Monroe Optical Observatory

On January 31 I added the final weight for counterbalancing the Orion EON 80 scope and I could then begin to use it for imaging.  The night had a little bit of high haze and was windy, but I had waited long enough!

My first imaging target was of course the M42 and M43 complex - the Great Orion Nebula.  This is probably one of the most popular object for amateur astrophotographers because it is big, bright, colorful and interesting!  I confirmed that it is still right where it is supposed to be in the sky and it still looks just like every photo every taken of it.

After waiting for an excruciatingly long time to take darks on the DSI-III at the ambient temperature I collected 20 subs of 30 sec each, for 10 minutes of total exposure.  My cold bones couldn't take any more.  After some very brief processing to logarithmically stretch the data and allow the bright core and dim outer regions to coexist in the same image, here is the result:

After a brief warm up in the house, I decided to try a very different kind of target just to see how well my setup works.  I selected the beautiful barred spircal galaxy M95 as my quarry.  Here is where having a permanent pier mount really pays off.  After entering in M95 on the autostar keypad the telescope slewed across the sky from the setting Orion to the rising Leo and put M95 within the DSI-III frame on the EON.  Fantastic!

Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the much fainter galaxy was going to take a considerably longer exposure to beat fine details out of the noise.  5 minutes of exposure was only enough to pull a hint of the bar and extended arms out of the noisy background sky.  This may be a fine future goal for testing out autoguiding using the 8" SCT as the guider and collecting an hour or more of exposure on the M95 and M96 pair of galaxies.

Now it just needs to be at least 40 degrees and calm so I can enjoy the night while my scopes are collecting photons!

Clear skies!

Clay

Since the weather was so warm this weekend I started and finished (!) a project to install electrical wiring in the observatory.  MOO now has four outlets including a GFCI outlet and a switched outlet for the red rope lights.  For convenience I mounted a power strip right behind the work table.

The observatory is not hardwired to the house but instead connects to a long 12 gauge extension cord running from an exterior outlet on the near side of the house.  The connection to the MOO wiring is done by connecting the extension cord temporarily to a pigtail out of the GFCI outlet.  The pigtail was donated by a cheap surge protector on sale.

Ah, no more fumbling in the dark with a power strip on the floor and power cords running everywhere!

Maybe next year I will think about running a buried cable from the house to MOO, but for now the extension cord will work just fine!

Clear skies!

Clay

Hi Steve,

 Your e-mail bounced and I wrote a long reply so I'm just going to post my response here.

The L mount on the EON 80 is actually screwed to a Losmandy DA adapter that clamps onto a DM8 dovetail plate bolted to the 8" scope. This allows easy attachment or detachment of the EON as well as front to back balancing. Attached is the full resolution photo where it might be clearer.

It is possible to remove the L foot from the EON and use rings, like Losmandy DR125, but I decided to start with the DA adapter and see how far it gets me. I have not had the chance to try autoguiding yet, so I'm not sure if this setup will be rigid enough. I may go to rings later.

As for alignment, eyeballing it when I tighten the DA onto the L foot seems to work well enough. Any object visible in the 8" will easily be within the field of the EON. If having both perfectly aligned is important then rings will be much more adjustable, yes. For autoguiding they don't need to be aligned so it may be fine as it is. I'll find out when it warms up and I can tolerate a night in the observatory!

Don't forget that the 7-8 extra pounds of scope on top of the SCT will cause the whole setup to be terribly off balance. I used a Losmandy VWS13 weight set with an additional 5lb weight to balance my 8" LX200 + EON + cameras. It is useless without counterweights.

As for the EON, I don’t have much to compare it to in its class but I think it is a *great* scope! It looks great and feels very well made and has several very nice features, like easy tube rotation, focus lock, and best of all it has a 10:1 fine focus knob with Crayford focusing! I bought an Orion ST80 a few years back and was very disappointed. The EON is so much better. I have only used it once for WF imaging so far (the obligatory M42 shot, see attached, 20 x 30 sec subs = 10 min total). The stars are beautifully round, the focus didn't shift at all after 2 hours, and the colors are sharp.

So yes, I would definitely recommend the Orion EON 80.

Have fun!

Clay

-----Original Message-----

Am I dedicated or crazy?  I think a little of both.  I set up the new equipment in temperatures just above 0 degrees F and then stayed outside for a brief while to capture the quarter phase of Venus at nightfall as the temperature slipped below zero.  I have decided that this is just too cold!  Even the LX200 keybad barely functioned, not to mention my fingers trying to press the keys.

As promised, I uploaded a picture of the equipment installed.  The Losmandy V-series weight system went on very easily, now that I have the right length dovetail bar!  The only minor issue was with the Kendrick dew band.  There is not a lot of clearance between the dovetail bar and the SCT telescope tube.  It made a bit of a crunching sound as I tightened the screws on the bar, but it seems to work fine.

I also realized that I will get a good workout carrying the deep-cycle marine battery up and down the hill to the observatory for the anti-dew system.  Next year I will install the solar panels to keep it charged, but until then I will have to haul it from the house.

Clear skies!

Clay

The Monroe Optical Observatory is sitting idle this January due to snow, frigid cold and a trip to Japan.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate in two weeks and I will be able to install the upgrades to the telescope that I have been preparing.

The big addition is going to be the 80mm Orion EON guide scope.  I was able to get the new scopes "first light" session two weeks ago during the day with a solar filter.  Sadly, the Sun was completely blank!  It is still too near to solar minimum to have much of a chance of seeing sunspots.

Going along with the guide scope is the Losmandy counterweight system.  With any luck I planned for the right number of weights to balance the small scope sitting on top of the Meade 8" SCT.

Last but not least is the Kendrick dew management system.  Earlier on a bitterly cold December night I bundled up and sat at the scope for a few hours trying to get in an observing session.  By the end of the night the corrector plate was almost completely iced over!  The next day it melted and left many spots on the plate.  Hopefully the anti-dew system will not only make observing on more nights possible, but also protect the scope.

I will add photos of the new setup when I get them installed in a few weeks.

Clear skies!

Clay