Primary Instrumentation
The primary instrumentation for the SSU Observatory is a custom built 10-inch (25-cm) f/5 Newtonian telescope. The telescope is used with an ST-7 CCD camera from SBIG. The camera system consists of a motorized filter wheel with BVRI (Johnson) filters. The field of view with this system is approximately 20 arcminutes. The mounting is a custom built fork mount with DC servo motors on both axies. Both the telescope and the mount were provided by Epoch Instruments, Inc. We call this telescope the Epoch Telescope. The telescope control software is Servostar, also provided by Epoch Instruments. The telescope can point to preselected objects in a compiled database. The primary database consists of bright stars suitable for synchronizing the telescope with the sky. The primary database also contains the Messier Catalog. The telescope will also point to arbitrary right ascension and declination coordinates entered from the keyboard.
The telescope will point to an accuracy of 1-2 arcminutes. The telescope can currently track to obtain unguided exposures up to 5 minutes. Tracking could be improved by adjusting Servostar parameters. The system is technically capable of autoguiding, but this will require some engineering to upgrade the telescope control system.
Unfiltered 10 second exposures typically reach 12th magnitude. Thus, virtually every object in the NGC and IC catalogs that is observable from our latitude can be recorded by our system. Exposures of several minutes readily record 16th magnitude objects. The ultimate limiting magnitude determined by sky brightness is currently being evaluated.
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The secondary telescope is a Celestron-14. With a long focal length and small field of view, this instrument is often used to observe the planets and the moon. The operation of this telescope is completely manual. However, digital encoders provide an interface to Sky Pilot so that pointing assistance is available using Voyager sky simulation software.
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A grating spectrometer using a CCD detector is under development. Wide field lenses are available for use with an imaging CCD which can be mounted piggy-back on the Celestron-14. An ST-4 CCD is available for use as an autoguider on the Celestron-14.
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It is the primary goal of the Observatory to develop robotic telescope systems. These systems will have integrated CCD camera and telescope control systems. These systems will be scriptable and will ulitmately be capable of remote control using a web browser on the internet.
Projects have begun to upgrade the Epoch telescope for robotic operation. Also, we intend to replace the Celestron-14 with a new telescope that is designed to operate as a robotic telescope system. Our systems will be available to students and faculty at Sonoma State University for instructional and research uses. It is also our intention to make these systems available to K-12 students and their teachers in our local service area. Ultimately, we would like to move one or more of our robotic systems to a better observing location that is darker and preferably above the costal fog levels.
Are you interested in helping us with our goals? We will need expertise in mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. It seems we are always in need of computer hardware. We will also need modest funding to accomplish our goals. If you are interested in helping us, or in learning more about what we hope to accomplish, contact the Observatory Director, Dr. Gordon G. Spear.
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