On the night of Mar 08/09, 2019, Jen Connelly and Kain McCall visited the observatory in order to collect data for Kain's capstone project. Below is Kain's account of their work.
We arrived at the observatory around 5:30 pm.
Maxim DL settings on ritobs account were not saved. This led us to try to figure out which filter was in which position, and eventually we figured out that the R filter was not in the filter wheel. We found the R filter on the table in the back room by the CCD, opened the filter wheel, and changed out the B filter for the R filter.
Table of Filter Wheel Positions:
| Label # | Maxim DL Default Labels | What it contained when we arrived | What it now contains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red | empty | empty |
| 2 | Green | B (gunky) | R |
| 3 | Blue | V | V |
| 4 | Luminance | Swann (Comet Filter) | Swann (Comet Filter) |
| 5 | Filter 5 | I | I |
We found the R filter in the box for the Swann comet filter. The gunky B filter is now in that box.
While we had the filter wheel apart, we used compressed air to blow a bit of the dust off of all filters and the inside of the filter wheel.
Initially, after plugging in and connecting CCD and filter wheel, MaximDL thought filter wheel was moving when it was not. However, after disconnecting & unplugging CCD and filter wheel and then plugging in CCD and then filter wheel (first data, then power), the problem went away.
We pointed using Betelgeuse. It was in the finding scope-- only a small adjustment was needed before syncing.
We went to my target field using reference star J (HD 49009).
The desktop shortcut for the electronic focuser program (JMI Focuser) is missing from the ritobs desktop. We could not find the program, so we focused roughly using the controller instead. FWHM was around 2 (we did not try to improve focus further). Focusing was done only in R.
The weather has remained clear thus far, but it has been cold (15-20 degrees Fahrenheit), and moderately humid.
We could not find the timer in the house.
After taking images of GSC 02950-01137 in R, we took some images of M67 in V, R, and I (images of M67 were also taken at Kitt Peak). We took these in order to later calculate transformation coefficients for Kitt Peak images/filters.
We then moved to taking images of Brent’s comet-- we went to the coordinates provided around 11 pm. We went to the given coordinates, but we do not see evidence of a comet in the images. We took two images of the field in V, each with 45 seconds exposure time.
Then, we attempted to go back to GSC 02950-01137, but had some issues trying to find the field initially-- we found the field again eventually, and took images in V.
Then, we took more images of GSC 02950-01137 in R, hoping to catch the edge of a maximum. The altitude of GSC 02950-01137 was reaching 30 degrees around 1:30 am, so we decided to start taking our calibration images and head home soon after.
We needed flats in V, R, and I. Including the exposure times for the flats, we needed 1, 2, 3, 5, 15, 30, 45, 60 second darks.
All images have been copied to the Team Drive. They are located in RR Lyraes>Capstone II>Images>mar08_2019
We took all needed calibration images, closed up, and headed home.
Last modified 03/09/2019 by MWR.