Operating the Nieves Observatory
Telescope
Using the ACP System: some do’s and don’t’s.
What’s the ACP System?
SUO uses a software called the Astronomy Control Panel (ACP) to remotely control the telescope. We will use this system to take images of the sky remotely.
Step 1: Log into http://observatory.soka.edu/
You will be prompted to log in. Please refer to the handout for the credentials.
You will be presented with a UI that resembles the one below. Here’s a breakdown of what is going on in the UI.
We will want to take images now with our telescope. To do that, we have to open the roof and turn the telescope on. However, lest we expose our telescope to the elements, we should first check if sky conditions are good for the night. The Nieves Observatory is equipped with an all-sky camera and atmospheric condition measurement instruments for us to see if the sky is good and clear for viewing.
Step 2: Check if the weather is good for viewing.
Go to Observatory Info (side bar) > Local Weather.
A local weather data information listing should pop up in your control panel.
As long as the status shows “safe”, we can use the telescope with no risk of damaging it.
Step 3: Turn on the telescope
If the weather is congenial for our telescope, we can start taking images of the sky. The telescope might be completely shutdown when you have access to it. If so, you should see something like this:
To activate the system, first click on “Scheduler” (in yellow). You should see the “Telescope” and “Imager” turn yellow after, as with the below:
Turn on the telescope and imager by clicking on them both. The sequence does not matter. Once you’re done, the cooler option is open as well.
Click on “Cooler”. You will see the following prompt.
Set the temperature to -25 (no need °C). After which, open the roof by clicking on “Roof”. Once the system is ready, it should look like this:
Step 4: Take a Color Series
Now that the telescope is all set up, we can instruct the observatory to take an image of the sky according to our specifications. To create an instruction, go to Live Observing > Single Object Imaging > Color Series.
You will presented with the following input form for the image that you want. Here’s what each field means and what you should input for each field.
When you’re done filling up the form, it should look something like this:
Click “acquire image” and the telescope will run your instructions. If, however, the telescope is already executing an instruction, it will continue to run the instruction prior to yours, and yours will be queued until the telescope is available for use. Your instructions will be executed automatically as soon as the telescope is available.
Download Images from System Dropbox
Once your images have been taken, they will be stored at our Dropbox. Please contact the system administrator (bpenprase@soka.edu) for access to the Dropbox account.
See how you can create a true color image with the images that you’ve taken. Click here