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This is my observatory. This photo was taken on December 16, 2007. You see the 12 inch Meade LX200-GPS (0.3m SCT) with an SBIG ST-8XME CCD camera mounted. An SBIG AO-7 Adaptive Optics unit is in the optical train between the camera and scope, plus a Meade f/6.3 Focal Reducer. I use this setup to take images of faint comets which are used for astrometric reporting to the MPC for observatory code H47. The scope is mounted on a Meade super wedge and is precisely polar aligned. The mount sits on a heavy duty Meade tripod which has rubber cups at the bottom of each foot to eliminate any vibration. The scope has a Dew Buster heater element and controller mounted near the right center part of the image. The camera connects to the scope for auto or self guiding. The scope has a Meade microfocuser which connects to the control panel. The telescope is operated by a Meade Autostar handcontroller or via data cable to a lap top. The CCD camera is controlled via USB connection to the laptop, currently an IBM G40 Thinkpad. I usually use CCDOPS for camera control and image capture. I use TheSky6 to precisely adjust the filed of view on the comet of interest and a guide star for taking guided images. Images are processed for astrometric observations using Astrometrica. Astrometrica can Track and Accumulate multiple images to improve the SNR of the object being observed, which can be either an asteroid or oomet down to magnitude 18 or 19 with clear moonless skies. I don't upload all my photos, just a sampling, from time to time. |
