Weather
Surprise! At 4:00pm this afternoon it was raining. Just before sunset it started clearing off, and just when the skies became dark enough the final clouds slipped past Altair. Cool and very clear, seeing about average, lots of dew, not surprising considering it rained earlier today and the temperatures have fallen quite a bit. Low tonight around 65F. Calm winds.
Rig #2: V1101 Aql
V1101 is very bright tonight, so I set the cadence for 30-second exposures. I managed to forget turning the dew controller back on – so the corrector plate became about 30% covered in dew by the time V1101 slipped behind the maple tree. Shut it down at about 1:10am. Really nice night but I’m tired. Need to start looking for a late-night target.
Rig #1:
I got a call from George at Astro-Physics this afternoon. Both the motor and encoder in the declination assembly for the AP1200 are being replaced, plus they’re adding a static discharge protection circuit to lessen the probability of damage in the case of nearby lightning and so on. Another $500, but I should have it back by next week. With the exception of the “Y” cable this mount has now had its entire electrical system replaced.
