December 2022

Location location location. Even though I am set up here in the observatory for timing an occultation down to the thousands of a second the opportunity is rare. Alas, that was the case tonight. The Moon was very close to Mars but not close enough to occult! So it goes in astronomy.

Nonetheless, it was a great view and fun to watch. Here is an image of the two together taken tonight from Mind's Eye Observatory.

The history of observing and timing occulations goes way back. They are useful for revealing information about size, shape and atmosphere of a body and are still performed mostly by amature astronomers on mostly asteroids these days. The technology has surely gotten better to attempt an observation this way. I can remember doing a Saturn Occultation in the early 2000`s simultaneously with two other astronomers in Vero Beach. We used Shortwave radios for a time signal and a video recorder using a very early video camera. That was really difficult and nerve racking!

With the end of a bad weather spell I was able to observe some albeit with a bright moon! This "now & later" image is of NGC 2392 or Caldwell 39. A bipolar double shell planetary nebula estimated to be around 10,000 years old. A remnant of a dying star about 3000 Light years away and 0.34 light years in radius in the constellation Gemini. A white dwarf star at the center in fact. Its stellar wind is blowing a bubble of material away on each side around 70,000 MPH. Our star will have a similar fate. Although called a planetary nebula it has nothing to do with planets except the fact that when studied in the past it had a similar look in the telescope as a planet. We have been taking a look at it since 1787 When William Herschel discovered it. It has been called many things as time has gone by. The Eskimo nebula. The clown face nebula. The Lion nebula.

I just call it amazing. The amount of shapes and designs from dying stars is astounding. I wonder what shape our star will make when it evolves to this point. What design will be left to represent all that was here and will anyone observe it like we are with NGC 2392. What a time we live in to ponder such things.

My observations were performed with a 12" telescope and color camera here at Mind's eye Observatory. Images were stacked and minimal processing done on the fly.

November 2022

Hurricane Nicole

A few nice solar images from the last week from my friend Richard Woodard during this active solar cycle

using a double stack PST with a Nikon D7100 @f11 1\320 400mm ISO200

November weather started out good but has taken a late season turn with plenty of tropical weather to deal with. The projects continue around the observatory when the weather strikes. The discovery of one bad worm gear block bearing in my Losmandy G11 prompted a removal and replacement of that bearing and a reset and adjustment of the right Ascension worm gear. Heating the block allowed the bearing to be removed and freezing the replacement bearing and heating the block worked well on the installation or the new unit. Alignment of the worm is always tedious and fiddly with the classic Losmandy blocks that I have. After adjustment of the  movement and backlash I cleaned and lubricated both the RA and DEC drives. Checking my work under the stars  showed an amazing improvement in my auto guiding and periodic error. This session also  included adjustment of the Polar alignment and guide scope and camera. Things to do under a full moon and terrible observing conditions.

October 2022

Asteroid 2022 RM4 October to November

The recent close pass of asteroid 2022 RM4 prompted and few days of imaging and performing data reductions for astrometry for the Minor Planet Center as it came closer to us and passed. I managed to image it at magnitude 17.5 down to mag 14 over a few days as its rate across the sky increased each day. Weather and sky conditions were a challenge and i had to shut down and roll in a few times for small surprise storms! It was fun to watch it gain about a magnitude each day with the increasing challenge to keep up with the rate of movement across the field.

Interesting facts about this Near earth Minor planet:

September 2022

July 2022

June 2022

After the hard work I put in self tuition over the last year a weather window presented itself and I was prepared to get the requirements done.  Ironically just in time for asteroid day 2022. 

Frankly, I expected only to attempt Appling for an observatory code in the winter season.

May 2022

The modification of the stock focuser is not a new upgrade. There are kits you can purchase as well but I modified mine further. Removal of the focuser is done by bringing the mirror to the aft position and locking with he shipping screw due to the internal mirror spring. After removal and disassemble of the focuser assembly it was cleaned and the standard ptfe washers were removed.

As I laid out the bearings and washers for the upgrade I noticed a few things that I thought needed to be addressed. The original modification only added the two bearings and one washer. As I looked at it when assembled the shoulder meant to center the last bearing didn't protrude enough to capture and center the bearing. At least not with the bearings I used. I decided to lap down the aluminum housing to allow this and go further and allow more washers to make a smoother assembly where the rollers were against a steel washer race instead of aluminum and brass. The lapping took awhile but was easy. At this point I also lapped the retaining knob to remove a recess originally made to retain the ptfe washers that were no longer needed. The knob fit the coupler just slightly loose so I installed a very thin shim around it using aluminum tape just to center it better. All these modifications worked out nicely and the finished assemble was smooth in both turning directions.

The stock assembly was further upgraded to allow an EAF from ZWO. The bracket assembly used is a stock item meant for a Celestron 11' or 14" SCT addition of an EAF motor. By flipping the base plate it can be installed perfectly requiring three allen screws a little longer than came with the kit. The height of the knob with coupler installed only needed to be a washer thickness higher so a washer was added between the motor and bracket. Everything was installed loosely and adjusted then all fasteners were locked down insuring in the process the coupler had clearance between the motor.

After finding focus I set the stepper motor count to 32500 half of the 65000 steps it can measure. This is the center point with the current optical train. One thing to note with the 12" is that it has a spring under the main mirror that most SCT`s do not. That means that to pull the backlash out and get a consistent focus you most turn in the opposite direction than would be normal. Pulling against the spring rather than pushing up the mirror against gravity. finish focus in a counter clockwise direction rather than a clockwise direction. A note of interest is that i counted 50 turns on the focuser were required to go from the mirror aft to fully forward positions.

I used two uxcell TC815 Thrust Needle Roller Bearings with four Washers 1/2" Bore 15/16" OD 5/64" Width for the stock focuser modification. For the EAF upgrade the bracket assembly is an ZWO EAF Bracket for 

Celestron C11 and C14 SCT Telescopes # ZW-EAFC11-C14

March 2022

Above is a few test images and playing during testing. close inspection will show acceptable stars at the bottom and at critical focus center but not at the top left and right due to chip tilt.

Progress setting up the Meade 12" SCT continues as time allows. Setting the back focus has been successful using a trial and error procedure and online plate solving. The Meade F3.3 focal reducer is rare and also has a reputation for being hard to setup which I can confirm. The back focus and focal reduction are not exact to the numbers furnished and required trail and error to get it close. in the process of that I have discovered just how sensitive it is to CMOS chip tilt and distance. In the next few days I will be installing an tip tilt plate to aid in the adjustment of this and then setting the final back focus again. A finial collimation check and adjustment will be performed and position angle will be set. The optical train should be left alone at that point. I am also installing an EAF focus motor and bracket onto the SCT focuser to aid in the very critical focus at this fast focal ratio.

February 2022

Mind`s Eye Observatory featured in the February 2022 Issue of the "Vero Beach Magazine"

Click the image below to read the Article

It is known for its great local articles and large glossy pages!

Many years ago I started an adventure in astronomy on top of my many interests. Through those following years astronomy has continued to be at the top of my list. A passion for sure or according to my wife Cheryl an obsession.

When you get to see amazing things in the world it's hard not to share. Sharing my experiences looking at the night sky has always been a big part of my astronomy exploration.

So, I am very proud to be featured along with my Observatory and astrophotography in the February issue of the Vero Beach Magazine!

Many thanks to my family and friends that have supported me. Special Thanks to author Patrick Merrell for doing such a fine job capturing what I do in my backyard and his excellent photography.

Additional thanks to John ficarra for his interest and for suggesting we share my passion.

"Carpe Noctem"

Happy 30th Anniversary to my venerable mount.  The solid G11! 1992 / 2022

After all the work on getting the Meade 12" Schmidt Cassegrain restored, collimated and camera back focus it was time to take a break from the tuning and see a little sky stuff! So with the great winter weather coming to a close I chose to take a look at a few objects I have visited before and was stunned at what the extra 4" of aperture did even with focus and mirror shift still being worked out. 

The focal length is set at F3.5 as I continue to fine tune it. The old Meade F3.3 focal reducer isn't perfect but will do the job for now. It is matched up to the well proven ZWO ASI 224MC camera. The little affordable  camera that can and keeps giving. Next I will be working on adding an EAF focus motor. The camera position angle will be set with the final Focal length and back focus is determined. Also I am working on a diffraction mask to add the aesthetically pleasing cross to the view preferred by many. The "Now and laters" show the potential the 12" SCT has to get the job done with live image viewing. Also the longer focal length should help with my astrometry measurements so I will be setting back up to pursue that.

At this time the JWST has been doing the same thing. Collimation and alignments are almost done and mirror cooling is just about there.

I feel their pain!      I can't wait for what it will show us along with what my scopes will as well. 

Enjoy a few select "Now & laters' from this observing run

12" Meade OTA Restoration and Upgrades

I have been working in the observatory as time allows restoring a friends "Richard Woodard"  12" Meade optical tube assembly "OTA". Disassembly of the OTA was performed down to ever last bolt. Putting the OTA on a diet  by removing past balance bars and accessories was performed to get the weight reduced. Cleaning and painting the tube was performed with a flat black interior applied to help with reflections. There was some chipping damage of the corrector plate around the cork pads used to retain the lens. So, allot of glass flakes had to be removed from the tube and mirror. New adjustment screws were installed in the cell that holds the corrector lens which will now allow adjustment of the corrector for centering and better retention of the lens. This required drilling and tapping new locations for the adjustment screws in the ring.

 In the OTA base four holes were drilled in the casting to allow for cooling fans. Studs were installed to allow removal and maintenance of the fans without disassembly of the OTA. The cooling fans were installed to withdraw air from the OTA to cool the mirror to ambient temperature and also disrupt the boundary layer of warm air that forms on the main mirror when observing. Filtered vents were installed in the OTA under the main dovetail plate with the theory to help keep moisture and light out. The fans can be regulated at three speeds to aid control of the airflow and are operated remotely.

The mirror support was cleaned and a thin layer of high vacuum grease applied. The mirror was cleaned and reinstalled into the tube. The stock focuser was cleaned and reinstalled with plans to upgrade that in the future for an EAF focuser system. The corrector lens was cleaned and reinstalled into the new adjustable pads with a cleaned secondary mirror as well. "Bob's Knobs" were installed in the secondary mirror assembly to help with the ease of collimation. Although a little harder to make very fine adjustments the of easy of access and adjustment using Bob's Knobs is a good trade off especially when working alone.

The mounting dovetail bar was drilled and tapped to allow installation of set screws for adjustment of the OTA in a dual scope configuration and also "Cone Error Correction".

A Tri-Bahtinov mask was purchased to aid in collimation using a star. This proved to work very well with a one person collimation. Using a cell phone I use Teamviewer to see the camera view of the PC running the camera and viewed the diffraction spikes while standing on a ladder in a position to make adjustments to the secondary mirror. This was tedious but working very well.

Continued adjustments and collimation will take place after the final focal reducer & camera is chosen and the correct back focus is achieved. Trials are ongoing at the native F10 focal length and additionally with a hard to find Meade F3.3 focal reducer that I purchased years ago.

Experiments with the cooling fan system and internal tube currents are moving along and I have observed a remarkable improvement in scintillation when using the tube fans at a low speed. Not long after shutting the system off the scintillation increases markedly. No vibration effects have been noticed when the fans are on. Additionally cooling of the optics with the fans after rollout of the scope trolley has been great noted by the ability to perform an auto focus quickly after rollout with no noticeable change in focus for a good period of time before requiring another focus run. Mirror shift has been minimized as much as possible with the high vacuum grease application and setting the mirror with the OTA spring and the lock spring set to help hold the mirror as much as possible. Much less shift has been noted after long slews. The addition of a Crayford focuser will also help this problem allowing repeatable focus without moving the mirror.

January 2022

Tonga-pressure-wave Animation

The second wave had a different amplitude due to the travel distance. Continued study of the pressure wave and its effects have shown a very interesting correlation with ultraviolet light measurements at the same time the pressure wave was passing through. I did also go back and see that Ultraviolet light did increase here as the wave pass through my area. It was also fun to look at other stations observations across the state from each coast that measured the pressure wave and recorded it passing. Many stations probably didn't even know they had captured the data.