[Astro-mdm-report] MDM 1.3m Observing Report for 2022 Mar 31

[John.R.Thorstensen at Dartmouth.edu]

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Indeed, that was above and beyond the call of duty!

John

On Fri, 1 Apr 2022, Galayda Eric via ASTRO-mdm-report wrote:

> Firstly, thank you to Jules for getting the telescope back to zenith during the night.  Somehow the
> pointing was way off.  Note that the tilt sensors really only change when using the hand paddle when
> the telescope is near zenith.  Once the telescope is more than a couple degrees away from zenith, the
> tilt sensors become useless at helping verify telescope position.  If this happens, it is recommended
> that the dome lights be illuminated so that the observer can get the telescope roughly to zenith by
> eye.  Then positioning can be touched up using the tilt sensors and hand paddle and encoders can be
> zeroed to zenith values.  After that, it is recommended to center on a bright star and once again zero
> coordinates to those of the star.
> ****************************************************** 
> ERIC GALAYDA 
> Site Manager
> MDM Observatory
> 950 N. Cherry Ave. Ph. 520.318.8660/1 
> Tucson, AZ 85719 email: egalayda at umich.edu  
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://mdm.kpno.noirlab.edu__;!!KGKeukY!kU8pDd3COuO9nxk-db03-CC2EjUxJgMiYTAGpldShuY1GaMNqZzCyV365_8E03A6Ljhw2611qlo$ 
> ******************************************************
>
>       On Apr 1, 2022, at 12:40 AM, Jules Paul Halpern via ASTRO-mdm-report
>       <astro-mdm-report at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
> 
> This Message Is From an External Sender
> This message came from outside your organization.
> Report Suspicious
> I happened to be awake, so I turned the dome lamp on, looked at the telescope,
> and found that it was not pointing at zenith.
> I put the telescope to zenith by eye, zeroed the tilt meters and zeroed the coordinates.  It
> should be ready
> for observing again.  Possibly a fine adjustment of the pointing will be needed.
> 
> -Jules-
> 
> 
> On Fri, Apr 1, 2022 at 3:01 AM obs13m--- via ASTRO-mdm-report <astro-mdm-report at lists.osu.edu>
> wrote:
> 
>
>       MDM Observatory 1.3m Telescope Observing Report for 2022 Mar 31
>
>       Observer(s): Qiong Li
>       Institution(s): UMICH
>
>       Instrument: Nellie
>
>       Worked for 6 hours (first half of the night)
>       Conditions were Photometric most of the night.
>       No equipment or software problems were encountered.
>
>       Seeing and Weather:
>          Beg: Clear, Winds Calm
>          Mid: Clear, Winds Calm
>          End: Clear, Winds Calm
>
>       Observing Summary:
>
>       We lost the pointing at the beginning of the night observation. The telescope
>       position ('MDM1.3m Control panel') is not same as the target's position. I tested
>       another target, and it still has RA_OFFSET~1m18s, DEC_OFFSET~7'0''. 
>       Then I point the telescope to the zenith, without tracking and enter:
>       zero ra=(LST) dec=31:57:12 equinox=2022
>       It still doesn't work. Finally, I found the value for tilt sensor motion cannot
>       change when I move the hand paddle. It is always at [-491,+458] at zenith. Next, I
>       tried the offset (in the telescope control panel). The value for motion still didn't
>       change. We close the dome at 12:00 am LST.
>
>       ------------------------------
>
>       Submitted on 2022 Apr 1 [0:00:32]
>
>       Observer Contact Email: xqli at umich.edu (Note: will not appear in versions of the
>       report archived online)
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> 
> 
>

--------------------------------------------------------
John R. Thorstensen
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Dartmouth College
6127 Wilder Laboratory
Hanover, NH 03755

Office: 239 Wilder Hall
Phone:  603 646 2869     Fax: 1446   Hinman Box 6127
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