Observatory and Equipment |
The MI-250 mount looking
northwest. This view shows the
massive conical polar axis
assembly as well as the rocker
block that allows fine adjustment
of the azimuth and elevation of
the polar axis. Also shown is the
precision Robin Casaday tip-in
saddle assembly, the Antares
12X80mm finderscope, and the
Losmandy counterweight system
mounted on the front of the
Casady saddle. Also shown is
the hand control unit for the
Gemini go-to system. Mounted
next to the 11X80mm finder is
a TelRad zero power reflex-type
gunsight finder.
northwest. This view shows the
massive conical polar axis
assembly as well as the rocker
block that allows fine adjustment
of the azimuth and elevation of
the polar axis. Also shown is the
precision Robin Casaday tip-in
saddle assembly, the Antares
12X80mm finderscope, and the
Losmandy counterweight system
mounted on the front of the
Casady saddle. Also shown is
the hand control unit for the
Gemini go-to system. Mounted
next to the 11X80mm finder is
a TelRad zero power reflex-type
gunsight finder.
Binocular Observing Deck at Oz.
Pictured to the right is the deck
which has been added at Land of
Oz Observatory. The observing
deck is 10' X 10', made of treated
2X6s and decked with treated 3/4"
Plywood. The indoor-outdoor
carpeting is held in place with
1"X1" aluminum angle. Pictured on
the deck is my Gruenke Binocular
Mount, a well made parallelogram
style mount, shown with my
11X80mm Celestron Binoculars
and a red-dot finder. This deck is
also used with my 18.5" f/4.5
Dob-Newtonian.
Pictured to the right is the deck
which has been added at Land of
Oz Observatory. The observing
deck is 10' X 10', made of treated
2X6s and decked with treated 3/4"
Plywood. The indoor-outdoor
carpeting is held in place with
1"X1" aluminum angle. Pictured on
the deck is my Gruenke Binocular
Mount, a well made parallelogram
style mount, shown with my
11X80mm Celestron Binoculars
and a red-dot finder. This deck is
also used with my 18.5" f/4.5
Dob-Newtonian.
VISUAL EYEPIECES USED AT OZ
Shown at right are the eyepieces
used for visual observation at Oz.
Clockwise, starting at the upper
LH corner: 2" TeleVue 40mm Wide
Field, 2" TeleVue 31mm Nagler, 2"
TeleVue 41mm Panoptic, 2" TeleVue
20mm Nagler, 2" TeleVue 16mm
Nagler, 1-1/4" Celestron 18mm
Plossl, 1-1/4" TeleVue 24mm
Widefield and 2" TeleVue 12mm
Nagler. These eyepieces give
magnifications of 70X, 93X, 70X,
140X, 175X, 155X, 116X and
233X, respectively. The 41mm
TeleVue Panoptic gives the widest
possible field in the C-11, 57 arc-
minutes (just shy of 1 Degree).
Shown at right are the eyepieces
used for visual observation at Oz.
Clockwise, starting at the upper
LH corner: 2" TeleVue 40mm Wide
Field, 2" TeleVue 31mm Nagler, 2"
TeleVue 41mm Panoptic, 2" TeleVue
20mm Nagler, 2" TeleVue 16mm
Nagler, 1-1/4" Celestron 18mm
Plossl, 1-1/4" TeleVue 24mm
Widefield and 2" TeleVue 12mm
Nagler. These eyepieces give
magnifications of 70X, 93X, 70X,
140X, 175X, 155X, 116X and
233X, respectively. The 41mm
TeleVue Panoptic gives the widest
possible field in the C-11, 57 arc-
minutes (just shy of 1 Degree).
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Land of Oz Observatory: A 12' X 20' Roll-off roof observatory located
in Linn County, Kansas, about an hour south of the Kansas City metro area.
Construction is standard stud-wall frame construction, with exterior of vinyl
siding and roof of 16-gage corrugated steel. Interior consists of a 12' X 12'
telescope room and a 12' X 8' insulated control room.
in Linn County, Kansas, about an hour south of the Kansas City metro area.
Construction is standard stud-wall frame construction, with exterior of vinyl
siding and roof of 16-gage corrugated steel. Interior consists of a 12' X 12'
telescope room and a 12' X 8' insulated control room.
Main instruments: The primary
instrument used at Land of Oz
Observatory is an 11-inch (280
mm) Celestron Schmidt-Casse-
grain telescope of 2800mm
focal length mounted on a
Mountain Instruments MI-250
Go-To German Equatorial
mount. The MI-250 has a load
capacity of 75 pounds and
features massive, conically
shaped polar and declination
axes, each with 7.5-inch dia.
bronze gears and matching
diamond-lapped stainless steel
worms. Tracking is superb, with
a periodic error of less than 4
arc seconds. The mount is
computer controlled via the
Gemini Go-To system. The C-11
is mounted to the MI-250 via a
Casady precision tip-in dovetail
saddle assembly. An 80mm
(3.1") Apochromatic
refractor,used for CCD imaging,
is mounted co-axially on the
C-11 OTA via Losmandy
dovetail and 150mm rings.
instrument used at Land of Oz
Observatory is an 11-inch (280
mm) Celestron Schmidt-Casse-
grain telescope of 2800mm
focal length mounted on a
Mountain Instruments MI-250
Go-To German Equatorial
mount. The MI-250 has a load
capacity of 75 pounds and
features massive, conically
shaped polar and declination
axes, each with 7.5-inch dia.
bronze gears and matching
diamond-lapped stainless steel
worms. Tracking is superb, with
a periodic error of less than 4
arc seconds. The mount is
computer controlled via the
Gemini Go-To system. The C-11
is mounted to the MI-250 via a
Casady precision tip-in dovetail
saddle assembly. An 80mm
(3.1") Apochromatic
refractor,used for CCD imaging,
is mounted co-axially on the
C-11 OTA via Losmandy
dovetail and 150mm rings.
Another view of the MI-250
mount looking southeast. This
picture was taken prior to the
addition of the 80mm imaging
refractor. The massive
construction of the mount is well
shown, including the massive
declination axis & counterweights.
Also shown is the Antares 80mm
finderscope. In this view can be
seen the drop-down section in the
south wall of the observatory,
which permits viewing of objects
as low as -40 degrees declination.
mount looking southeast. This
picture was taken prior to the
addition of the 80mm imaging
refractor. The massive
construction of the mount is well
shown, including the massive
declination axis & counterweights.
Also shown is the Antares 80mm
finderscope. In this view can be
seen the drop-down section in the
south wall of the observatory,
which permits viewing of objects
as low as -40 degrees declination.
A close-up view of the 80mm
(3.1") Apochromatic refractor and
Orion StarShoot CCD camera used
at Land of Oz Observatory for
imaging deep sky objects. This view
shows the Losmandy dovetail plate
and 150mm rings used to secure
the imaging scope to the C-11 OTA.
Also seen are the TelRad finder and
the electronic control box for the
JMI motorized crayford-style focuser
used on the C-11.
(3.1") Apochromatic refractor and
Orion StarShoot CCD camera used
at Land of Oz Observatory for
imaging deep sky objects. This view
shows the Losmandy dovetail plate
and 150mm rings used to secure
the imaging scope to the C-11 OTA.
Also seen are the TelRad finder and
the electronic control box for the
JMI motorized crayford-style focuser
used on the C-11.
The left-hand photo shows the
Gemini Go-To computer and its
hand controller box, as well as the
serial and USB connections from
the Gemini Controller and the Orion
CCD camera, which pass through
conduit under the floor of the
observatory from the telescope
room to the control room. This
allows control of both the MI-250
Go-To mount and the Orion CCD
camera from the control room via
The Sky v 6.0 and Maxim DL,
running on the Hewlett-Packard
1.7 GhZ laptop computer shown in
the photo at the right. Running the
scope and camera from the control
room is certainly a pleasure on cold
winter nights!
Gemini Go-To computer and its
hand controller box, as well as the
serial and USB connections from
the Gemini Controller and the Orion
CCD camera, which pass through
conduit under the floor of the
observatory from the telescope
room to the control room. This
allows control of both the MI-250
Go-To mount and the Orion CCD
camera from the control room via
The Sky v 6.0 and Maxim DL,
running on the Hewlett-Packard
1.7 GhZ laptop computer shown in
the photo at the right. Running the
scope and camera from the control
room is certainly a pleasure on cold
winter nights!
9/30/10: This view shows the newly
installed HyperStar 3 imaging
system. The system consists of an
adapter which takes the place of
the original secondary mirror
mount, and allows for a quick
change of the "top end"of the
telescope to convert from f/10
visual use to f/2 for CCD imaging.
Shown in this photo: The Hyper
Star corrector lens and adapter
mounted in place of the standard
visual secondary holder. The Orion
STARSHOOT CCD camera is
threaded on to the front of the Hyper
Star adapter. Also shown at the
lower left is the new FeatherTouch
digital electric Microfocuser which
is usedto achieve fine focus with
this f/2 imaging system. It uses a
stepper motor and reduction gear
to allow very fine focusing. One step
of the motor equals 1/3000th of a
revolution of the focusing shaft! The
hand controller (not shown) has a
digital readout so that you can very
precisely move the focus screw
until you achieve the best focus. The
readout makes it easy to get back
to fine focus after a changeover.
A "First Light" image taken with
this system can be seen on the
"Latest Images" page.
installed HyperStar 3 imaging
system. The system consists of an
adapter which takes the place of
the original secondary mirror
mount, and allows for a quick
change of the "top end"of the
telescope to convert from f/10
visual use to f/2 for CCD imaging.
Shown in this photo: The Hyper
Star corrector lens and adapter
mounted in place of the standard
visual secondary holder. The Orion
STARSHOOT CCD camera is
threaded on to the front of the Hyper
Star adapter. Also shown at the
lower left is the new FeatherTouch
digital electric Microfocuser which
is usedto achieve fine focus with
this f/2 imaging system. It uses a
stepper motor and reduction gear
to allow very fine focusing. One step
of the motor equals 1/3000th of a
revolution of the focusing shaft! The
hand controller (not shown) has a
digital readout so that you can very
precisely move the focus screw
until you achieve the best focus. The
readout makes it easy to get back
to fine focus after a changeover.
A "First Light" image taken with
this system can be seen on the
"Latest Images" page.
Close-up of the tube assembly
showing the newly installed
MicroTouch stepper motor
focuser which is used to focus the
f/2 HyperStar imaging system.
The stepper motor is controlled
via an RJ-11 connector which
runs through a conduit under the
floor to the control room where the
MicroTouch hand controller for the
focuser is located. This allows
precise remote focusing of the
system while checking the results
on the computer screen.
showing the newly installed
MicroTouch stepper motor
focuser which is used to focus the
f/2 HyperStar imaging system.
The stepper motor is controlled
via an RJ-11 connector which
runs through a conduit under the
floor to the control room where the
MicroTouch hand controller for the
focuser is located. This allows
precise remote focusing of the
system while checking the results
on the computer screen.