Category: Astronomy Report

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astronomy-report]

Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudhan
Crew: 292
Date: 05/02/2024

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: MDRS-WF
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: NGC 281 (Pacman Nebula). Observation submitted in Skynet on 05/02/2024 at 6:33 pm
Images submitted with this report: None

Problems Encountered: None
MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: None
Images submitted with this report: Please find the images of the astronomy laptop box attached to this email.
Problems Encountered: I went to the Solar Musk Observatory at 6 pm on 05/02/2024 to take images of the telescope and the astronomy box. I used the code provided to open the lock but the lock didn’t open. Please find a video showing the issue. I tried wiggling the lock several times to see if it was stuck somewhere but couldn’t succeed. I will give it a try again tomorrow morning.

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudan
Crew: 292
Date: 07/02/2024
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: MDRS-WF
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: NGC 5904 Globular Cluster. Observation submitted in Skynet on 07/02/2024 at 4:37 pm
Images submitted with this report: None

Problems Encountered: None
Additional Notes:
Please find the photometry details of AG DRA in V filter with exposure durations of 60, 90, 120, and 150 seconds.

I’ve attached the chart from AAVSO, seeing profile graphs and photometry images below for you to look over. Exposures with 120 and 150 seconds seem to oversaturate the target comparison and check stars. I believe the one with 90 seconds performs well and can set the exposures in B and R filters based on this!

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astronomy-report]

Name: Rob Hunt
Crew: 291
Date: 30/01/2024
MUSK OBSERVATORY (MO)
Solar Features Observed: Sun spots observed, imaged, and fully processed for emailing (attached).
Problems Encountered:
08:25
Sun was not fully on ’scope until 09:00 so time in MO will typically be 08:30 to 14:30,
because of the state of the shutters, the ’scope and dome floor are at high risk of being water damaged from rain ingress,
on the floor near the western alcove the cabling coming out of the floor is a tripping hazard and some of the cables are damaged or at risk of being damaged (image attached),
on power-up the Celestron Hand Control wanted ENTER to wake from HIBERNATION then asked for TIME and DATE then showed CGO PRO READY,
it did not show ALIGN SUCCESS so I pressed SOLAR SYSTEM,
SOLAR SYSTEM showed MOON with a “W” in top right corner, and I could not access MENU to get to SUN,
pressing MENU changed the ”W” to an “E” and I was able to scroll to SUN which slewed ‘scope to the Sun,
10:30
‘scope struggled to get crisp images all day, with no prominances but several groups of fuzzy Sun spots observed,
the observed Sun spots were the same ones seen for the last few days.
SharpCap
as usual the program is very washed out to look at and attempts to give it better contrast by adjusting Windows 10 display settings were unsuccessful,
in the Quick Guide (MOQG), I suggest software be named consistently, i.e. SharpCap (not Sharp Cap),
as yesterday, instead of saving to the Capture folder as an .avi file, SharpCap saved 1,000 JPG images so I changed the Output Format to .avi.
in MOQG at Step 14. p25, I suggest this be checked in top, right corner of window.
AutoStakkert
in MOQG chapter on p28, I suggest say in Step 1. that program opens in two windows, the sizes of which can’t be changed (?),
in MOQG, I suggest software be named consistently, i.e. AutoStakkert (not Autostakkert),
in MOQG, I suggest Step 6. to read “After first two steps of STATUS in middle panel of left window show green ticks…”,
12:15
Registax
in MOQG, I suggest Step 2. to read “…the stacked tiff file from AutoStakkert…”,
in MOQG, I suggest Step 3. to read “The file will automatically open in the Wavelet tab (top, left)…”.
Photoshop
in MOQG, I suggest software be named consistently, i.e. Photoshop,
in MOQG, I suggest Step 1. to read “…Open Photoshop in the task bar and in the Window dropdown menu ensure Tools is selected and use the Quick Selection Tool in the Tools Panel.”,
in MOQG, I suggest Step 2. to read “…Chromosphere and Prominence PNG files in the SharpCap Capture folder and open them. If you didn’t image any Prominences then just open the Chromosphere file and process that.”.
14:00
outcome for the day is 1,000 frames from SharpCap processed through AutoStakkert, Registrax, and Photoshop, then prepared for this Astronomy Report to Mission Support (image attached).
15:00
successfully parked ‘scope in HOME POSITION, HIBERNATED, and completed Closing Procedure per MOQG chapter,
returned items to storage locations and locked up MO.

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Rob Hunt
Crew: 291
Date: 31/01/2024
MUSK OBSERVATORY (MO)
Solar Features Observed: Sun spots observed, imaged for processing later
Problems Encountered:
09:30
excellent blue-sky day, no wind, no clouds, temp. ~14o C, RH ~35%,
bashed top of head entering door – again. This time it drew a small amount of blood that stopped very quickly. Since I’m Crew Medical Assist, and Crew MO was not available, I returned to the HAB, disinfected it and applied a dressing. Incident recorded to MO,
I suggest write sign on inside and outside of door saying “Mind your head”,
shutter, and azimuth dome motors worked well,
at first the ‘scope Hand Control didn’t follow normal menu presentation so I power cycled at the pier and then ‘scope slewed to target.
10:05
subsequently, the first power-up resulted in the ‘scope perfectly with the Sun centered in field of view,
as yesterday, live view is fuzzy and I can’t achieve granular surface of chromosphere,
as for all of these observing sessions, a large, fuzzy ‘plume’ is seen on one side of the target in the eyepiece.
11:10
granular view of chromosphere still not being achieved despite tweaking tuners as Observatory Manager suggested,
while tweaking settings the ‘plume’ was seen in a number of the SharpCap captures,
something’s not right,
primary lens/filter was photographed to include in condition report of scratch and smudge noticed on 22nd Jan but not reported until now,
11:40
ran first capture at 50/2.16/80 (Gain/Exp/Histo),
ran several more captures at various settings.
14:00
‘scope reached limit of tracking ability so I stopped, packed up and returned to HAB,
data processing will be done at a later time.

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Rob Hunt
Crew: 291
Date: 29/01/2024
MUSK OBSERVATORY (MO)
Solar Features Observed: Sun spots (imaged) and solar prominences
Images submitted with this report: several images related to maintenance/repair, and an unprocessed one of the first 1,000 captures of Sun spots.
Problems Encountered:
10:25
entered observatory and removed cover from scope,
photographed position of scope with N, S, E in shot,
set up laptop and personal belongings, and decluttered work space (see pics),
a broken-off small, white, plastic positioning tab from the drawers was found in the lowest drawer and left there, (see pic)
dome was successfully rolled around to approximate position for use,
both shutters were opened without any glitches but, contrary to Peter’s direction to not use the lower shutter, it was required to be fully open in order to see the Sun which was low in the sky,
took more photos of pre-power scope use,
Musk Observatory Quick Guide (MOQG) cover title and elsewhere uses font/word art that is difficult to read,
MOQG instructions on p10 point to eyepiece attachment steps on p18 but they’re on p19 in chapter Visual Observing,
MOQG instructions on p10 point to camera attachment steps on p19 but they’re on p21 in chapter Solar Imaging Setup,
MOQG chapter Processing the Image on p27 is not listed in Table of Contents (ToC),
MOQG ToC chapter name for end of mission closing procedure doesn’t quite match chapter title,
MOQG chapters on Alignment Problems, Tuners, Focus Problems are not listed in ToC,
MOQG ToC chapter titles for Image Processing – Autostakkert, Registax and Photoshop don’t match chapter title,
12:35
switched on scope at pier, removed lens cap, then followed these instructions (deviation from instructions are in bold):
Once it’s at the index position it should go to the date and time routine,
I pressed ENTER and scope went to SWITCH POSITION then asked for time.
time and date (Standard and Mountain Time) were successfully entered,
If ALIGN SUCCESS doesn’t appear, and it asks for a 2-star alignment, then scroll (#6 and #9) to LAST ALIGNMENT and click ENTER,
I scrolled to LAST ALIGNMENT, clicked ENTER
Once you have ALIGN SUCCESS and its READY Click MENU,
I got ALIGN SUCCESS and CGE PRO READY then clicked MENU,
Scroll to UTILITIES and then HOME POSITION,
I scrolled to UTILITIES and got HOME POSITION and pressed ENTER,
In the HOME POSITION menu scroll until you get to SET HOME POSITION. Click ENTER,
there is no SET HOME POSITION in the HOME POSITION menu. There is only GOTO and SET,
I scrolled to SET and pressed ENTER,
the screen blinked while reading SETTING HOME POSITION then returned to SET in HOME POSITION,
Then scroll to HIBERNATE and shut down. It should operate normally then, but follow the shutdown procedure on page 15,
there is no GOTO HOME POSITION in the HOME POSITION menu but there is GOTO, so I clicked GOTO,
the scope slewed back and forth a bit and screen read GOTO in HOME POSITION menu,
there is no HIBERNATE in the HOME POSITION menu,
HIBERNATE is in the UTILITIES menu so I went there and completed the close-down procedure per MOQG p15,
15:35
scope was facing north and on top of the mount when I switched it off at the pier.
at approx. 14:45 it was very noticeable that the Sun was becoming fuzzy q.v. low in the sky and light travelling through much more atmosphere,
on speeds #4 and #3 (possibly others) the hand controller Direction Keys, if held down for a second or so, caused the motor to jump to high speed,
the lack of tightening screws in the eyepiece tube is workable but not ideal,
the USB cable to the laptop disconnected easily but was pushed back in securely and camera re-initiated in SharpCap,
prominences and Sun spots were seen and 1,000 images taken of the latter,
an unsuccessful attempt was made to capture a flat exposure,
16:00
closed observatory and returned to HAB.

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Rob Hunt
Crew: 291
Date: 27/01/2024
MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: Sun spots
Images submitted with this report: None
Time in observatory: 10:00 to 16:30 (less 30 minutes lunch break in HAB). Optimum period for observing is approx. 10:00 – 15:00
Problems Encountered:
Scope was found pointing North.
Interior hook for padlock as shown in Guide, is not there.
Broken eye-piece tightening screw found in top drawer.
Shutter Control box operates very poorly. Initially, lower shutter would not open at all but eventually responded. Order in which shutters open changes randomly or they don’t both open. Power cycling might make a difference but must be ‘Off’ for 10-15 minutes. Sometimes lower shutter stops at about ¼ open. There is a clunk/stall in the worm drive about ⅓ way open but iot doesn’t stop the movement. Worm thread is not lubricated.
Lower shutter fits over its seating rims very unevenly leaving gaps on the sides and at the overlap with upper shutter when closed. Lower shutter has four loose screws on outside of the edge that closes against the upper shutter. The hinges attaching iot to the dome are stiff (with paint?), not secured well and wobble.
Upper shutter follows its guides OK but is very noisy and unlubricated. When closing against the lower shutter, it leaves large gaps – caused by misaligned lower shutter.
Azimuth motor works OK but dome wheels don’t always run on the track. Dome and walls do not match up around the track and wheels hit gaps at mismatched wall segments. Nylon drive ring guide above controller shunts back and forth with loud clunking sound and makes dome shudder.
Azimuth drive control paddle has a light metal label immediately under the toggle switch. It has “On” in red on opposite sides buts is misaligned relative to the “Left” and “Right” labels on the outside of the paddle.
Guide book pages came away from spine and fell out.
In Guide book, “Alignment Success” is not displayed. Instead “Select Alignment” appears. I selected “Solar System Alignment” then “Sun”. I then got “Don’t look at Sun” warning.
All alignment problems (p 13 Guide) were experienced.
No instructions in Guide to remove lens cap.
No instructions in Guide to remove red plastic eyepiece socket plug.
One eyepiece holding screw is seized in position.
One eyepiece holding screw is snapped off leaving thread in the collar. Screw head found in drawer is a match for the other half.
Eyepiece cannot be securely inserted. It wobbles when used in situ.
ZWO cable was found dangling on the floor.
ZWO camera sits in eyepiece collar very loosely because of missing tightening screws.
Locating “USB Extension” not described in the Guide.
SharpCap update was downloade but not installed because password protected (v 4.0.9538)
No “Gamma” controls found in SharpCap menus.
Closing Proceedure with scope Controller – Menu doesn’t say “Goto Home Position” but says “Go to”.
There is no “Hibernate” in “Home Position”
Today, the “Hibernation” position was very different to where scope was found.
Button #7 on Control paddle goes Menu >> Utilities >> Home Position >> Goto

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Rob Hunt
Crew: 291
Date: 23/01/2024
MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: None
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: Total cloud 100% all day. Seeing zero. Overnight the laptop was fully re-charged from Critical (4%)

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Rob Hunt
Crew: 291
Date: 22/01/2024 (entered Sim. 12:00)
MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: None
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: Total cloud 100% all day. Seeing zero.

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Gabriel Skowronek
Crew: 289
Date: 05 Jan 2024

MONTANA LEARNING CENTER
Robotic Telescope Requested RCOS-16
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: SW Tauri (unless cloud cover)
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: None

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested N/A (Technical Difficulties with MDRS-WF)
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: None
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: None

MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: N/A
Images submitted with this report: N/A
Problems Encountered: N/A
Additional Notes: Will continue to monitor the status of MDRS-WF and hopefully make a few follow-up observations of M1 and M42, processing images remotely. Will also continue to troubleshoot doing photometry using AstroImageJ to compare against values from AfterGlow.

[category 

astronomy-report]

Name: Gabriel Skowronek
Crew: 289
Date: 04 Jan 2024

MONTANA LEARNING CENTER
Robotic Telescope Requested RCOS-16
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: SW Tauri (unless cloud cover)
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: None

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested N/A (Technical Difficulties with MDRS-WF)
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: None
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: None

MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: N/A
Images submitted with this report: N/A
Problems Encountered: N/A