Observatory and Equipment |
The MI-250 mount looking
northeast. 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.
northeast. 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.
The photo at right shows the
motorized crayford style
focuser which is used for fine
focusing the C-11 (the regular
focus knob is used for rough
adjustments, as when changing
between eyepieces that are not
parfocal).
This focuser is made by JMI, and
is the model NGF-S.
This is an extremely well made
piece of equipment, and is a joy
to use. It works especially well
when focusing a CCD camera.
motorized crayford style
focuser which is used for fine
focusing the C-11 (the regular
focus knob is used for rough
adjustments, as when changing
between eyepieces that are not
parfocal).
This focuser is made by JMI, and
is the model NGF-S.
This is an extremely well made
piece of equipment, and is a joy
to use. It works especially well
when focusing a CCD camera.
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"
Orion 30mm UltraScan, 1-1/4"
TeleVue 24mm WideField, 2" Tele
Vue 20mm Nagler, 2" TeleVue
16mm Nagler, 1-1/4" Celestron
18mm Plossl, 1-1/4" Edmund RKE
8mm Plossl, and 2" TeleVue 12mm
Nagler.
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"
Orion 30mm UltraScan, 1-1/4"
TeleVue 24mm WideField, 2" Tele
Vue 20mm Nagler, 2" TeleVue
16mm Nagler, 1-1/4" Celestron
18mm Plossl, 1-1/4" Edmund RKE
8mm Plossl, and 2" TeleVue 12mm
Nagler.
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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 in use at Land of Oz
Observatory is a Celestron C-11
11-inch (280mm) aperture
2800mm focal length Schmidt
Cassegrain tube assembly
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 in use at Land of Oz
Observatory is a Celestron C-11
11-inch (280mm) aperture
2800mm focal length Schmidt
Cassegrain tube assembly
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 in this view is 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 in this view is the
drop-down section in the south
wall of the observatory, which
permits viewing of objects as low
as -40 degrees declination.
MI-250 mount looking northwest.
this view shows the 12X80 finder,
the TelRad finder, and the hand
control for the Gemini Go-To
system.
this view shows the 12X80 finder,
the TelRad finder, and the hand
control for the Gemini Go-To
system.
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!
6/1/08: Installed DEW-NOT, a high
efficiency dew control system from
Scope-Stuff. The system consists of a
four-channel controller box (shown)
which controls four separate outlets,
to which are attached dew-control
heating strips for the C-11's main
corrector plate, the objective and
eyepiece of the 11X80mm finder, and
the window of the TelRad zero-power
reflex finder. Each heating element
can be adjusted individually as the
need arises. This should make viewing
much more convenient on those nights
when the dewpoint and ambient
temperature coincide.
efficiency dew control system from
Scope-Stuff. The system consists of a
four-channel controller box (shown)
which controls four separate outlets,
to which are attached dew-control
heating strips for the C-11's main
corrector plate, the objective and
eyepiece of the 11X80mm finder, and
the window of the TelRad zero-power
reflex finder. Each heating element
can be adjusted individually as the
need arises. This should make viewing
much more convenient on those nights
when the dewpoint and ambient
temperature coincide.