David's Astronomy - Notes 2021-10-30 (S930)

David's Astronomy Pages
Notes - Session 930 (2021-10-30)

Notes
(S929)

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Notes
(S931)

	2021-10-31

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result - Night Summary Plot - Session Event Log

	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0), Major Issues (0), Minor Issues (10), Small Defects (12), Continuous Improvement (19)

	Images from 2021-10-30 >> [ Local Files >> ]

	Aurora Images/Video from 2021-10-30 >>

	LX200 - Occasional Large RA spikes

	2021-11-02
	Weather Forecast - OpenWeatherMap.Org vs DarkSky.Net

Session Aims & Highlights (2021-10-30)

Main aims

Targets. Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by time & conditions.
Guiding Performance. Make further guiding runs with the recently installed new Dec Motor Unit and following a couple of changes since previous S929 session

Equipment & Software

12" LX200 and ST-10XME
80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, PHD2 2.6.10, DeviceHub 6.5.1.4, MeadeGeneric 1.3.2.367, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.5 SP1
Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
SharpCap 3.2, PHD2 2.6.10
AstroMain 3.45.4, AstroPlan 1.26 AstroShCap 1.3.2, AstroGuard 1.6.2, AstroVOE 1.8, AstroSN 1.6, AstroProtect 1.6
(AstroWeather 1.14, AstroAllSky 3.13.1, AstroObsCam 1.7.2 AstroLaunch 1.7.1)

Highlights

AstroAllSky. A series of trial fixes to AstroAllSky (3.12.7, 3.12.8) were made through the session and eventually a version 3.12.9 was built that seems to have resolved issues with a bring in a new feature to make the program more responsive to requests for immediate measurements of sky/cloud at current scope and next target positions.
Targets. Quite a few targets were imaged during the session before expected cloud developed around 22:15
Guiding Performance. Guiding results/charts continue to show that guiding performance for targets lying west of Meridian hadn't been improved by recent installation of new Dec, and after attempted fixes since the last S927 session have probably got even worse. This continues to be disappointing.

Notes:

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

Sky Conditions (Locate Frames)

Night Sky Summary Plot
Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s)
Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time	Event	Detail
20:45:04	Session Created	Live Session Created (2021-10-30 S00930, ImageSaveNum: 930001)
20:45:32	Obs.Manager Started	Obs.Manager started
20:45:34	Obs.Overseer Started	Obs.Overseer started
20:45:38	Services Started	Observatory Services started
20:45:51	Scope Switched On	Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox.
20:47:36	Services Started	Observatory Services started
20:50:02	Dome Opened	Dome opened (opening time 45s)
20:50:39	Telescope Connected	Telescope Connected (TheSky6)
20:51:16	Target Started (NrZen)	Target started (Focus Field 22, HIP 108888)
20:53:07	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
20:55:33	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1)
20:55:36	Target Completed	Target completed (Focus Field 22, HIP 108888)
20:58:37	Focusing Started-Foc2	Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap)
21:01:36	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide)
21:03:51	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2)
21:04:52	Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 21:04 & 06:10
21:04:54	Observatory (AutoStart)	Observatory placed in Auto-Start Mode
21:04:56	Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (21:04)
21:05:15	Services Started	Observatory Services started
21:05:19	Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
21:05:23	Session Pending	Session pending (2021-10-30)
21:05:25	Session Initiating	Session initiating (2021-10-30)
21:05:27	Plan Requested	Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.26.1)
21:15:02	Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 681)
21:15:15	Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C)
21:15:21	Telescope Connected	Telescope Connected (TheSky6)
21:15:45	Session Equilibration	Session ready for dome & camera equilibration
21:15:47	Session Running	Session running
21:15:50	Queue Started	Observing Queue started (37 targets selected)
21:15:53	Target Missed (1/37)	Target's time slot was missed (1/37, Vega)
21:15:55	Target Started (2/37)	Target started (2/37, GCVS RR Lyr)
21:29:37	Target Completed	Target partially completed (2/37, GCVS RR Lyr)
21:29:39	Target Started (3/37)	Target started (3/37, Vega)
21:33:47	Target Completed	Target completed (3/37, Vega)
21:33:49	Target Started (4/37)	Target started (4/37, AT2021zkf)
21:38:51	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
21:40:42	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3)
21:57:18	Target Completed	Target completed (4/37, AT2021zkf)
21:57:21	Target Started (5/37)	Target started (5/37, AT2021vfg (CV))
22:02:42	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
22:04:47	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4)
22:10:34	Target Completed	Target partially completed (5/37, AT2021vfg (CV))
22:10:36	Target Started (6/37)	Target started (6/37, NGC 6627 w/SN2021abkm)
22:14:04	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
22:16:03	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5)
22:30:07	Target Completed	Target partially completed (6/37, NGC 6627 w/SN2021abkm)
22:30:09	Target Started (7/37)	Target started (7/37, GCVS BL Lac)
22:33:20	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
22:35:41	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6)
22:39:45	Target Completed	Target completed (7/37, GCVS BL Lac)
22:39:47	Target Started (8/37)	Target started (8/37, UGC 235 w/AT2021aazm)
22:42:26	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
22:44:38	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7)
23:01:45	Target Completed	Target completed (8/37, UGC 235 w/AT2021aazm)
23:01:47	Target Started (9/37)	Target started (9/37, GCVS EV Lac)
23:05:17	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
23:07:46	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8)
23:10:36	Target Completed	Target completed (9/37, GCVS EV Lac)
23:10:38	Target Started (10/37)	Target started (10/37, WDS GRB 34)
23:15:43	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
23:17:51	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9)
23:20:19	Target Completed	Target completed (10/37, WDS GRB 34)
23:20:22	Target Started (11/37)	Target started (11/37, GCVS RX And)
23:25:56	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
23:28:12	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10)
23:30:04	Target Completed	Target partially completed (11/37, GCVS RX And)
23:30:06	Target Started (12/37)	Target started (12/37, IC 190 w/SN2021abko)
23:32:42	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
23:34:59	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11)
23:51:38	Target Completed	Target completed (12/37, IC 190 w/SN2021abko)
23:51:40	Target Started (13/37)	Target started (13/37, NGC 1166 w/SN2021zby)
23:54:00	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
00:10:07	Target Completed	Target completed (13/37, NGC 1166 w/SN2021zby)
00:10:09	Target Started (14/37)	Target started (14/37, NGC 514 w/SN2020uxz)
00:16:08	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:18:02	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 12)
00:29:37	Target Completed	Target completed (14/37, NGC 514 w/SN2020uxz)
00:29:40	Target Started (15/37)	Target started (15/37, GCVS TT Ari)
00:35:00	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:37:47	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 13)
00:43:11	Target Completed	Target partially completed (15/37, GCVS TT Ari)
00:43:14	Target Started (16/37)	Target started (16/37, Nova Cas 2021)
00:47:15	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:49:03	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 14)
00:55:17	Target Completed	Target partially completed (16/37, Nova Cas 2021)
00:55:19	Target Started (17/37)	Target started (17/37, GCVS TV Cas)
00:59:45	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
01:02:00	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 15)
01:04:52	Target Completed	Target completed (17/37, GCVS TV Cas)
01:04:54	Target Started (18/37)	Target started (18/37, UGC 2605 w/SN2021wvw)
01:24:08	Target Completed	Target completed (18/37, UGC 2605 w/SN2021wvw)
01:24:11	Target Started (19/38)	Target started (19/38, NGC 1060, ToO)
01:27:13	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
01:29:23	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 16)
01:45:59	Target Completed	Target completed (19/38, NGC 1060, ToO)
01:46:01	Target Missed (20/38)	Target's time slot was missed (20/38, NGC 1400 w/AT2021hcz)
01:46:03	Target Started (21/38)	Target started (21/38, GCVS DY Per)
01:49:15	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
01:51:34	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 17)
01:56:50	Target Completed	Target completed (21/38, GCVS DY Per)
01:56:52	Target Started (22/38)	Target started (22/38, Nova Per 2020)
01:00:00	Clock Changed	Clock has gone back 1 hour at 02:00 (end of Daylight Saving Time)
01:00:05	Program Hung	AstroMain hung with issue related to daylight savings change
01:45:00	User Intervention	User intervention to restart obsevartoty software after issue related to daylight savings change
01:53:39	Session Resumed	Live Session Resumed (2021-10-30 S00930, ImageSaveNum: 930157)
01:54:18	Obs.Manager Started	Obs.Manager started
01:54:20	Obs.Overseer Started	Obs.Overseer started
01:54:22	Services Started	Observatory Services started
01:54:24	Critical Temperature Alert	Critical Temperature Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter)
01:55:08	Dome Closed	Dome closed (closing time 50s)
01:56:54	Services Stopped	Observatory Services stopped
01:56:56	Program Closed	Program closed by User
02:03:10	Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 02:03 & 06:10
02:03:12	Observatory (AutoStart)	Observatory placed in Auto-Start Mode
02:03:14	Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (02:03)
02:03:34	Scope Switched On	Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox.
02:05:20	Services Started	Observatory Services started
02:05:27	Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
02:05:29	Session Pending	Session pending (2021-10-30)
02:05:31	Session Initiating	Session initiating (2021-10-30)
02:05:50	Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 681)
02:06:06	Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C)
02:06:11	Telescope Connected	Telescope Connected (TheSky6)
02:06:40	Session Equilibration	Session ready for dome & camera equilibration
02:07:25	Dome Opened	Dome opened (opening time 45s)
02:07:27	Session Running	Session running
02:07:30	Queue Started	Observing Queue started (16 targets selected)
02:07:33	Target Started (22/37)	Target started (22/37, GCVS RR Tau)
02:11:55	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
02:14:06	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 19)
02:21:28	Target Completed	Target completed (22/37, GCVS RR Tau)
02:21:31	Target Started (23/37)	Target started (23/37, M31 w/AT2021aceg)
02:24:25	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
02:26:18	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 20)
02:43:11	Target Completed	Target completed (23/37, M31 w/AT2021aceg)
02:43:14	Target Started (24/37)	Target started (24/37, NGC 9 w/SN2021zju)
02:46:23	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
02:48:20	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 21)
03:05:12	Target Completed	Target completed (24/37, NGC 9 w/SN2021zju)
03:05:14	Target Started (25/37)	Target started (25/37, GCVS FO Ori)
03:08:51	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:11:12	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 22)
03:16:31	Target Completed	Target completed (25/37, GCVS FO Ori)
03:16:33	Target Started (26/37)	Target started (26/37, GCVS FU Ori)
03:19:31	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:22:02	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 23)
03:24:29	Target Completed	Target partially completed (26/37, GCVS FU Ori)
03:24:31	Target Started (27/37)	Target started (27/37, 4P/Faye)
03:27:30	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:29:28	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 24)
03:36:31	Target Completed	Target partially completed (27/37, 4P/Faye)
03:36:34	Target Started (28/37)	Target started (28/37, C/2019 L3 (ATLAS))
03:39:26	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:41:42	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 25)
03:50:24	Target Completed	Target completed (28/37, C/2019 L3 (ATLAS))
03:50:26	Target Started (29/37)	Target started (29/37, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko)
03:53:37	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
04:06:57	Target Completed	Target completed (29/37, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko)
04:07:00	Target Started (30/37)	Target started (30/37, UGC 3873 w/SN2021yok)
04:09:58	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
04:11:57	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 26)
04:28:34	Target Completed	Target completed (30/37, UGC 3873 w/SN2021yok)
04:28:36	Target Started (31/37)	Target started (31/37, CGCG 178-036 w/SN2021hfu)
04:31:50	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
04:33:59	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 27)
04:50:39	Target Completed	Target completed (31/37, CGCG 178-036 w/SN2021hfu)
04:50:41	Target Started (32/37)	Target started (32/37, GCVS SY Cnc)
04:53:42	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S)
04:57:17	Target Completed	Target completed (32/37, GCVS SY Cnc)
04:58:36	Target Started (33/37)	Target started (33/37, LAMOST-HVS1)
05:03:06	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
05:06:45	Target Completed	Target completed (33/37, LAMOST-HVS1)
05:08:21	Target Started (34/37)	Target started (34/37, GCVS HH And)
05:12:57	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
05:15:25	Target Completed	Target completed (34/37, GCVS HH And)
05:16:37	Target Started (35/37)	Target started (35/37, C/2021 A1 (Leonard))
05:21:16	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
05:22:56	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 28)
05:33:53	Target Completed	Target completed (35/37, C/2021 A1 (Leonard))
05:33:56	Target Started (36/37)	Target started (36/37, GCVS YZ Cnc)
05:39:05	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
05:47:01	Target Completed	Target completed (36/37, GCVS YZ Cnc)
05:47:03	Target Started (37/37)	Target started (37/37, GCVS DX Cnc)
05:49:58	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S)
05:54:57	Target Completed	Target completed (37/37, GCVS DX Cnc)
05:54:59	Queue Completed	Job Queue completed
05:55:01	Session Closing	Session closing
05:55:56	Dome Closed	Dome closed (closing time 50s)
05:56:46	Dome Parked	Dome parked (parking time 43s), Az: 90.0 deg
05:58:07	Telescope Parked	Telescope parked (parking time 73s)
05:58:22	Telescope State	Scope parked Turn scope off. (Handbox)
05:58:42	Telescope Switched Off	Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch.
05:59:33	Services Stopped	Night Services stopped
05:59:35	Session Housekeeping	Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files)
06:00:27	Session Finished	Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time		Alert	Detail
01:00:00		Clock Changed	Clock has gone back 1 hour at 02:00 (end of Daylight Saving Time) (Added retrospectively)

Operational Issues (2021-10-30, S930)

Critical Issues (0)
Major Issues (0)
Minor Issues (10)
Small Defects (12)
Continuous Improvement (19)

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Critical Issues

None

Major Issues

None

Minor Issues

For the one hour period after clocks go back at end of daylight saving time, it isn't possible to set TheSky6 to the equivalent UT time. For the time 01:30 GMT / 01:30 UT on the last Sunday in October (UK) it isn't possible to set TheSky6 to show virtual sky at 01:30 UT. Trying to set TheSky6 time to 01:30 using TheSky6's interface, one gets a virtual sky that is for 01:30 BST / 00:30 UT. If one try to set TheSky6 to time of an image taken at 01:30 UT one gets a virtual sky for 02:30 GMT/ 02:30 UT. This seems to be an inherent weakness in the TheSky6 (not sure what TheSkyX does ?).
User Awareness (TheSky6)
AstroMain job execution hung at 01:59/02:00. This was at the same time as the end of daylights saving time when the clocks went back by one hour, so it was immediately suspected that this was related to the hang up in job execution . Issue resolved at the time by parking the telescope and stopping/killing Observatory Software and then restarting after local time has passed 02:00 again (this was after attempts to stop the execution of Job Executor thread failed by normal means had failed). Log file shows that 0.06s after the clocks went back (ie 01:00:00.06 BST that there was a message 'Sleeping for 3,587.4s to throttle BatchFile executions' with the next message being at 01:40:55.52 'User Request to Abort Job'. It is noted that 3587.4s is close to 3600s (1 hour), so this looked like a problem that directly relates to the clocks changing. Investigation showed that the problem occurs at a certain point in the codewhen 'nSecs' (the number of seconds since a timepoint was previously set) is calculated. Normally (ie at any other time) nSecs is a positive number because the timepoint is always an older time value but in this case because of the change in clock , the current time suddenly became less than the time point and nSecs consequently became a negative number. Code looks at nSecs and if it is less than 5 it inserts a delay to ensure that at least 5s have passed since the time point. Since 5 - nSecs was 3587.4 it follows that nSecs must have had the value -3582.4. Since -3582.4 was < 5 the code called a thread delay (Thread.Sleep(1000 * (5 - nSecs)) ) which meant that the job executor began a delay of 3587.4s ( 5 - -3582.4) and the job executor appeared to freeze and couldn't be stopped with a 'job abort' flag. There are 3 code sections where a delay to throttle BatchFile executions' is used, but there are many other places where a delay might be added after looking a timepoint. May need to look at other means of recording time (using computer ticks or something). For time being the 3 instances are fixed by ensuring that nSecs is a positive before entering the code block containing the delay (alternatives but be to let execution enter the code block and only excecue a delay is it calculates as being < 5s or to try to recreate the intended nSecs (if nSecs is around -3600 then nSecs = nSecs + 3600) ) . Other routines need to be fixed before the next daylight saving change in Mar 2022. Other routines have a timeout point within them and aren't particularly prone to the same issue.
Fixed 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
The creation of Session's Observing Plan by AstroAllSky's Schedule Builder took longer than normal. {Add time vs time in pass few sessions}..... The overrun in schedule builder led to the first target being missed. It appeared that each generation was taking longer than normal. Not obvious what the cause is as schedule building has been working well later and with dark sky there is not particular limitation on traget availability. Could this be a side effect of the change in daylights saving. A copy of target/plan database copied to Development computer and a new schedule built and it also took an unexpectedly long time. Running the schedule builder for a previous date (2021-10-28) showed ..... { to add / comparison of timings /analysis). AstroMain logs show Plan requested at 21:05:27 but didn't start to be loaded until 21:14:49 (implying a creation time of around 9.3 minutes). Comparing this with S925 (2021-10-14) which was the last plan of equivalent length , when plan was requested at 19:36:44 and loaded at loaded at 19:39:01 indicating a creation time of only 2.3 minutes. (showing that S930 took 7 minutes longer). Problem is believed to be due to tracing code added in AstroPlan 1.26.1 which has pushed the size of AstroPlan's log file from 96 MB in session S925 to 980 MB in the latest S930 session. The logfile was too large to open in any application tried. Activity breakdown tabulated in Report FIle confirmed that delay was happening in the Build Generation section which took a total of 8.3 minutes compared to only 17s in S925, which slowest activity being 'CalcFitness' (7.1 mins) Part fixed in AstroPlan 1.26.2. build 1 (2.1 mins) which is a lot quicker than v1.26.1 used for S930 (9.2 mins) but still not as quick as v1.25.1 used for S925 (31s). Slowest activity is now 'Load Plan To Form' (1.2 mins vs only 5s in S925). Leaving out the display of the best plan for each version reduces the overall time down to 1.4 mins with slowest activities being Run Generation (39s vs 17s in S925) and 'Build Plan' (21s vs 11s in S925). Calc Fitness() routine called 3,092,716 times (vs 8,244,897 times in S930 and only 620,210 times in S925).
Part Fixed 2021-10-31 (AstroPlan 1.26.2)
ObservationUid (oid) is being written incorrectly to AllSky Scope and ObsCam Scope pictures. Pictures relating to Targets don't have a oid number written to filenames but files related to Parking, Parked or Disconnected scope state have the oid000 when they shouldn't have a oid term. This is hypothesized to be due to a bug in Astromain where logic defining the oid number (Session.ObservationUid or vcNull) to be sent to AllSkyWeather comouter via TCP messaging has been accidently coded the wrong way around. Fixed in AstroMain 3.45.5. A retrospective fix has been applied to S930 dataset so that correct oid numbers are inserted into AllSky and ObsCam pictures from the session, allowing the expected picture associations to be made.
Fixed 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Water on Observatory Floor (due to ingress below wall panels). With the large amount of recent rain (see Fig 1 showing rainfall during the last 5 days), the observatory floor has become increasing wet and is rising through the joints in the rubber floor matting. Water seeps in under the walls at places where the sealant has degraded. This has been on ongoing issue since observatory was constructed in 2018. A certain amount of water under the matting can be tolerated but the amount has become too much. Floor matts have been removed today (2021-11-01) and the excess water removed with towelling. Floor will be allowed to dry out and some emergency No-Nonsense All Weather Sealant applied as a strip on the outside and (for first time) inside the wall base in an attempt to try to stop further water ingress. The sealant is supposedly ''suitable to use in wet weather conditions". Seals were applied 2021-11-08. Floor matts were relaid 2021-11-11 after giving inside seal opportunity to set. (See more detail/ photos at Observatory Dome - Wall Sealant Fix, 2021-11-08)
Done 2021-11-08 (Observatory)
Time Checks after connecting to LX200 telescope showed a time discrepency of around 6s. This is larger than normal { add figures here }. A follow check using the 'Get Scope Utc Time' button facility confirmed the initial post connection check. It's not know if this is significant or not. Session showed no indication of any significant affect due to this time difference. Pointing Errors after slews look normal (centered +/- 3 arc min around slew target). After scope was parked and the session/telescope restarted the time difference came down to 3s which seems to be normal. There seems to be an inherent communication delay getting scope UTC date from the telescope. Items closed following monitoring in the 2 following sessions and final review (2021-11-15).
Closed 2021-11-15 (Session)
AltitudePlan wasn't generated for the session. File not present in charts folder or session log file or live folder/web. Examine log files or replay plan. Could this be a problem related to change in Daylight Savings time (clocks went back 1 hour during the night) ? . A copy of target/plan database copied to Development computer and the Altitude Chart displayed for the V1 Active Plan, but it plotted ok, so unclear why it wouldn't have worked on the Observatory Computer. Believed to be a one off glitch as it has been working ok in earlier sessions and is expected to work ok in the next session, but monitor. Items closed following monitoring in the 2 following sessions and final review (2021-11-15).
Closed 2021-11-15 (Session)
On nights when clock changes as in the session S930 times of Sunrise, and rising Sun Altitude during the morning are incorrect on Schedule Builder Form and on Observing Plan/Observing Result Charts (DST Issue). Examining the Observing Plan chart for Night Date 2021-10-30 when clock went back at 02:00 on 2021-10-31 (end of daylight saving time). Sunrise is shown as 08:17 (LT) when the correct value is 07:17 (LT). Other times like Dawn (-6° SunAlt), Nautical Twilight (-12° SunAlt), Astronomical Twilight (-18°) are also out by 1 hour. The times are set with GetNightTimes() routine by adding a DayFraction returned by sunrise(), dawn() functions to the midnight time. Thse function take the parameter dlstime (which is 1 when DST/BST applies and 0 (ie GMT) when it doesn't. This parameter is currently set based on the setting the previous day, rather than the one that necessarily applies to the morning time (post 02:00). Fixed in AstroPlan 1.32.3.
Fixed 2022-09-07 (AstroPlan 1.32.3)
During the one hour period after clocks went back AstroAllSky is unable to correctly count the number of AllSky Stars (DST Issue). Value of Stars dropped from c. 50 down to a figure of 1-3 stars at 01:59 LT ( 00:59 UT) which lasted for a period of 1 hour, jumping back to c 50 stars again when the time reached 02:00 BST/ 02:00 UT. Problem seems to occurs because after the clock goes back one hour then at 01:05 BST(LT) / 01:05 UT, Computer Time 01:05 TheSky6 gives data and positions for 01:05 LT / 00:05 UT and AstroAllSky isn't able to calculate the actual Sky positions of star positions. (AstroAllSky determines number of stars as being 1 to 3 stars, one star is Polaris, whilst 1-2 stars coincidently match with other stars shifted by one hours). May need to use own routines and avoid using TheSky6's routines. During this one hour it might be best to report number of stars as being vcNull if a fix can't be found.
Fixed 2022-09-26 (AstroAllSky 3.16.4)
4th 180s frame for NGC 9 target saw a large RA spike. Frame saw a large RA spike that is evident in star trails in the image and a large RA jump in guiding data. At the time (02:59) target lay at Az 275.35, Alt 25.33 . Is this cable snag or a gear train anomaly ? . Propose daytime and night-time time tests slewing to Az 274.52, Alt 25.86' and watch tracking for 5-10 mins. A similar issue affected GCVS RR Lyr in the previous S929 session. See note LX200 - Occasional Large RA Spikes
To monitor (Session, Observatory, LX200 Telescope)
The Red 'Current Time' line that is overlaid on the Observing Plan and Observing Results charts on current session web page is drawn an incorrect position (DST Issue). The red line is drawn by javascipt in the htm page utilising a small parameter file that is supplied by AstroPlan. It is strongly suspected that this is problem due to change in daylights saving that occurred on the same night as the session (night 2021-10-30 / 2021-10-31) - the clocks go back an hour at 2am on the last Sunday of October. The script drawing doesn't have correct parameters to handle the length of the chart correctly. This is a problem that occurs twice a year and still hasn't been fixed. The timeline of the underlying charts is also compromised.
To fix (AstroPlan / Current Session Web Page Script )

Small Defects

Format of recently added Report Contents formating needs to be fixed. Format of recently added contents needs to be fixed for Target type entries (Note1 to be fully removed from the target name).
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
GuideStats are being reported in Report File and in GuideSumm table for an ImageSet where the component frames were all cancelled. Example is the 3rd VR Image set from Guide Run 9 (GCVS RX And). Not only is the line introduced ('Guide Stats 3/3' or ' GCVS RX And 18s (VR)' ) the associated data is taken from the previous ImageSet. Can probably do this by not progressing (or rolling back) the ImageSetFrameCount variable.
Fixed 2021-11-01 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Short lines are unexpectedly being added to GuideSumm table between each frame in second image set. Example is the after each V Filter from Guide Run 34 (GCVS YZ Cnc) which uses the frame sequence CCCCC VVVVV. Here a short line is added after each V filter image, but not between C and V sets where it is needed. The 'bInsertGuideSummLineBreak' flag that is passed to ReportImageSetGuidingStats() is used to control the calling for WriteGuideSummLineLite() before calls to WriteGuideSummRecord(3).
Fixed 2021-11-01 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
The AddComment() 'Jog Completed' text is missing from Centering 1 action for Target 9/37 (EV Lac). This occured at the end of a Corrective Jog (Adjust Position (1b) ) that followed a prior rogue jog of which there was only one such case in the session. The 'Jog Completed' text is correcttly present everywhere else.
Fixed 2021-11-02 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Target that are missed before Planned is imported shouldn't be list in the Planned Target's section of Report. Reporting them as missed can be misleading as they may have been taken prior to restarting the session.
Fixed 2021-11-02 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Hyperlinks in table of Planned Targets are no longer working, since new Contents Reporting has been introduced. Target Bookmarks under new Contents Reporting became changed to include a time suffix that uniquely defines the Target section. This times are of course not precisely known when the Observing Plan is imported and tabulated. Code modified to add a secondary book that is based solely on the Target Name which hyperlinks from Planned Targets table can jump to..
Fixed 2021-11-02 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Target Circle in JPG Picture of DX Cnc (Gliese 1111) doesn't correspond with the star's location. The target's location is based on Ra/Dec location of 'GCVS DX Cnc' from GCVS Catalog in TheSky6 which may be inaccurate and/or proper motion has take the star away from its J2000 location. Unlike some Nearby Stars which have a HIP alias in HIP catalog with proper motion that is available to TheSky, DX Cnc doesn't have this backstop. A continuous improvement ticket item has been raised to add support to Targets Database, AstroPlan and AstroMain to allow locations like DX Cnx to be accurately calculated. This was implemented 2021-11-02. Proper Motion data and J2000 Coordinates entered into Database for DX Cnc (Giliese), HH And (Ross 248), CN Leo (Wolf 248), GSC 1224:29 (Teegardens Star), UV Cet (Luyten 726-8/Gliese 65) on 2021-11-03. DX Cnc shown to be fixed in playback tests but will be tested live in next session (S931).
Fixed 2021-11-03 (AstroMain 3.46 / AstroPlan 1.27 / Targets Database )
Reporting of Main image appears too busy/ too cluttered when a 'First Image Locate' is performed. This is a relatively rare operation but does occassionally occur, e.g. for Target 33/37 (LAMOST-HVS1). Code changed in LocateImageLite() to add a blank line at end of locate report lines.
Fixed 2021-11-03 (AstroMain 3.46)
Reporting of Main image appears too busy/ too cluttered when a VVV sequence of shorter duration exposure frames is broken down into 2 or more ImageSets Code changed in TakeMainScopeFrames() to add a blank line after reporting ImageSetGuideStats.
Fixed 2021-11-03 (AstroMain 3.46)
In the reporting of 'Autoguiding System' the text 'TS80+178MC Selected' overruns 18 character column width. Fixed by removing 'Selected', as it is implied..
Fixed 2021-11-03 (AstroMain 3.46)
The 'Fixing WCS' report line 'Resetting WCS Center (CRVAL1, CRVAL2) to the coordinates determined by image link' is too long to fit in console report window without wrapping'. Text to be reduced in length to 'Resetting WCS Center (CRVAL1, CRVAL2) to image link coordinates'.
Fixed 2021-11-03 (AstroMain 3.46)
On Fly Imaging Playback(TestMode) shouldn't proceed if the specified start file can not be found.
Fixed 2021-11-05 (AstroMain 3.46.1)
Moon Altitude LIne on AltitudePlan Chart takes an unexpected step in altitude at the point where clock changes at 02:00 This is related to DST issue. Problem still persists after other fixes for DST issues in early Sept 2022 including updates to Altitude Plan Chart.
To investigate and fix/workaround. (AstroMain)

Continuous Improvement

Find a way of making spectra charts to display side by side with associated S Filter Image on Current Session's Target Frames Page (images_current.htm) on IPad/Safari. On MS Edge/IE11 the web page can be stretched to a width that is sufficient to allow spectra charts to be shown at side of spectra (S Filter) images, but this can't be done with Safari/IPad, and the Spectra Chart ends up being shown underneath the spectra image rather than the expected position. Fix attempted by adding min_width & max_width style elements of sufficient width to the page's <body> tag however this doesn't work when linking to "images_current.htm", but does work when linking to "images_current.htm#Latest_TargetFrames". It seems that the crucial 'page width defining info' is read or calculated before page is displayed in the second case but not in the first case.
Fixed 2021-10-30 (WebSite)
Target name suffix to be added to Guiding Chart files.
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Add error bars to Best Focus Chart to show Critical Focus Zone (CFZ) associated with each C Filter focus point. This will be the modified CFZ that takes into account the associated FWHM measurement and 10% allowance [ see New Critical Focus Zone at http://www.goldastro.com/goldfocus/ncfz.php ]
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Filenames used for JPG Focus Locate Frames should distinguish between those taken with Foc1 System (LX200/ST10) and Foc2 System (TS80/178MC) . Frames are currently named like '0001.oid001.000000.Focus_Field_2.Focus.jpg' (Foc) and '0001.oid001.000000.Focus_Field_2.Focus.jpg' (Foc2). They could be called ... Focus.Foc1 and ...Focus.Foc2.jpg This will support correct image association on the Session's Local Pictures Page.
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Filenames used for Focus Profile Charts should distinguish between those taken with Foc1 System (LX200/ST10) and Foc2 System (TS80/178MC) . Frames are currently named like 'FocusProfile.20211029.profile01.oid001.gif or ..wide.gif (Foc1) and 'FocusProfile.20211029.profile01.oid001.gif or ..wide.gif (Foc2). They could be called ..Foc1.gif / .Foc1.wide.gif (for Foc1) and ..Foc2.gif / .Foc2.wide.gif (for Foc2). This will support correct image association on Session's Local Pictures Page.
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Focus Profiles shown or listed in Session's Local Picture Page are given in alphabetical order and not entirely in the order that profiles were taken. In case of profile02 the standard search profile (.Profile02..gif) is listed before the wide search profile (.Profile02...wide.gif) even though the wide search profile is acquired first. It is proposed to take the FocusProfileFiles list and perform a special sort so that the standard and wide search profiles are swapped around before use.
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Create moving average SkyStats values (Sky Variation and RMS to Gaussian) and plot these on SkyQuality chart instead of raw data. Raw curves are too spikey and should be smoothed. Moving average should be calculated for a 2.5 to 3 min interval. Implemented in 3.45.5 and tested in nighttime test 2021-10-31.
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Add a new orangle issue Label picture (DST Issue) for DST related issues that crop up twice a year. These are often ongoing issues that haven't yet been fixed or easily solved.
Done 2021-10-31 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Unnecessary extra 'Back to Top / Report Line / Connect ShCap Camera' to be removed at start of Manually Initiated Focus Scope 2 to be removed. First ReportLine() came at the end of manually initiated 'Near Zenith Focusing' operation. Second one came at start of Manually Initiated Focus Scope 2 after 'Connect ShCap camera was unnecessarily used in user confirmation block. Connect ShCap is unnecessary here as it is performed later anway.
Done 2021-11-01 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Start a new class of 'Operation Issues' called 'Small Defects' that are to be used for recording small defacts/cosmetic issues with current AstroSuite software. This are things that need to be fixed but don't have any impact or potential impact on observing session itself. This new class also helps to keep the 'Continuous Improvement' more focused on improvements, changes, new features and brand new ideas. Older sessions can be retrospectively converted to include the new class as time allows.
Done 2021-11-02 (Session Notes / Website)
Add formal (section titled) Pre and Post-Imaging Conditions sections to the Report File. These will be very similar to the Pre-Slew conditions sections and will replace the existing isolated lines that reporting particular conditions before and after imaging.
Done 2021-11-02 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Add 'Take Image Group' report line for VVRR image sets. The 'Take Image Group report line that is used for VRVR image sets should be extended to VVRR sets. Also add a dividing space from previous Image Group (if any).
Done 2021-11-02 (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Add support to Targets Database, AstroPlan and AstroMain to allow locations of stars like DX Cnx (Gliese 1111) to be accurately calculated. Work involves i) adding 3 new fields to the Targets table (Database): (Use)ProperMotion (0=No, 1=Yes), ProperMotionRa (in mas/yr), ProperMotionDec (in mas/yr), ii) adding new fields to Targets Form with support for editing values and for retrieval/saving to database (AstroPlan) , iii) adding routines to retrieve new fields from database and calculate star coordinates or current or any specific date (AstroMain), iv) support for loading default proper motion values to database (AstroSN & AstroVOE
Done 2021-11-02 (Targets Database / AstroPlan 1.27 / AstroMain 3.46 / AstroVOE 1.9 / AstroSN 1.7 )
Modify Home Page to show a current weather related image with link to Current Weather Conditions page.
Done 2021-11-03 (WebSite)
Autoadjust the position of targets and boxes on JPG pictures to allow for small movements in telescope pointing from one frame to the next.
Fixed 2021-11-05 (AstroMain 3.46.1)
AstroMain's report line 'Forecast (next 15 mins) Ok Probably Dry' should distinguish between "Dry" and "Probably Dry". By looking at minute data precipitation for entire 60 mins window and the Rain Probability for the next 2 hours, it should be possible to decide if Forecast is 'definately dry' (Dry) or only 'probably dry' (Probably Dry).
Fixed 2021-11-12 (AstroMain 3.46.3)
Complete backlog of image building and web page documentation of all 12 observing sessions from Oct 2021. 11 sessions still incomplete as of 2022-04-12.
Done 2024-06-07 (Session, Website)
Query. Assess Neaby Star Astrometric routine and ability to utitlise Proper Motion data that has been recently added to Targets Database for selected stars.
To do (AstroMain 3.46)
Create an Observation.dat file with Target type information for displaying in the Target Titles on Session's Local Pictures Page.
To do (AstroMain 3.45.5)
When reporting C Filter Locate Frames Sky brightness should be reported in units of mag/arc sec^2. Sky brightness is currently reported in units of ADU/arcsec^2/sec, but on Sky Condition plot it is calculated and reported in mag/arcsec^2. The brightness in ADU based units can be shown as well, but the value in 'Standard' units should be the one highlighted.
To do (AstroMain 3.45.5)
Review AstroMain and other AstroSuite code that relies on SecondsSince(TimePoint) to enter a time delay to ensure protection against daylight saving changes which might cause program to hang for up to 1 hour (DST Issue).
To do (AstroMain)

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Fig 1. Chart showing rain fall in the last 5 days
(Y Axis is 'rain rate' as measured by Eurotech/Aurora Cloud Sensor)

2021-10-31

LX200 - Occasional Large RA spikes

Occasional large RA spikes have been noticed during autoguiding in recent sessions.
They've all occurred in an approximately a similar part of sky and the RA deviation has all been in the same direction.

Are these due to a cable snag in some form or an issue with a particular section of the RA gear system ?

3 cases are documented below :

1) 4th 180s frame for NGC 9 target saw a large RA spike. Frame saw a large RA spike that is evident in star trails in the image and a large RA jump in guiding data.
At the time (2021-10-31 02:59 LT, LST 05h 29m 32s) the target lay at Az 275.35, Alt 25.33.
RA (Current) position was at 00h 10m 02s (Dec: +23°56'26") = RA (J2000) position 00h 08m 54s (Dec: +23°49'04")

Propose daytime and night-time time tests slewing to Az 274.52, Alt 25.86' and watch tracking for 5-10 mins.

2) A 45s S Filter frame for GCVS RR Lyr target in previous S929 also saw a similar large RA spike. (Zero Order star is distinctly trailed in the image below).
At the time (2021-10-30 00:55 LT, LST 02h 21m 05s) the target lay at Az 305.79, Alt 28.57
The RA (Current) position was 19h 25m 39s (Dec: +42°47'56"). RA (J2000) position 19h 25m 28s (Dec: +42°47'04")

3) A 20s B Filter frame and a 45sS Filter frame for GCVS RR Lyr target in earlier S927 session also saw a couple of similar large RA spikes.
At the time of first spike (2021-10-25 00:42 LT, LST 01h 48m 20s) the target lay at Az 300.31, Alt 32.27
The RA (Current) position was 19h 25m 39s (Dec: +42°47'56"). RA (J2000) position 19h 25m 28s (Dec: +42°47'04")

Other Cases:

4) Guiding for GCVS RR Lyr target in S935 session (2021-11-19) saw several large RA spikes.
At the time of first image (2021-11-19 21:30 LT, LST 01h 19m 07s) the target lay at 295.4°, Alt 35.8°
The RA (Current) position was 19h 24m 55s (Dec: +42°47'30"). RA (J2000) position 19h 25m 14s (Dec: +42°44'43")

2021-11-02

Weather Forecast - OpenWeatherMap.Org vs DarkSky.Net

AstroWeather has recently been extended to be able to produce a Weather Forecast Chart for the Clair Observatory using API request to OpenWeatherMap. This is to provide back up for when DarkSky.Net API eventually closes in 2022 and in the meantime for when the DarkSky.Net minutely precipiation forecasting is occasionally offlline and doesn't provide live data.

Plots comparing the 24 hour forecasts from OpenWeatherMap.Org and DarkSky.Net made at around 14:30 today (2021-11-02) are shown below.
(In both forecast cases it doesn't look like conditions will be suitable for observing tonight)

OpenWeatherMap.Org Forecast

DarkSky.Net Forecast

The bove plot show a night summary plot for the actual night shown at the correct position and scale equivalent to the forecast. . White curve shows number of stars from AllSky Camera. Green Curve anc Cyan filled curves are Sky Clarity and Rain detected by the Eurotech/Aurora CloudSensor. This shows clear sky intervals in later part of the night but shower in between. The forecast based on DarkSky.Net probably wins, mainly because it shows less cloud that the OpenWeather Forecast.

This Web Page:	Notes - Session 930 (2021-10-30)
Last Updated :	2025-12-07
Site Owner :	David Richards
Home Page :	David's Astronomy Web Site