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!

There hasn’t been a huge amount of progress since the last report.  The only change to the array is that I’ve now added the second Sky 90 to the frame as I now use the lightweight Celestron 80mm refractor to guide the Hyperstar on the C11 as the Sky 90 was a bit too heavy and led to poor tracking.

However, this Christmas break I have decided to try and get some funding to put the rest of the observatory together for the mini-WASP array – so retailers are currently being pestered for their best prices.  I hope to be able to submit the grant proposal early in the New Year and will keep you informed of any developments.

It is just as well I don’t have the funds available to proceed with the mini-WASP concept as it has given me time to think about the whole system.  Since coming up with the idea of multiple imaging scopes to effectively cut down the total imaging time on an object, I have had real trouble trying to couple the colour imaging system with the narrowband imaging system.  Basically, no combination of scopes and cameras could cover what I wanted to achieve.

But sometimes a walk with the dog over the forest can achieve wonders, and it came to me that I should not try to combine both systems in one.  It would make far more sense to keep the Hyperstar III system as is for taking the colour data, although this will mean a 4-frame mosaic for each object, and use the mini-WASP array with its FSQ106 scopes and 35mm format mono cameras for just taking the narrowband data.  The colour and narrowband data can then be put together by Noel to create unique wide field images.  In addition the framework of the mini-WASP can be adapted to hold up to 10 scopes plus a finder scope, so this flexible system allows for a variety of FOVs to be taken.  Since the mini-WASP array will now only be used for narrowband imaging I have renamed it the Narrowband Imaging Platform or NIP.  Now all I need is a substantial Lottery win!

The mini-WASP framework was delivered to the New Forest Observatory by the CEO of NTE Poole, Eric Kennedy, on Wednesday 5th December 2007.

If you have just joined us then make sure you read all about the mini-Wasp Array Project from the beginning.

The accompanying photos show the all-Aluminium black-anodised mini-WASP framework with the Megrez 80 mm guidescope, and one of the two Sky 90 imaging scopes attached. 

The fourth aperture will be used to house a Takahashi FSQ106 with reducer/corrector, camera rotator and filter-wheel.  The imaging camera for the FSQ will be the Starlight Xpress monochrome H36.

The next component I need for this project is the one that will cause the longest delay – it’s the mount!

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In my last post I was at the point of deciding which refractors and CCD cameras to use.  I think I’ve now solved that dilemma!

Having gone through many combinations and permutations I am thinking the best solution for me is as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

As I said in the project announcement, living in the UK we have a major problem to contend with trying to pursue our hobby – the weather!  There are very few good clear Moonless nights to take those perfect images.  I have also compounded the problem by moving from a very fast (Hyperstar) imaging system that worked at f#1.85, to a much slower refractor-based system working at only f#4.5, i.e. six times slower. 

The problem I am trying to solve is how to get as much image data as possible in the short time allocated to us during the year.  One way of increasing the data is to parallel up the imaging, that is, to have several identical optical imaging systems all imaging the same object at the same time. 

Read the rest of this entry »

The name for this project comes from the Wide Angle Search for Planets or SuperWASP project.   As you can guess it is used for hunting exo-planets.  

If you look at the SuperWASP site you will see an impressive imaging array comprising 8 Canon 200mm f#1.8 lenses with their associated Andor CCD cameras all sitting on a massive torus fork mount – certainly very nice gear!

Living in the U.K. we have a major problem to contend with trying to pursue our hobby – the weather.  There are very few good clear Moonless nights to take those perfect images.  I have also compounded the problem by moving from a very fast (Hyperstar) imaging system that worked at f#1.85, to a much slower refractor-based system working at only f#4.5, i.e. six times slower. 

I’m going to tackle this problem piece by piece and I will be posting details of my thoughts in the mini-WASP Array category.  You can also see a list of the posts below:

• The mini-WASP array - one step closer, April 3rd, 2010
• mini-WASP update, March 19th, 2010
• mini-WASP array and Brian May's new book, November 29th, 2009
• O.K. so I couldn't wait until tomorrow:, November 27th, 2009
• Current status of the mini-WASP array November 2009, November 27th, 2009
• The mini-WASP array project - statrep, November 21st, 2009
• Computational solution?, November 13th, 2009
• mini-WASP array - computational matters, November 7th, 2009
• It's now 2:30 p.m. and the Paramount is unpacked!, November 3rd, 2009
• It's 1:30 p.m. and the Paramount arrives at the NFO!!!, November 3rd, 2009
• A brand new Paramount ME is on its way to the New Forest Observatory, October 29th, 2009
• Statrep on the mini-WASP deep-sky imaging array, October 22nd, 2009
• Update on the mini-WASP deep-sky imaging array, December 23rd, 2008
• The mini-WASP array morphs into the NIP, November 6th, 2008
• mini-WASP Array Project - Part 3 - The Framework , December 8th, 2007
• mini-WASP Array Project - Part 2 - A Likely Solution, August 7th, 2007
• mini-WASP Array Project - Part 1 - The Problem, August 2nd, 2007
• mini-WASP Array Project, July 10th, 2007

I hope you’ll keep reading as I learn about what is needed and my experiences of putting together such an exciting piece of equipment.