I have just spent the WHOLE of today resurrecting an old computer which will be the main computer for the mini-WASP array.  Lots of silly little things have fought back hard and it’s only just started to give in now at 9:30 p.m.  It’s only a 1.12GHz Athlon with 1GB of memory, but it has XP Pro, 2 serial ports, a parallel port, and a load of USB ports on the back.  The Robofocus wants a serial port, the mount wants a serial (or USB) port, and the Starlight Xpress cameras which use a USB port don’t want to see anything on any of the other USB ports – so it will end up being one computer per imaging camera.  Unfortunately as each camera (on each of the 4 imaging scopes) will also need a serial port (for the Robofocus) it will mean 4 PCs altogether as laptops don’t seem to come with serial ports nowadays.  So it’s going to be quite a pain (computer-wise) to get the whole mini-WASP array working together as a single system.  I also only want one keyboard, mouse and screen of course due to the space limitations in the observatory.  So I might end up connecting the 4 PCs together via the LAN ports (and a hub) and using the main computer that I’ve resurrected today to “remote desktop” the three satellite computers – unless anyone out there has a better/more efficient way of doing this.

I have just unpacked the beast – it is the most solid piece of engineering I’ve come across in the field of astronomy – I just hope I can put it to full use.  I think a fully-loaded mini-WASP head will come in around 80 or 90 pounds, which is well within the capabilities of this mount and should hopefully ensure long life – provided I balance it all up nicely.  And therein lies a mod to the refractor mounting frame, I’ll be adding a counterweight bar (and weights) to the front of the frame to balance out all the equipment that will be hanging off the back.  Next job is to get the frame into the workshop for the mods.

UPS have just delivered the Paramount   Will now unpack – taking piccies as I go.  It’s come all the way from Germany!!

Well it wasn’t a two week wait to see what happened – I crumbled just a few days after the last mini-WASP report and ordered up a Paramount ME from Kieron at SCS Astro – it is due to be with me early next week  Well I’ve really “bin and gone and dunnit” now haven’t I?  As I’ve purchased the “heart” of the mini-WASP array, all that remains now is to integrate all the various bits of the system and get imaging with the thing.  Estimated first light timescale is June/July 2010 if I don’t get another dome to house the array, and a bit earlier in the year if I do need to get a second dome.  It’s all systems go for the mini-WASP at the New Forest Observatory – we are about to enter a new era of amateur deep-sky imaging!!!

It’s been about a year since my last report on this project, and that last article actually said very little   I am on the point of putting my hand in my wallet (you cannot begin to understand the amount of pain this gives me) to purchase the heart of the system – yes, I am very close to putting in an order for a Paramount.  The grant I applied for at the beginning of the year didn’t come off, so I am going to have to find the not insubstantial amount of cash to build the mini-WASP myself – I guess you can hear the squeals of pain from wherever you are located.  I have 2 x Sky 90s for imaging and a Megrez 80mm for the guide scope, I have one SXVF-M25C and the SXV guide camera – so I also need to purchase the latest SXVR-M25C for the second Sky 90.  I only have one Robofocus, so a second Robofocus is needed for the second Sky 90.  I won’t be getting the FSQ106 and H36 for the fourth slot in the head (for narrowband imaging) for quite some time.  I need to see if I can use my small Pulsar dome to house this lot, otherwise the bigger dome will also be needed.  Starting the slippery slope on the road to a mini-WASP array is clearly going to severely test my bank balance, that’s why it has been so long (2 years) since first discussing the project that I am finally coming to the point of getting the mount – this project is a huge committment.  Well, it still might be just hot air – I haven’t “gone and done it” yet, but in a couple of weeks we’ll see if I finally took the plunge   Until then, I wish you clear skies – even if it has been pouring with rain for the whole of this past week!

I was recently asked about a problem in maintaining polar alignment due to a heavy scope being cantilevered all over the place on a wedge.  The standard Celestron wedge (which I use) would also give you problems as the heavy C11 or C14 is moved around the night sky, mainly due to the open ended construction where a large box end is fairly free to flex as several kg worth of scope is swung around.  The solution is to close off the box end with some sheet aluminium – the thicker the better.  I used 2mm thick aluminium sheet and bent it to fit over the end of the wedge.  Some slots were cut to allow solid bolting of the sheet to the wedge and the result can be seen here.

The modification has transformed a basically unusable wedge into a wedge that has solidly supported my Hyperstar C11 since I started imaging towards the end of 2004.

Here’s how the two beer can pinhole cameras look on the South-facing wall of my house.  I hope we are not intending to sell within the next year or so as potential buyers may be put off by the sight.  However, pinhole camera number 1 is already operating (between the Equinoxes) and I shall start off pinhole camera number 2 in December to image between the Solstices.

I have just made up 2 beer can pinhole cameras (see Justin Quinnell’s website to see how to do this) and fitted them to a wooden frame on a South-facing wall of the house.  I have opened the shutter (removed the black tape from the pin hole) of one of the cameras, and will start the exposure on the second camera in about a week.  Time for the total exposure?  Somewhere around 6 months  This will be the longest photographic exposure I have ever taken!  What will it show if it works?  Hopefully we will get the path of the Sun across the sky (for those days not covered in cloud) for the period of the exposure.  Clearly the data will also allow the plotting out of an analemma as a bonus.

Conventional narrowband filters (12nm or smaller bandwidth) do not work with the Hyperstar III system due to its very low f#.  The cone angle of the rays passing through the filter are so far from normal incidence that the actual operating wavelength of the filter (at the incident light angle) is no longer at H-alpha wavelengths.  One possible solution to this problem is to use a filter with a very large passband.  I have just purchased a 35nm bandwidth H-alpha filter from Ian King Imaging and can’t wait to see if the Hyperstar III will work with it.  My first target for testing the new combination will be CTBI, the supernova remnant in Cassiopeia that I have had trouble imaging before as it is so faint.  It will be very interesting to see if the new filter allows me to get a decent image of this difficult object.  If it does, I might just give Simeis 147 a go – I have always left this one well alone as it is so large and faint.

Well I managed to get out and try the kit even though earlier in the day I had a 4 and a half hour traffic nightmare coming back from the West Country – managed to hit the Bank Holiday traffic.  Never mind, got out with the AstroTrac TT320X, the Canon 40D and a 28-200 mm zoom lens. Read the rest of this entry »