Observing Session - Cigars and Copeland

Time/Date

20230509T2130-2359

People

Observatory: Onkar, Tara

Spaces Occupied

401, 433C, dome

Goals

1. take images of:

   1. M82 - The Cigar Galaxy

   2. NGC4535 - The Lost Galaxy of Copeland

Log

1. Startup

   1. Opened dome approx. 9:45PM

   2. Turned on fan/vent

   3. connected cameras via sharpcap on data computer (dc)

   4. opened phd2 and connected mount

   5. opened dfmtcs, ascom, ts6 on control computer (cc)

   6. flipped on drives, autodome, track, MTR DRIVER CHASIS and unlatched halt motors

   7. installed asi294mm and filter wheel on-axis

2. Venus

   1. found it, set object position, nice

3. Polaris

   1. set object position, took a while was at an awkward angle

4. M82

   1. found it and  had to slew a bit to get it in picture

   2. tried turning on autoguiding but phd2 kept crashing after clicking on a star

   3. switching to phd2 trouble shooting after taking a few frames of m82

5. phd2 troubleshooting

   1. problem description:

      1. connecting equipment: works

      2. begin looping: works

      3. phd2 identifies star

      4. click on star to begin looping: CRASHES

      5. crashes after phd2 restart, cameras rebooted and when pc rebooted

   2. solutions:

      1. uninstalled phd2 v11, installed v10

         1. still crashes

      2. wait for another night to get help from connor

         1. seems like a good idea

6. NGC4535

   1. couldnt find it : (

7. closing up

   1. closed dome

   2. turned off fan/vent

   3. disconnected and turned off everything

   4. typical closing procedure

ToDo

1. fix phd2

2. look into fixing tracking if phd2 fix is unsuccessful

3. not leave things velcro'd open in the future

Notes

• why did we do this

Weather

NOAA Cloud Cover: 79%-71%

Wunderground Cloud Cover: 69%

Astropheric Cloud Cover: 29-10% Transparency: below average Seeing: average

Clear Dark Sky Cloud Cover: clear Transparency: below average Seeing: below average

Data

Normal place, synced to Google Drive