David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1089 Attempt (2023-01-24)

Notes (S1088)

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Notes (S1090)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (1)  Small Defects (0),  Continuous Improvement (3)
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	AllSky Camera - New O-Ring (2023-01-25) >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2023-01-24)

Main aims

1. SBIG Camera.  Rotate ST10 Camera to 180deg position following earlier camera removal and reattachment. Refocus LX200 Telescope and check images for expected illumination levels & vignetting following issues with uneven illumination in last two sessions (S1087 & S1088) due to  humidity buildup and condensation inside the LX200 telescope tube associated with snow sliding onto front of telescope in session S1087 (20230116).
2. LX200/178MC (PHD2).  Redo Guide Calibration for the LX200/178MC Profile  in PHD2
3. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions.
4. AstroMain. Check new 3.60.10 version of AstroMain for any issues introduced by recent bug fixes and small improvements

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.6.1.1,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.5.414, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.11dev2, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 6.6 SP1
   
• AstroMain 3.60.10, AstroPlan 1.35.11,   AstroShCap 1.3.12, AstroGuard 1.10.2
  AstroVOE 1.12.2  AstroSN 1.9,  AstroProtect 1.7,  AstroMove 1.9.8
  (AstroWeather 1.19.9, AstroAllSky 3.17.3,  AstroObsCam 1.11.2, AstroLaunch 1.10.6

Highlights

• SBIG Camera. Camera Image problem has been resolved, and images show expected illumination/vignetting patterns again. Camera was rotated to 180.0 +/- 0.1 deg by trial & error process (take image, link image, examine rotation, rotate camera repeat).    [ when angle > 180 rotate camera clockwise, when angle < 180 rotate camera anticlockwise ]
• LX200/178MC (PHD2).  Guide Calibration for the LX200/178MC Profile was redone using PHD2. Again there were issues with RA rate being too high and Dec Rate being too low.  Calibration values manually edited to set px/sec rates to 13.5 "/sec equivalent using 0.46"/px scale for 1x1 binned images from ST-10 camera.
• Targets. None of the planned targets was successfully imaged due to cloud and the early abandonment of the session.
• AstroMain. There were no new issues introduced by the new AstroMain version (3.60.10)
• Dome Slews. Although just a short session with very few dome slews there were no holdups reported (Hold Up Stats: 0/3 slews affected, 0%, 0.0 minutes total hold-up time).

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 23:43:45 Program Opened Program Opened (AstroMain 3.60.10) 23:43:47 Session Created Session Created (Live, 2023-01-24 S01089, ImageSaveNum: 1089001) 23:44:19   Obs.Overseer Started Obs.Overseer started 23:44:32   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 23:44:41   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:45:56   Services Stopped Observatory Services stopped 23:48:12   Obs.Overseer Started Obs.Overseer started 23:48:20   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 23:48:28   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:49:59   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 23:51:44   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:52:13   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 23:53:04   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -15°C) 23:54:26   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 48s) 23:55:11     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 8, HIP 39357) 23:55:25       Dome Unparked Dome unparked 23:58:07       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:00:06       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 00:00:31       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 00:02:39       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 00:04:24       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 00:04:42     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 8, HIP 39357) 00:21:17   Observatory Door Observatory Door has opened 00:21:21   Observatory Door Observatory Door has closed (open time 4 sec) 00:47:39     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 9, HIP 44139) 00:47:53   Observatory Door Observatory Door has opened 00:47:57   Observatory Door Observatory Door has closed (open time 3 sec) 00:50:15       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:52:26       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 00:52:28     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 9, HIP 44139) 00:56:29 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 00:56 & 06:13 00:56:31 Observatory (AutoStart) Observatory placed in Auto-Start Mode 00:56:34   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 00:58:37 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (00:58) 00:58:59   Services Started Observatory Services started 00:59:03 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 00:59:07 Session Pending Session pending (2023-01-24) 00:59:09 Session Initiating Session initiating (2023-01-24) 00:59:11   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.35.11) 01:00:07   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 862) 01:00:18   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -15°C) 01:00:54   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 01:01:18 Session Running Session running 01:01:20   Queue Started Observing Queue started (17 targets selected) 01:01:27     Target Started (1/17) Target started (1/17, UGC 3044 w/SN2023cf) 01:07:18       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 01:11:29       SoftSuspend Cancelled Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions 01:13:59       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 01:14:15     Target Aborted (1/17) Target aborted (1/17, UGC 3044 w/SN2023cf) due to User Intervention 01:14:17   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 01:14:19 Session Suspending Session suspending 01:15:04   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 45s) 01:15:06 Session Suspended Session suspended 01:17:31     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (1/17, UGC 3044 w/SN2023cf) due to cloud 01:38:06 User Intervention User request to close and finish session 01:38:09   Queue Aborted Job Queue aborted 01:38:11 Session Closing Session closing 01:38:16   Dome Closed Dome already closed (closed at 01:15, closing time 45s) 01:39:34   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 75s) 01:39:49   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 01:40:11   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 01:41:34   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 01:41:37 Session Housekeeping Session Housekeeping started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 01:41:42 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time     Type       Name Detail --             No Alerts                --

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Operational Issues (2023-01-24, S1089)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (0)
• Minor Issues (1)
• Small Defects (0)
• Continuous Improvement (3)
  

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Observatory Aux Light was left for a few hours on following its earlier use.  User turned on the Aux Light via Remote operation at 18:05,  several hours prior to the session attempt in order to check the SBIG Camera illumination for any uneven patterns. Whilst the SBIG camera images were as expected the user forgot to turn off the Aux light once the test was finished.  The Aux Light was still on when the Session Attempt was started.  Resolved by the user noticing the light was on and performing a remote operation to turn off the light at 00:20.  A separate ticket has been raised to extend Obs.Manager functionality to automatically turn off the Aux Light after 10 minutes.
  Resolved in-session 2023-01-24 (Observatory, Aux Light, Session)

Small Defects

• None

• Widen AstroLaunch's 'Kill Stranded Processes" to also stop AstroVOE & AstroSN program processes. These two programs rely on TheSky6 for their full functionality and if TheSky6 is killed the operation of these programs is compromised.  They need to be restarted in order to pick up COM objects associated with the new instance of TheSky6, so shutting them down has to be done and automating this saves an additional manual step.  Implemented in AstroLaunch 1.10.7 including stopping/killing of AstroPlan and AstroMain programs should they also be running.
  Done 2023-01-25 (AstroLaunch 1.10.7) 
   
• Make AstroLaunch's 'Kill Stranded Processes" a threaded operation. Currently KillStrandedProcesses() is called directly from button routine and the Reporting of the operation remains largely hidden until the end of the operation where the status of each process is listed.   In AstroLaunch 1.10.7 this changed so that the button routine calls a new intermediary routine called KillStrandedProcessesAsThread() which calls KillStrandedProcesses() as a threaded operation.
  Done 2023-01-25 (AstroLaunch 1.10.7) 
   
• Extend ObsManager checks to automatically turn off Observatory's Aux Light if it has accidently been left on. Extend Obs.Manager to automatically turn off the Aux Light after 10 minutes, unless this auto operation is disabled via a new checkbox (as there may be reasons why user needs to keep the Aux Light on for longer than 10 minutes).
  Done 2023-01-25  (AstroMain 3.60.11) 

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AllSky Camera - New O-Ring (2023-01-25)

After an autum/winter period with frequent problems from dew inside the AllSky Camera Hemisphere (where the top-most part of the hemisphere dews up inside where it most exposed to the cold environment and is not adequately heated by the dew heater inside the camera body) various attempts have been tried to resolve the problem.

In the last attempt the broken O-Ring that was discovered in the autumn was replaced by a new 80mm OD (76mm ID), 2mm black nitrile O-Ring,  but it hadn't fully resolved the problem and it was though that the O-Ring was too small (and possibly less than 2mm thickness advertised) which might rain water  dampness to still enter into the AllSky Camera.

Today a new 84mm OD (79.2mm ID) 2.4mm green Fluorine Rubber O-Ring was installed today (2023-01-25) with the hope that it provides better protection from rain/dampness entering the camera. (Source : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YJVMQQF)

Earlier Photo of AllSky Camera Hemisphere with particularly bad internal dew (2022-10-23)		Photo showing broken O-Ring (with a broken O-Ring the possible route for water/dampness to enter the hemisphere is indicated in the picture to left)
Photo showing O-RIngs side by side Original broken O-Ring (top) 80mm Nitrile O-Ring (bottom-left) 84mm Fluorine Rubber O-Ring (bottom-right)		Photo showing O-RIngs end on  Original broken O-Ring (left) 80mm Nitrile O-Ring (right) 84mm Fluorine Rubber O-Ring (centre)
Photo showing Hemisphere with new 84mm Fluorine Rubber O-Ring Screw cap & the earlier 80mm Nitrile O-Ring  are showing at the top		Photo showing Hemisphere with new 84mm Fluorine Rubber O-Ring

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