Starship Asterisk*

The Wise Observatory (WO) CONCAM2 is back to working normally. For a while there were some very strange computer problems that were hard to understand. Some computer / program combinations appeared able to operate the CONCAM, but not our preferred set up! The problem was traced to a corrupted BIOS setting that got the mode wrong for the parallel cable. (It should be EPP not SPP.) Thanks to Lior and WO student Ezra Mashal for figuring that one out!

- RJN

Lior and I discussed the possibility of changing the cadence of the WO CONCAM to increase its meteor detection efficiency during the pending Perseids. That discussion thread in NSL Science can be found here.

We decided that the existing software infrastructure does not make this simple and so we are not going to mess with it in fear that we will make matters worse. Years ago CONCAMs took images sequentially but more recently they all go off in lockstep every 3m56s. It is no longer easy to go back to "lockstep." Just decreasing the exposure time would not change the 3m56s times between exposure start times. It would just decrease sensitivity. So we will just let the software run "as is" through this year's Perseids.

- RJN

I'm getting a pretty nice image from Wise Observatory today compared to other days. For some reason before today, I couldn't see the image at all. Also, I need to learn how to post images. Maybe someone could give me the steps?

deborah wrote:I'm getting a pretty nice image from Wise Observatory today compared to other days. For some reason before today, I couldn't see the image at all. Also, I need to learn how to post images. Maybe someone could give me the steps?

Deborah, if you click on Img, then copy and paste the link to the image and click Img again your image should post.

You may right click the image and use "Copy Shortcut" you will get it copied onto your keybord then use to inert the picutre into the post. eg. to insert the MK Concam image.

WO Concam is online with photometry available. The images seem to be over exposed in the east, causing a glare ball near the middle, it didn't seem to move so maybe it's LP as opposed to the Moon?

I am sorry not have seen your message earlier. The light glow to the East is man-made; the town of Mizpe Ramon, five km East of the observatory, has quite strong lights in comparison to the size of its population (5000 people). The lights are mostly sodium, some low-pressure and some high-pressure. These, in particular the high-pressure, affect the CONCAM significatly because of the yellow-red component to which the CCD is sensitive. The glow is stronger when there is some low clouds or fog; this happens sometime in the second half of the night and you should see the glow appear bigger in the frames.

Cheers,
Noah Brosch
Director, the Wise Observatory

Yet another observatory affected by LP. Sorry to hear about that, but thanks for getting back to me anyway, even if the news was bad. Has anyone asked the town if they would replace or at least shield the offending lights?

Noctuas_Universe wrote:Yet another observatory affected by LP. Sorry to hear about that, but thanks for getting back to me anyway, even if the news was bad. Has anyone asked the town if they would replace or at least shield the offending lights?

We are doing this on a continuous basis. Previously, all the lights were mercury now alomst all were changed to sodium. The low-pressure ones are reasonable because they have no continuum contribution. The local council also promised to add shielding to prevent light from being emitted skyward.

nbrosch wrote:The local council also promised to add shielding to prevent light from being emitted skyward.

Good! Finally some light pollution awareness.