Log Wednesday April 28 2022
Observatory Construction
Time moves quickly and the Nexstar Observatory project now has collected a total of 20 empty water bottles. This will cover approximately two of four rows in the back of the telescope platform for mounting directly onto the steel railing.
Mounting the Telescope
The Nexstar 6SE telescope was moved onto the top of the platform to see if it would easily slide off and if so, how should it be mounted. The telescope has several strong gripping rubber pads on the bottom and this creates tremendous gripping force on the top of the platform. If any mounting attachment is used for the telescope, it will be minor with perhaps a few short bungee cords.
Cleaning the Optics
The single pane of white optical window glass at the indoor observatory was cleaned on the inside with window cleaner and tested.
Lightweight Guider
A project was opened to locally acquire a very light weight one pound OTA guiding telescope for mounting on the main Nexstar 6SE telescope. A search began for various mounting hotshoes that would fit the main telescope.
Solar Observatory
Work continued on the Solar Observatory and a new telescope with a custom solar filter is being examined for purchase. This would satisfy the criteria previously established for the solar observatory and make solar observing much more convenient. The results could enable higher resolution with the chosen mounting tracking and the accuracy it can provide.
Laser Through Glass
The lasering project and test was a success and lasers can now be used as object finders and pointers when indoors and observing through a pane of optical window glass.
