David's Astronomy - Notes 2025-12-11 (S1384A)

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Notes - Session 1384 Attempt (2025-12-11)

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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 (1), Small Defects (0), Continuous Improvement (3)
	- Figures (0)

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Session Aims & Highlights (2025-12-11)

Main aims

Targets. Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions.
ToO Queue. Check operation of new 'ToO queue' tab & listbox added to AstroMain 3.79.4
AstroMain - Check fixes and features added to AstroMain 3.79.4 .

Equipment & Software

12" LX200 and ST-10XME
80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
TheSky6 6.0.0.65, CCDSoft 5.00.201, DeviceHub 7.1.0.4707, MeadeGeneric 1.3.12.522, UPB 3, Pulsar Dome Firmware 1.51 & Driver 6.3.10
Pegasus-UI 2.10, Peg-Focuser 2.10, Peg-Switch 2.10, TCF-LSI 3.3.5
SharpCap 3.2, PHD2 2.6.13, Siril 1.0.6, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 7.1.0.4707
[ DomeLink 1.0 / 1.1 - not used ]
AstroMain 3.79.6 , AstroPlan 1.45.3, AstroShCap 1.3.16, AstroGuard 1.12.3 (any new items or versions in bold)
AstroMag 1.5.12, AstroVOE 1.16, AstroSN 1.15.1, AstroProtect 1.10.6, AstroMove 1.17.2
AstroWeather 1.29.3, AstroAllSky 3.26.4, AstroObsCam 1.12.2, AstroNorthCam 1.7.4, AstroLaunch 1.14.5

Highlights

Targets. 0/30 planned targets were completed. Other targets failed due to a cloud/session suspension and were cancelled when the session was finished early due to forecast of continuing cloud.
TheSky6. There was one case of where TheSky6 Scope Coords became frozon, and the program had to be automatically restarted.
CCD Camera. There were no isues with the CCD Camera
Dome. No issues open/closing shutter. Dome was successfully parked at the end of the session

NotesNotes

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

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
22:35:36	Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 22:35 & 06:37
22:35:37	Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (22:35)
22:35:49	CCDSoft Restarting	CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.)
22:36:04	Session Created	Session Created (Live, 2025-12-11 S01384, ImageSaveNum: 1384001)
22:36:11	Scope Switched On	Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Switch
22:37:58	Services Started	Observatory Services started
22:38:09	Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
22:38:12	Session Pending	Session pending (2025-12-11)
22:38:14	Session Initiating	Session initiating (2025-12-11)
22:38:33	Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera connected (Set point -15°C)
22:38:36	Plan Requested	Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.45.3)
22:39:22	Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 1173)
22:40:02	Telescope Connected	Telescope connected (TheSky6)
22:40:27	Session Equilibration	Session ready to Open Dome
22:41:12	Dome Opened	Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 40s)
22:41:37	Session Running	Session running
22:41:40	Queue Started	Observing Queue started (30 targets selected)
22:41:43	Target Started (NrZen)	Target started (Focus Field 2, HIP 9508)
22:41:58	Dome Unparked	Dome unparked
22:45:24	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
22:47:46	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide)
22:49:52	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1)
22:49:55	Focusing Started-Foc2	Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap)
22:51:48	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide)
22:53:28	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2)
22:53:48	Target Completed (NrZen)	Target completed (Focus Field 2, HIP 9508)
22:55:04	Target Started (1/30)	Target started (1/30, AT2025acvr (CV))
22:56:27	TheSky6 Scope Coords	Coordinates from TheSky6 are likely frozen
22:56:29	TheSky6 Restarting	TheSky6 being restarted (resolve unresponsive TheSky6)
22:56:53	Telescope Connected	Telescope connected (TheSky6)
23:00:20	SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars)
23:01:08	Target Failed (1/30)	Target failed due to cloud (1/30, AT2025acvr (CV))
23:01:10	Queue Paused	Queue paused for Session Suspension
23:01:12	Session Suspending	Session suspending
23:02:00	Dome Closed	Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 43s)
23:02:02	Session Suspended	Session suspended
23:04:05	Session Resuming	Session resuming
23:04:50	Dome Opened	Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 40s)
23:04:52	Session Running	Session running
23:04:54	Queue Resumed	Observing Queue resumed
23:04:57	Target Started (1/30)	Target started (1/30, AT2025acvr (CV))
23:05:00	SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars)
23:06:00	Critical Cloud Alert	Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Dome)
23:06:02	HardSuspend Called	Hard Suspend called due to Critical Conditions (cloud)
23:06:04	Target Aborted (1/30)	Target aborted (1/30, AT2025acvr (CV)) due to cloud
23:06:06	Queue Paused	Queue paused for Session Suspension
23:06:08	Session Suspending	Session suspending
23:06:51	Dome Closed	Dome closed (Closing time 45s, Zigbee 43s)
23:06:53	Session Suspended	Session suspended
23:14:20	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (1/30, AT2025acvr (CV)) due to cloud
23:36:40	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (2/30, NGC 3106 w/SN2025aauj) due to cloud
23:51:06	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (3/30, GCVS RR Leo) due to cloud
00:00:13	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (4/30, WDS GRB 34) due to cloud
00:14:56	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (5/30, C/2025 R2 (SWAN)) due to cloud
00:30:52	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (6/30, GCVS U And) due to cloud
00:51:22	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (7/30, AT2025acse (CV)) due to cloud
01:03:40	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (8/30, GCVS BL Lac) due to cloud
01:07:57	User Intervention	User request to close and finish session
01:07:59	Queue Aborted	Job Queue aborted
01:08:02	Session Closing	Session closing
01:08:07	Dome Closed	Dome already closed (closed at 23:06, closing time 45s, zigbee 43s)
01:08:33	Dome Parked	Dome parked (parking time 18s), Az: 90.0 deg
01:09:26	Telescope Parked	Telescope parked (parking time 47s total)
01:09:50	Telescope State	Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.'
01:10:12	Telescope Switched Off	Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch.
01:11:39	Services Stopped	Night Services stopped
01:11:42	Session Finishing	Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files)
01:11:49	Dome (Find Park)	Find Park started (Search Az 88.0 to 92.0°, Step 0.2°, Narrow)
01:12:50	Dome	Find Park aborted (Timeout (60s) waiting for dome to stop slewing)
01:12:52	Session Finished	Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time		Type			Name	Detail
22:56:27		Red	Alert		TheSky6 Scope Coords	Coordinates from TheSky6 are likely frozen. TheSky6 will be restarted

Operational Issues (2025-12-11 S1384A)

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

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Critical Issues

None

Major Issues

None

Minor Issues

A red TheSky6 Scope Coords' alert was raised due to seemingly frozen coordinates (22:56). A red TheSky6 Scope Coords' alert was raised at 22:56:27 with the message "Coordinates from TheSky6 are likely frozen. TheSky6 will be restarted ". After successfully slewing to Target 1/30 (AT2025acvr) - a telescope slew angle of 67.7°. (22:55:10 to 22:55:52). The post slew check at 22:56:27 showed that TheSky6 was reporting Telecope Coordinates that were still equal to the pre-slew coordinates and deemed that the TheSky6 Telescope Coords were frozen. and called 'RestartTheSkyByThread(CallMode.Lite)' from OB.SlewToTargetRaDec(). The restart seems to have been successful and was completed by 22:57:07. Whilst there were no further slews to targets in session due to cloud/session suspension. the telescope was successfully slewed to the Pre-Park position at the end of the session. Issue is closed after review on basis that AstroMain performed as per design.
Resolved in-session 2025-12-11 (Session, TheSky6, AstroMain)

Small Defects

None

Continuous Improvement

Add a LAN wide UDP boardcast channel system to allow inter-computer / inter-application communication. No ObsCam pictures were captured during the session as the AstroObsCam wasn't not running. It would be useful to have a LAN wide UDP boardcast channel so that applications can announce there continued activity using IamAlive messages. At the start of a session AstroMain could check that AstroObsCam is running & capturing pictures and if its not it could send a message to AstroWeather program (running on same computer as AstroObsCam) requesting that it restart the AstroObsCam computer. Working with Copilot the idea and methodology were developed and some basic listener and sender routine provided.
Done 2026-01-06 (LAN, AstroCommon / UdpComms, Astro Programs)

Refactor AstroMain's global.vb into a separate modules. The global.vb is some 90,000 lines (including comments and blank white space lines) and covers a multitude of tasks. It is proposed to move code into appropriate new modules, as a step to eventually using shared vb files across the Astro program suite. Task commenced using new AstroCommon folder which houses TimeHelper.vb and StringsHelper.vb files that have already taken selected code out of AstroMain's globab.vb file.

- Reporting.vb - Report File/txtLogBox/ 
	ReportQueue Manager routines & variables (2026-01-08)
- Logging.vb - Log 
	File routines & variables (2026-01-08)

Analysis on 2026-02-09 indicated that there were
- 27 enums
- 33 structures
- 22 classes
- 650 global variables.
- some 460 sub routines and functions (divisable into 17 or more domains)
For phase 1 refactoring Copilot proposes
- moving types (enums, structures, classes) into a LegacyTypes.vb module.
- moving global variables into a LegacyGlobals.vb module
- moving the subroutines and functions into one of thirty 'LegacyXxxxxxxx'.vb modules
- LegacyAgent, LegacyApplication, LegacyCamera, LegacyCCDSoft, LegacyComputer, LegacyConsole,
- LegacyDome, LegacyEnvironment, LegacyFitsToJpg, LegacyFocusing, LegacyGraph, LegacyImage,
- LegacyImageViewer, LegacyLightCurev, LegacyLogging, LegacyMapping, LegacyMosaics,
- LegacyOperations, LegacyQso, LegacyReduction, LegacySession, LegacySettings, LegacySharpCap,
- LegacySkyUtils, LegacySpectra, LegacyTarget, LegacyTelescope, LegacyUtils, LegacyVma
Done 2026-02-13 (AstroMain 3.80.15 )

Introduce shared files across the Astro program suite to reduced code duplication and achieve better code maintainance. This is a long term aim to eventually using a set of shared vb files across the Astro program suite (AstroMain, AstroPlan, AstroWeather, AstroAllSky, AstroGuard etc). Task commenced using new AstroCommon folder which houses TimeHelper.vb and StringsHelper.vb files that have been added as File Links from the AstroMain 3.79.10 project. CoordinateHelpers.vb, AngleHelpers.vb, TheSkyConstants.vb & CCDSoftConstants.vb added as linked files to AstroMain 3.79.12. The 5 of the same 6 .vb modules were added to AstroPlan 1.45.8 on 2025-12-30.

  - Added AngleHelpers.vb
  - 
	CCDSoftConstants.vb
  - CoordinateHelpers.vb
  - 
	ImageHelpers.vb
  - ProcessHelpers.vb
  - StringHelpers.vb
  
	- TheSkyConstants.vb
  - TimeHelpers.vb
  - 
	ObservatorySite.vb
  - UdpComms.vb
  - AstroRoutines.vb
  
	- ObservatorySite.vb

Gradually being integrated into Astro Programs in early Jan 2026
In progress 2026-04-01 (AstroMain, AstroPlan, AstroWeather, AstroAllSky, AstroGuard etc) )

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This Web Page:	Notes - Session 1384A (2025-12-11)
Last Updated :	2026-02-13
Site Owner :	David Richards
Home Page :	David's Astronomy Web Site

David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1384 Attempt (2025-12-11)

Session Aims & Highlights (2025-12-11)

Operational Issues (2025-12-11 S1384A)

David's Astronomy Pages
Notes - Session 1384 Attempt (2025-12-11)