ART hardware

This page describes the equipment comprising the Armagh Robotic Observatory. Follow the appropriate links to find more information.

Telescope and Mount

• Main Telescope
  • PlaneWave Instruments
  • 43cm f/6.8 corrected Dall-Kirkham reflector with carbon-fibre truss.

• Finder

  • Skywatcher Equinox 120: 120mm f/7.5 apochromatic

• Mount

  • Paramount ME GEM
  • This is an entirely computer operated German equatorial mount. The mount is situated on the pier at the centre of the dome. It gives the telescope the ability to point at all areas of the sky.

• Focus control
  • Remote focusing is achieved with the PlaneWave electronic focusing assembly

• Cameras
  Two cameras are available for the main telescope. Either camera can be controlled using ACP, MaxIm DL, or Starlight Xpress software.

  • Starlight Xpress SXVR-H36
    Uses a 36.3 x 24.2 mm array with 7.4 micron pixels. When used with the CDK17 the field of view is 43 x 28 arc minutes with a scale of about 70"/mm. A 1x1 binned image has a scale of 0.5"/px and a 2x2 binned image has a scale of 1.0"/px. The CCD has a peak QE of 45-50% between 400 and 600 nm
  • Starlight Xpress SXVR-H694
    Uses a 12.5 x 10 mm array with 4.54 micron pixels. When used with the CDK17 the field of view is 15 x 12 arc minutes with a scale of about 70"/mm. A 1x1 binned image has a scale of 0.3"/px and a 2x2 binned image has a scale of 0.6"/px. The CCD has a peak QE of 75-80% between 400 and 600 nm.
    
  • A Canon DSLR is available for the finder telescope.

• Autoguider
  • Starlight-Xpress 'Lodestar' autoguider.
  • This autoguider is used in conjunction with the Starlight-Xpress off-axis guider assembly. This removes the need for a dedicated guide scope. The auxiliary telescope can now be used as a finder.

• Filterwheel
  • Starlight-Xpress
  • Filter Wheel is a USB model which can be controlled with its own software and from MaxIm Dl. It is fully compatible with both cameras. There are independent carousels for the two filter sets.

• Filterset 1.
  
  • LRGB filters for deep-sky imaging. These are broad-band filters which allow imaging in the primary colours and white light.

• Filterset 2
  • SLOAN - SDSS filters A set of Sloan u'g'r'i' filters and filterwheel is also available.

Dome

Dome

The dome installed for the ART is a Sirius Observatories 3.5m dome. The dome houses all the equipment necessary to make and record observations. It protects the telescope and other important observing equipment from adverse weather conditions and provides a safe environment for observers. The dome reduces extraneous light allowing the observation of fainter night sky objects. Its rotation allows the telescope to access all parts of the night sky. Rotation and opening is automated by a MaxDome II observatory remote control system, which enables the dome to be slaved to the telescope.

• Control System

  • In-dome computer: A Dell computer runs Windows XP and controls the function of the mount, telescope and dome. It can be accessed remotely from the Observatory or via the internet.

• Weather Monitor

  • Boltwood Cloud Sensor. Monitors external temperature, cloud cover, rain and light from this device. Used to determine whether it is safe to open the dome, and to shut the dome automatically in case of rain, etc. Aurora Cloud Sensor: (no longer operational)

• Environment Control

  • A low-wattage greenhouse heater prevents the dome's internal temperature from falling below zero Celsius.
  • A dehumidifier is run to minimize condensation inside the dome.
  • A USB environment logger provides data about the dome's internal temperature, dew point and relative humidity. It is currently being used to test the efficiency of the climate control hardware in the dome.
  • An infrared-sensitive fully-steerable AXIS 214 PTZ Network Camera allows remote inspection of the interior of the dome and telescope, even in the dark.

• Instruction Manuals

  • In the event that there is some software malfunction or other issue in the dome a file containing manuals for all the software used by the computer is kept in the dome at all times. Installation disks are also kept here.

• Torch

  • A Normal/Red light torch is kept in the dome at all times in case of an emergency. Observers are advised to carry their own torches with them. Head-torches are ideal.

Electrical Wiring

• Fixed Wire 240V Mains

  • The dome houses an electrical consumer unit supplied with 3-phase mains power.
  • The consumer unit delivers two phases to two subfloor mains circuits.
  • There are 4 clusters of 4 sockets, each cluster consists of 2 pairs of sockets, one pair on each circuits.

• Subfloor Socket Clusters update

  • N. Floor Cluster 1 supplies 2x6-way extension boards housed in the control alcove.
  • W of Pier. Floor Cluster 2 supplies a 6-way extension board attached to the south side of the pier.
  • SW. Floor Cluster 3 is used for the dehumidifier and frost-prevention heater. May operated remotely (Z-wave)
    
  • SE. Floor Cluster 4 is generally unused. Occasionally used for free standing lighting.

• Pier Power (x6 switched extension board) update

  • Telescope Mount (uses Z-wave switch)
    
  • CCD Camera (uses Z-wave switch)
    
  • Telescope Power
    
  • USB Active 4-way Hub 1
    
  • USB Active 4-way Hub 2

• Alcove Power (top) (x6 switched extension board) update

  • Dome Lights (Z-wave)
  • PC Monitor 1
  • PC Monitor 2
  • Dome camera (..67)
  • Phone

• Alcove Power (bottom) (x6 switched extension board) update

  • PC (arpc67) (..107)
  • Ethernet switch
  • Micasa Verde (Z-wave) controller (..206)
  • Boltwood Cloud Sensor
  • Dome rotation
  • Dome shutter (trickle charger)

Computer Network

The dome is connected to the Armagh Observatory internal 100 Mbps network by a fibre optic cable terminated at a switch providing wired ethernet within the dome.
Systems connected directly to the switch by wired ethernet include:

• arpc67: the telescope control computer
• artvera: the Micasa verde Z-wave controller
• artcam: a steerable network camera used for monitoring telescope and dome operations
• Wireless ethernet is also available in the dome