd stitching of the frames. You can see the top of the pier and the orange power line system for dome operations which make the system effectively wireless. No wires will be dangling down from above to control the dome's motion.

A wide-field image of the dome interior. Note that edges are a little warped in this image due to the camera’s odd stitching of the frames. You can see the top of the pier and the orange power line system for dome operations which make the system effectively wireless. No wires will be dangling down from above to control the dome’s motion.

Roof is complete. Dome is complete. Door has been installed.

Roof is complete. Dome is complete. Door has been installed.

Nov 17 2019

The Structure Takes Shape

This has been an exciting couple of weeks. As we have seen our first frost of the season (no snow just yet!), we have been putting up the frame and the structure of the building.  Click on images for full size.

The first wall goes up

The corners of the building have been placed and the first wall frame goes up.

Work on the wall frame continues

Work on the wall frames continues. Soon after this they will be sheathed with plywood.

The structure takes shape.

The four walls are up, and the roof’s lower layers have been installed. There is also a ring for the dome.

The entrance to the structure.

The entrance to the observatory. Note the walls inside have yet to receive their plywood, and the floor needs to have concrete poured.

Frame viewed from the rooftop

A view of the dome base framework from the rooftop. Imagine a large telescope on the pier with a 16′ dome surrounding it. The roof has a slight pitch to allow water and snow to run off to the north. 

Where's the dome? Here!

Another view from the roof. Where is that dome? Here it is! It’s the bundle of materials on the pallet. Some assembly is required. The black mats are covering what will be the walkway to the building.

Oct 24 2019

0.7m Telescope Observatory Construction Begins

This will likely be a series of posts involving some very exciting news here at the observatory: We are adding a new observatory building complete with dome and telescope! Very much exciting times! The new structure will be 16’25’ in dimension with a 16′ diameter dome on the south side. The interior will be divided into two sections: the telescope/equipment room and the control room. A wall with large glass window will separate the two so that people can work with low-level red lighting while keeping the telescope and its sensitive instrumentation in the dark and away from the heat of humans which can cause disturbing air currents.

Artists Impression of the 0.7m Dome

Artists Impression of the 0.7m Telescope Dome.

The telescope is a PlaneWave 0.70m diameter modified Dall-Kirkham optical system with two ports. One port will hold a CCD imager with filter wheel. The other will attach to a fiber-fed echelle spectrograph.  It is difficult to imagine the scale of such an instrument. The telescope alone weighs over 1500 pounds! For a comparison here I am standing besides the same model of instrument at a recent American Astronomical Society meeting.

PlaneWave 0.7m telescope with the author

Ground breaking started a couple of weeks ago. Concrete pouring started today for the pier footing and the footing for the building’s foundation. This will help give a sense of scale the final structure.

The Initial Dig

The boundaries of the structure have been posted here with wooden stakes. The ground is being prepped to dig for the base level foundation.

Gravel base

The gravel base for the concrete has been laid here. Looking closely you can see the inset region in the gravel where the pier for the telescope will rest.

Initial Concrete Pour

The initial concrete pour which took place today. The central region is the base for the telescope pier. The surrounding is the base for the building’s foundation.

 

 

Sep 6 2015

The Observatory’s Summer Activities

School might get out in June, but the Observatory is a buzzing place with all sorts of activities while the students are away. The primary charge for us is completing the cleaning and maintenance work that needs to be done to keep all the equipment in top working order. This year, we also received a new optical tube assembly for the Kurtz Dome, necessitating some serious lifting and alignment procedures. Here is the list of activities done this summer to date (summer is not over just yet!):

  • Dome cleanings: Just after students graduate, the first order of business is to give each dome a thorough cleaning. Observatories maintain a low level of sweeping, as this kicks up a lot of dust and makes the optics a real mess. In spring, the optics are thoroughly sealed in plastic bags, the cobwebs and pollen and dusted down from top to bottom, then the whole dome is vacuumed and wet-wiped.
  • Batteries in the various components are replaced: there are little button batteries here and there for little things like ROM backups, and bigger things like illuminated reticles for the finder scopes.
  • We installed the new 16″ ACF SCT telescope in the Kurtz Dome. The Takahashi refractor and the Celestron SCT were removed first. The mount saddle was configured for two optical tubes and was turned 90 degrees, so that required realignment. That done, the new 16″ OTA was put into place and counterbalanced. It is one heavy OTA at 75 pounds. The weights need to be in proper position to prevent too much stress on the mount’s drive systems. Once balanced, the whole system needed to be reconfigured for the larger tube using software that knows the extent to which the tube can travel without smacking into the pier. That would not be good!
  • The Robotic Observatory had a complete software upgrade. Those who know me, know one of my mottos: if it is working, DO NOT upgrade anything. I hold to this as much as possible, but there are times when things are working, but the software manufacturers have control over us. In this case, the license for our internet-accessible server/control system was expiring, and they would not allow a simple renewal without software upgrade. Alas!  Upgrading that required upgrading everything. The status now with the software is that the automated focusing software is not compatible with the other pieces. We focus by hand for now. That said, there are other gremlins in the system:
    • The electronic focuser was getting stuck. A little dismantling and some lubrication fixed that. We had a solid run last night without any focuser issues.
    • No focuser issues means that we must have had something else going on… nothing is perfect. Yes, the shutter on the CCD imager was getting stuck! After 40 flawless images, the images started to show the bright stars with vertical blooming down each column. This means that the shutter was remaining open as the CCD downloaded the images by pushing the pixel charges down to the readout registers. Sigh. The camera needs to be dismantled and diagnosed now. That is on the to-do list.
  • New tripods were ordered for the portable telescopes which have a few benefits: They allow easy polar alignment; They can be adjusted for height (not all students are very tall); They are lighter, easier to carry around; They are much more stable than the piers we used to use.
  • The spectrographic system in the Alden Dome has checked out perfectly.
  • The Heliostat has checked out perfectly, though I am beginning to think about getting the mirrors a new aluminum coating.
  • Tested a home-made grism (a diffraction grating system: grating + prism = grism) with a DSLR camera on the 16″ telescope. Results are encouraging and might be awesome to use with winter Astronomy 392 classes.