David's Astronomy - Notes 2025-08-29 (S1353)

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Notes - Session 1353 (2025-08-29)

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

	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0), Major Issues (0), Minor Issues (0), Small Defects (1), Continuous Improvement (8)
	- Figures (1)

	Images from 2025-08-29 >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2025-08-29)

Main aims

Targets. Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions and the relatively short night.

Equipment & Software

12" LX200 and ST-10XME
80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 7.0.3 RC3.4694, MeadeGeneric 1.3.12.522 , UPB 1.5, Pulsar Dome Firmware 1.51 & Driver 6.3.10
Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S 6.0.6
SharpCap 3.2, PHD2 2.6.13, Siril 1.0.6, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 7.0.3 RC3
[ DomeLink 1.0 / 1.1 - not used ]
AstroMain 3.77.9, AstroPlan 1.43.12, AstroShCap 1.3.15, AstroGuard 1.11 (any new items or versions in bold)
AstroMag 1.5.8, AstroVOE 1.15.1, AstroSN 1.14, AstroProtect 1.10.6, AstroMove 1.16.2
AstroWeather 1.27.10, AstroAllSky 3.24.4, AstroObsCam 1.11.4 (not 1.11.5), AstroNorthCam 1.6.1, AstroLaunch 1.13.6

Highlights

Targets. 9/18 planned targets were successfully completed. Other targets failed due to cloud / session suspension
T CrB & Nova Ser 2025. Both targets were planned by the Schedular but were unable to be acquired due to cloud/session suspension.
CCD Camera. No issues with CCD Camera during session.
Dome. There was no issues opening/closing the shutter during the session. Dome closed and parked at end of session ok.

Notes

Session initiated at 23:50 when observing conditions (Stars 21, Clarity 25.5, Rain 0, Wind 2.0 mph, T 14.6°C) were deemed suitable for observing by the Obs.Manager. Clarity is value (25.5) was marginal and by the time that session had been set up (Telescope Connected, Observing Plan created), the conditions at 23:56 (Stars 8, Clarity 23.3) were no longer suitable for observing, and the session was suspended. Session resumed at 01:11 when conditions (Clarity 25.4, Stars 20) were again deemed suitable, but whilst centering BL Lac, conditions again became unsuitable (Rain Threat , Clarity: 25.7, Stars 17) and the session was again suspended. The session finally resumed at 02:02 with suitable conditions (Stars 22, Clarity 26.4, Rain 0, Wind 0.0 mph, T 13.2°C) and continued until the planned end of session.
During session temperatures fell from 14.5 to 11°C with a distinct corresponding change to telescope focus.

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)
Note: The NorthCam Star Count line is unreliable and should be ignored
(The AstroNorthCam 'Find' Star method is producing many false positives from clouds)

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time	Event	Detail
23:29:44	Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 23:29 & 04:10
23:29:49	AutoStart Delayed	Session delayed due to cloud
23:50:36	Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (23:50)
23:50:48	CCDSoft Restarting	CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.)
23:51:03	Session Created	Session Created (Live, 2025-08-29 S01353, ImageSaveNum: 1353001)
23:51:10	Scope Switched On	Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Switch
23:52:45	Services Started	Observatory Services started
23:52:54	Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
23:52:56	AutoStart Delayed	Session delayed due to cloud
23:52:58	Session Pending	Session pending (2025-08-29)
23:53:00	Session Initiating	Session initiating (2025-08-29)
23:53:19	Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera connected (Set point -10°C)
23:53:25	Plan Requested	Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.43.14)
23:53:56	Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 1139)
23:54:36	Telescope Connected	Telescope connected (TheSky6)
23:55:01	Session Equilibration	Session ready to Open Dome
23:56:26	Wait On Weather	Waiting for acceptable conditions
23:56:28	Session Suspending	Session suspending
23:56:30	Dome Closed	Dome already closed
23:56:32	Session Suspended	Session suspended
23:56:58	Queue Started	Observing Queue started (18 targets selected)
00:19:07	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (1/18, GCVS CY Lyr) due to cloud
00:30:33	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (2/18, T CrB) due to cloud
00:50:23	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (3/18, UGC 10809 w/SN2025vaw) due to cloud
01:04:43	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (4/18, Nova Ser 2025) due to cloud
01:11:43	Session Resuming	Session resuming
01:12:28	Dome Opened	Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 40s)
01:12:30	Session Running	Session running
01:12:33	Queue Resumed	Observing Queue resumed
01:12:35	Target Started (5/18)	Target started (5/18, GCVS BL Lac)
01:12:48	Dome Unparked	Dome unparked
01:15:34	Critical RainThreat Alert	Critical Rain Threat Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Dome)
01:15:36	HardSuspend Called	Hard Suspend called due to Critical Conditions (threat of rain)
01:15:38	Target Aborted (5/18)	Target aborted (5/18, GCVS BL Lac) due to threat of rain
01:15:40	Queue Paused	Queue paused for Session Suspension
01:15:42	Session Suspending	Session suspending
01:16:23	Dome Closed	Dome closed (Closing time 45s, Zigbee 42s)
01:16:26	Session Suspended	Session suspended
01:25:19	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (6/18, KIC 8462852) due to cloud
01:37:04	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (7/18, GCVS V Sge) due to cloud
01:56:38	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (8/18, SN 2024aeey) due to cloud
02:02:38	Session Resuming	Session resuming
02:03:23	Dome Opened	Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 40s)
02:03:25	Session Running	Session running
02:03:27	Queue Resumed	Observing Queue resumed
02:03:29	Target Started (9/18)	Target started (9/18, GCVS RX And)
02:06:42	Focusing Started-Foc2	Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap)
02:08:22	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide)
02:09:59	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1)
02:11:45	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
02:14:07	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide)
02:16:02	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2)
02:16:04	Target Failed (9/18)	Target failed due to other condition - ExceededTimeSlot (9/18, GCVS RX And)
02:16:07	Target Started (10/18)	Target started (10/18, C/2022 E2 (ATLAS))
02:27:20	Target Completed	Target completed (10/18, C/2022 E2 (ATLAS))
02:27:24	Target Started (11/18)	Target started (11/18, M31 w/Nova M31 AT2025nsa)
02:30:38	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI)
02:47:01	Target Completed	Target completed (11/18, M31 w/Nova M31 AT2025nsa)
02:47:06	Target Started (12/18)	Target started (12/18, M33 w/AT2025mmr)
02:50:57	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
02:53:24	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3)
03:09:36	Target Completed	Target completed (12/18, M33 w/AT2025mmr)
03:09:40	Target Started (13/18)	Target started (13/18, GCVS TT Ari)
03:13:10	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:15:35	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4)
03:21:40	Target Completed	Target completed (13/18, GCVS TT Ari)
03:21:44	Target Started (14/18)	Target started (14/18, C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS))
03:25:45	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:28:19	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5)
03:37:35	Target Completed	Target completed (14/18, C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS))
03:37:39	Target Started (15/18)	Target started (15/18, AT2022vdr (CV))
03:41:36	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI)
03:47:42	Target Completed	Target completed (15/18, AT2022vdr (CV))
03:47:46	Target Started (16/18)	Target started (16/18, UGC 4973 w/SN2025ovr)
03:51:19	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
03:53:44	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6)
04:09:57	Target Completed	Target completed (16/18, UGC 4973 w/SN2025ovr)
04:10:01	Target Started (17/18)	Target started (17/18, GCVS SS Cyg)
04:13:31	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
04:15:41	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7)
04:18:46	Target Completed	Target completed (17/18, GCVS SS Cyg)
04:20:23	Target Started (18/18)	Target started (18/18, GCVS Z And)
04:23:42	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
04:25:51	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8)
04:29:06	Target Completed	Target completed (18/18, GCVS Z And)
04:29:08	Queue Completed	Job Queue completed
04:29:10	Session Closing	Session closing
04:29:58	Dome Closed	Dome closed (Closing time 45s, Zigbee 43s)
04:31:23	Dome Parked	Dome parked (parking time 76s), Az: 90.1 deg
04:32:13	Telescope Parked	Telescope parked (parking time 43s total)
04:32:37	Telescope State	Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.'
04:32:59	Telescope Switched Off	Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch.
04:34:25	Services Stopped	Night Services stopped
04:34:28	Session Finishing	Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files)
04:34:42	Dome (Find Park)	Find Park started (Search Az 80.0 to 100.0°, Step 1.0°, Wide)
04:35:36	Dome	Find Park found (Best Park Az 92.0°)
04:35:42	Dome (Find Park)	Find Park started (Search Az 90.0 to 94.0°, Step 0.2°, Narrow)
04:36:25	Dome	Find Park found (Best Park Az 92.0°)
04:36:31	Dome	Dome has been synced at park position (Az 90.0°, Adjustment: -2.1°)
04:36:33	Dome Parked	Dome parked
04:37:08	Dome Charging	Dome is parked and re-charging Ok (20mA)
04:37:10	Session Finished	Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time		Type			Name	Detail
04:37:08		Green	Clear		Dome Charging	Dome is parked and re-charging Ok (20mA)

Operational Issues (2025-08-29 S1353)

Critical Issues (0)
Major Issues (0)
Minor Issues (0)
Small Defects (1)
Continuous Improvement (8)
Figures (1)

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Critical Issues

None

Major Issues

None

Minor Issues

None

Small Defects

Small defects in AstroMain's 'Session Image Header Utility (post-session analysis). A couple of target names were incorrectly parsed by the Analysis Utility.
The following items from contents list on session images page
   M31 - Spiral Galaxy with Extragalactic Nova AT 2025nsa (non-detection)    M33 - Spiral Galaxy with Transient AT 2025mmr (non-detection)
were parsed as
    M31 Extragalactic Nova AT2025nsa, M33 AT2025mmr
when they should have parsed as
   M31 w/AT2025nsa, M33 w/AT2025mmr
To be fixed in AstroMain 3.77.10.
Fixed 2025-08-30 (AstroMain 3.77.10)

Continuous Improvement

Cam2 Reference Images should be timestamp with UT time not LT Time. Cam2 reference images are timestamped with LT Time in AstroMain 3.77.9 and earlier versions. Timestamp should be written as a UT time. Implemented in AstroMain 3.77.10. All JPGs are output with UT time instead of LT time. User should be aware of this when looking at jpg pictures on LatestSession and Latest Session Targets web pages.
Done 2025-08-30 (AstroMain 3.77.10, User Awareness)
Warning when using 'Save Final .jpg' should be removed. In AstroMain 3.77.9 and earlier versions an Overwrite Image Warning is issued by the 'Save Final .jpg' routine if the jpg image has previously been saved for the current Target Image. This message (which typically just points out the obvious to the user) delays the process of analysis session images/building web page and should be removed. The equivalent warning should stay in place for the 'Save .png' operation. Implemented in AstroMain 3.77.10.
Done 2025-08-30 (AstroMain 3.77.10)
Make additions to AstroMain to support Take Image & Link using Cam3. Implemented in AstroMain 3.77.10. Created a 'Camera3' sub-tab on the program's Main Scope Tab, Relocated Connect Camera (3) & Disconnect Camera (3) to this new Tab. Created Cam3 module in Camera3.vb, a 'classCamera3' class and a 'Camera3' instance. Created fields to specify Snap Image (Exposure, Gain & Binning), a checkbox 'Link Inage' time, output fields 'Camera Angle', Image Scale', Image Scale (1x1) a button "Take Snap Image" , and a number of routines TakeCam3SnapImageByThread(), Camera3.TakeSnapImage(), TakeImage_SharpCap().
Done 2025-08-31(AstroMain 3.77.10)
Consider whether to modify AstroShCap to save Snap and Locate Images with timestamped FileNames. Consider whether to modify AstroShCap to save 'Snap' and 'Locate' frames taken with SharpCap with timestamps (e.g. 'Snap.20250831.210430.fits' or 'Locate.20250831.210430.fits' . instead of numeric stamps like Snap1.fits, Locate1.fits. Consider pros/cons. Might be an issue for Focus Frames if this approach was taken.
To do 2025-08-31 (AstroShCap)
Look into whether AstroSharpCap, can pass 'Temperature' back to AstroMain when taking images. Implemented in AstroMain 3.77.11, by accessing the fits' associated ".CameraSettings.txt" file using Camera3.GetCameraTemperature() function.
Done 2025-08-31 (AstroMain 3.77.11)
Look into how fits images taken with SharpCap can have 'EXPOSURE' keyword to all Exposure to be seen in CCDSoft. SharpCap places 'EXPTIME' keyword in 'Fits' images, however CCDSoft requires 'EXPOSURE keyword in order for exposure time to appear in Fits Information / Standard Tab.
Done 2025-08-31 (AstroMain 3.77.11)
Modify ObsViewer to show Cam3 instead of Cam1 when bUsingCam3 is enabled. ObsViewer shows 'Cam1 CCD' even if 'Cam3' has enabled instead of Cam1 (Sbig CCD). Fixed in AstroMain 3.77.12.
Done 2025-08-31 (AstroMain 3.77.12)
Query. NorthCam Star Count show a distinct increase just before twilight conditions, at around time that sky background turns bluish ( ) . The increase in star count just before twilight has been noticed on nights with clear skies at end of night (see Fig 1). Whilst colour isn't directly used in Neural Net (colours are converted to graysacle for input to neural net), there may have been a bias in the training data. Alternatively the star count is effected by the threshold used in find candiate stars routine. Propose to retrain the neural net using an expanded set of 'stars' and 'not-stars' examples.
To do 2025-08-30 (AstroNorthCam, NeuralNet)

Test : "C:\Data\CCD Imaging\Sessions\2025-08-26 S01352\_RAW\_AUTOGUIDE\Guider.20250826.234315.Guide05_Ref_10.0s.Nova_Ser_2025.FIT"
18 40 13.000, -3 31 32.000,, Near to: GSC 5121:549

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Fig 1. Increased NorthCam Star Count noticed at end of night

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This Web Page:	Notes - Session 1353 (2025-08-29)
Last Updated :	2025-11-19
Site Owner :	David Richards
Home Page :	David's Astronomy Web Site

David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1353 (2025-08-29)

Session Aims & Highlights (2025-08-29)

Operational Issues (2025-08-29 S1353)

David's Astronomy Pages
Notes - Session 1353 (2025-08-29)