WAO Telescope Shed
General Information
The shed building is located south of the main building
and houses four pier-mounted telescopes.
At each telescope
is an observer's worktable, a CCD control computer,
an assortment of instrument accessories, and a
plastic-laminated copy of SkyAtlas 2000.0.
For observing the shed's
roof rolls open onto supported rails
toward the north. The roof peak of the south wall
of the building is hinged and able to fold down to provide a wider view of
the southern sky for telescope 4 at the south end of the building.
When observing in the shed...
- Watch for other people when pointing the telescopes.
- Keep an eye on the Paramount counterwieghts whenever moving yourself or
the telescopes.
- Don't assume that the tube for telescope #1 is perfectly balanced in all
orientations. Always have a firm grip on the tube before unlocking a clamp.
- Be sure a ladder is fully opened before climbing on it.
- Do not lean over the sides of the ladders.
- Watch for wasps before entering in the spring and summer.
- Dress warmly for the fall observing class.
- Make sure all telescope mounts are PARKED,
and
check for any other obstructions, before opening or closing the roof.
- Be aware of the cords and cables near you.
- What to do if the shed roof is stuck open
Pier 1
This fork-mounted 14-in telescope is an f/11 with a focal length of 3910 mm. It has manual slew with manual clamps in right ascension and declination. The original Celestron motor drives were replaced with Byers C14 retrofit drives, and both axes are equipped with motors controlled by a hand paddle for set and guide speed motions. Track rates available are sidereal, lunar, and solar. It has manual setting circles for both right ascension and declination.
A finder scope is mounted to the telescope tube. A handle is mounted at the rear of the telescope for positioning during manual moves. Do not attempt to move the telescope by grabbing the finder. This misaligns the finder and makes finding target fields much more difficult.
Part of the northern sky is blocked for this telescope
because the shed roof can't roll past the north end of the building.
-
Telescope -
14-in
Celestron C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain
| Finder field of view (degrees) |
5.0 |
- Mount - Original Celestron fork mount on wedge driven by Byers retrofit
-
Instrument -
SBIG STL-1001E imaging CCD camera
- CCD Characterization Data
- Specifications:
Typical pointing accuracy: User-dependant
Max exp. due to tracking 5 minutes
Sync N/A
PEC N/A
ProTrack N/A
Focuser manual primary focuser
Filters 2" Custom Scientific: Clear, B, V, R, I, VR
CCD field of view (arcmin) ~21' x 21'
Image Scale (arcsec/pixel) ~1.2
North Angle ~360 deg
Pier 2: "Chronos Mount"
-
Telescope -
14-in
Celestron C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain
| Finder field of view (degrees) |
5.0 |
- Optect NGC-316 0.7x Focal Reducer
- Mount - Original Celestron fork mount on wedge driven by Byers retrofit
- Electronic focuser - Optec TCF-S3 autofocusser
- Instrument -
SBIG STL-1001E imaging CCD camera
CCD Characterization Data:
- Specifications:
Typical pointing accuracy: User-dependant
Max exp. due to tracking 10 minutes
Sync N/A
PEC N/A
ProTrack N/A
Focuser manual primary focuser
Filters 2" Custom Scientific: Clear, B, V, R, I, VR
CCD field of view (arcmin) ~30' x 30'
Image Scale (arcsec/pixel) ~1.2
North Angle ~360 deg
Pier 3
-
Telescope -
14-in
Celestron C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain
-
| Finder field of view (degrees) |
5.5 |
- Mount - Software Bisque Paramount ME
- Instrument -
SBIG STL-1001E imaging CCD camera
- CCD Characterization Data
-
Electronic focuser -
Optec TCF-S3 autofocusser
- Specifications:
Typical pointing accuracy ~29 arcsec (using 300 stars)
Max exp. due to tracking: 2-4 minutes
Sync NO!
PEC YES
ProTrack YES
Focuser Optec TCF-S3, 7000 steps - use 3500 to start
Filters 2" Custom Scientific: Clear, B, V, R, I, VR
CCD field of view (arcmin): 20.65' x 20.65'
Image Scale (arcsec/pixel): 1.21"
North Angle ~358 deg
Autoguider Yes, external and internal
Orion ShortTube D:80mm F:400mm
FOV = ~ 41' x 31'
external SBIG STL Guidehead (237) 657x495 7.4um
internal Built-in internal chip (237) on primary instrument
Pier 4
- Telescope -
14-in
Celestron C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain
| Finder field of view (degrees) |
5.5 |
- Mount - Software Bisque Paramount ME
- Instrument -
SBIG STL-1001E imaging CCD camera
- CCD Characterization Data
-
Electronic focuser -
Optec TCF-S3 autofocusser
- Specifications:
Typical pointing accuracy ~38 arcsec (using 300 stars)
Max exp. due to tracking: 2-4 minutes, 10+ mins with autoguiding
Sync NO!
PEC YES
ProTrack YES
Focuser Optec TCF-S3, 10000 steps - use 5000 to start
Filters 2" Custom Scientific: Clear, B, V, R, I, VR
CCD field of view (arcmin) ~22 x 22
Image Scale (arcsec/pixel) 1.29
North Angle ~359 deg
Autoguider Yes, external and internal
Orion ShortTube D:80mm F:400mm
FOV = ~ 41' x 31'
external SBIG STL Guidehead (237) 657x495 7.4um
internal Built-in internal chip (237) on primary instrument
Exoplanet transit data taken using pier 4
History
- In 1984, the shed (Room OC21-110)
was built as an addition to the observatory. Located
next to the 16-in dome, it is a long building with a roll-off roof and
four permanent concrete telescope piers. Intended for teaching larger
groups of students, the shed originally housed two Celestron C14
Schmidt-Cassegrain 14-in reflectors "C14 north" and "C14 south" (now
telescopes 3 and 4), and one 5-in astrograph on pier 2.
- Sometime in the mid-1990's a third C14 was added as telescope 1, and
SpectraSource Lynxx2000 CCD cameras were installed on all four
telescopes.
- In the fall of 2001, new equipment was installed in the
shed and the astrograph was replaced by an 8-in Meade LX-200
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with electronic slew. The CCD cameras
were replaced with SBIG ST-237A units and the control computers were also
upgraded.
- A Celestron NextStar 11 telescope
was installed on pier 2 in 2003.
- Both piers 3 and 4 were upgraded to Paramount ME automated mounts over
2006-2007.
- All shed cameras were replaced with SBIG STL-1001e models in summer 2008, except for Pier 1.
- SinoView Spectrograph removed and replaced with SBIG STL-1001e on Pier 1 in August 2009.
- Chronos Mount and C-14 installed on Pier 2 in December 2009 and operational in February 2010.
- Shed wheels began failing winter 2009/2010. New ones ordered from original manufacturer.
- Autoguiding capability available to all mounts except Pier 1 and 24", August 2010.
- Chronos mount sent out for repair from July - October 2011. Still not working and was retired.
- Given the failure of the Chronos mount, we replaced with in August with a spair Byers retrofit which we cleaned up and refurbished. The tube was given an Optec focal reducer and now provides a 30' square field of view. Tracks up to 10 minutes!
- In December, 2012 Pier Tech installed a roof control retrofit so we could remotely control the main roof mechanism with ASCOM drivers. A new motor and geared track system was installed. System works well and can be opened/closed on a UPS battery charge.
