Introducing: Son of Scopey McScopeFace!
There’s a reason I’ve been quiet lately – we sold our house and are in the process of moving to Los Angeles! Also, Florida’s weather hasn’t been terribly cooperative either.
The sad news is that we had to leave the observatory behind, and I donated its equipment to the Central Florida Astronomical Society, as LA isn’t exactly a great spot for deep sky astrophotography.
But when life hands you lemons… you buy a new telescope and ship it to a remote observatory in central Texas! Behold, “Son of Scopey McScopeFace”:
Since it will be used remotely, I had to switch to a refractor as they require less hands-on maintenance. It’s an Astro-Physics 130 GTX telescope, paired with a new Software Bisque “Paramount” MyT mount, a feather touch motorized focuser, Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox v2, Zeus 455M camera from Player One, and a 50mm filter wheel and off-axis guider also from Player One, with a Ceres guide camera. There’s also an Alnitak Flip-Flat device to allow for taking calibration frames remotely. I’ve also switched to N.I.N.A. for the software that controls it all, as the software I was using is no longer maintained.
Last night this rig had its “first light” with the Bubble Nebula, and overall it went well… although auto-guiding could use some further tuning. But mechanically, everything checks out. The next step is to ship it out to Starfront Observatories in central Texas, where I’ll control it remotely from wherever life takes me to… and the next few years look to be quite nomadic. But at this site, the skies are much darker, and also much more clear. In the end, it should be a pretty big upgrade!
I doubt I’ll build another permanent observatory of my own. No matter how much you think you’re never going to move again, something always happens. And for most buyers, an observatory only takes away from the value of your house – it’s this big thing they don’t know what to do with, and just want to get rid of it. In hindsight, remote hosting is the way to go – or something simpler, like just a steel pier bolted to a tiny concrete pad that’s easy to remove and cover up should the need arise.
Anyhow, stay tuned! Once this thing gets dialed in at Starfront, I’m hoping for some amazing images.
