Remote Observatory Recommendations

Hello All, I am planning on a remote imaging setup at a hosted facility. I'm tenatively going to acquire a 10micron GM2000 for the mount, but I'm struggling on what OTA to bring. I'm debating between a TOA-130 at F7.7 vs Epsilon160ED at F3.3.

The remaining scope will likely stay with me in SF Bay Area. I'm debating which will function best remotely. Part of me would prefer the Epsilon here at home so I can recollimate as needed. Of course, there's the idea to possibly go side-by-side???

I'd also appreciate any general tips on remote observatory imaging. I've got the nagging feeling I'll drive there, and the first night I forget the flux capacitor and I won't be able to get to 88.8mph

CS!

Nick,

I believe most telescope hosting facilities will regularly collimate your scope as part of their service?

If so, I guess I'd send the Epsilon. I'm nowhere near having the funds to own such beautiful scopes, nor to use a telescope hosting service, but… having an f/3.3 scope in a Bortle 1/2… that must be truly awesome!

I'd be especially interested in photographing those big emission nebulae in their true color. The wide field and fast aperture of the Epsilon would be perfect for this. And surrounding details of galaxies or reflection nebulae, with those beautiful clouds of dust surrounding them, that never really show in our light polluted backyards…

Just my 2 cents!

Pierre

@konzy thanks for the input. i'll have to check on the collimation service. the few times I've had to do it with Epsilon, I take excessive amounts of time on it. (as close to perfect as I can get)

You bring up a great point on the surrounding areas. I'm consistently drawn to getting closer and closer on those targets at F6-F8 and I forget about the widefield captures that could be possible.

If your remote site has better seeing, which is likely…. it would make far more sense to take advantage of that with the better sampling of your 130mm

Hi Nick.

I have experience at both Deep Sky West and at SRO. I currently have a TEC-200 on a GM2000 at SRO. I can tell you that I love their service and the skies can be terrific, but I would strongly recommend putting you simplest and most bulletproof setup at whatever site you are considering. Remote imaging has it's challenges, often unforseen. And when you do have an issue, regardless of how capable the staff is (SRO's techs are great!) it is always more difficult to address than what it would be for a scope in your back yard. My suggestion would be to start with your TOA-130. Work out any issues with alignment, model building, software, etc. and if you later decide to change scopes then so be it.

Fwiw .. if I can help in any way feel free to reach out. I have a completely automated system out there (I am on the East Coast) that runs every night with no involvement from me. Happy to help if I can.

Tim

thanks all for input. I'm leaning TOA-130 since it's the heavier OTA and also the longer focal length. I also have a deepskydad flat field for it (I don't love sky flats)

Am I correct in feeling that even though the TOA is @ F7.7 with the 645 flattener, I should have plenty of darkness and can run long exposures which should balance things out. I think it's at 990FL, and if that's too narrow I can always generate some mosaics.

appreciate the insight as always!
CS

That's exactly right. My TEC-200 is F8. I often shoot broadband up to 10 minutes for faint stuff and narrowband I shoot up to 30 minutes.

Also, I do shoot sky flats rather than use a panel. In dark skies they work really well and it is a lot easier than trying to use a panel if you're in an observatory with other tenants. You don't want to turn it on if someone else could be shooting something. It just makes for a bit of a timing problem, but with sky flats, i shoot them at dawn and there is no problem.

Just something to consider.

Tim

Depends on what kind of targets you want to shoot, if you want to go for faint low surface brightness things, epsilon all the way. If you want to do galaxies, send the other one. Both OTAs have a good history of remote use so I would feel comfortable sending either.

If it was me I would personally send the epsilon, but that is because the focal ratio is the most important thing to me. Comparing f/7.7 to f/3.3 is like getting 10x more clear nights per year.

Nick

Do a side by side system. TOA130 is for small objects and galaxies, while E-160ED is perfect for wide field.

Yuexiao

I use e-Eye in Spain and absolutely love the place! I have a TS OWL130 on an ASA DDM85 mount. The service is great and the facilities are outstanding. I really liked the fact that there you control your own roof. You aren't sharing a large building with other users. If you don't want to image, your roof stays closed. I do understand though that Spain is just a small distance from the Bay area. I'm a little closer in the UK.

As for scopes, I would either go side by side or do the 130. I think going wider field with the Epsilon you might find yourself running out of targets quickly. But if you are close to the site you choose, can always swap it out I guess.

NIck,
I won't comment on which scope you should use but since you asked about remote imaging in general, I'll pass along a couple of things. This presentation is about remote imaging in Chile but it contains a lot of useful hints and information about remote imaging in general so you might want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOmyoKMDnpc.

A while back, I posted a little summary of design, configuration, and best practices for remote imaging systems on the AB forums. Unfortunately the search function on AB is so primitive that even though I know the author (me), when I posted it (most likely between late April and early May), and what the topic is, I cannot locate it! So to get around that problem, I'll repost it here: Remote Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide 4-20-23.pdf. This document contains a collection of things that I've learned over many years of running remote telescopes.

Good luck with your project!

John

John Hayes:
you might want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOmyoKMDnpc.

thanks John, this was really helpful and actually pretty entertaining. Its always fun to see behind the scenes a bit at Obstech. I think i've actually implemented a few of your tips as well (heavier/closer counterweights dropped my avg rms by .1-.2")

Your video brought up a key note for me. I'm planning to buy a new mount to start with remotely. I'm starting to question that and think I should attempt to run it locally on a tripod for a bit before moving it remote. I worry about being on a timer while onsite.

Nick,
Running your gear locally for a while before sending it to a remote observatory is a really good idea. It won’t eliminate every problem but it will help to identify major problems and it will improve your chances of a smooth installation. I’ll look forward to hearing how it goes when you get it to the observatory.

John

I second that. I owed a GM2000 and it is a wonderful, stable mount. But given my own experience in not doing a 6-month shakedown at home before going remote, I would advise anyone who can to do a substantial shakedown of all equipment before going remote. Not only will you identify and fix any issues, but you will get to better know the equipment, which will make it easier to diagnose and address the inevitable problems that will happen once you are remote.

I was in the same place 2 years ago. I could find a lot of opinions on the subject of operating a remote telescope, but very little hard data.

So I built a Newtonian scope, a remote system and operated it for 15 months every clear night at DSO in West Tx, and documented everything, the good, the bad, the ugly.

I also distribute (for free) all the raw data (almost 2 Teras at this point), guiding log, and document the system, from the telescope open source optical and mechanical design, to the software in use, the scripts to run automatically, etc...

https://erellaz.com/moana/

I have a TEC140 and an Epsilon 160ED on a tandem mount running on a SB MX+ out in New Mexico. I get the best of both worlds - wide field of view and more focal length for smaller targets.

However, if I did it again, I would probably send only the Epsilon. I have imaged with it 95% of the time since I sent my scopes out west to New Mexico. I am rather fond of widefield shots, however.

The fast focal ratio of the f3/3 system along with super dark skies almost seem like cheating! I can image a target in roughly half the amount of integration time I would have needed here in north Alabama with the same scope. Most of my recent images that I have posted here are with my Epsilon 160 out in New Mexico.

I am glad I have the TEC140 out there (its roughly 1000 mm focal length at f/7) for galaxy season. I will take advantage of having both scopes out there since its already installed.

Good luck!

Nick Grundy:
Your video brought up a key note for me. I'm planning to buy a new mount to start with remotely. I'm starting to question that and think I should attempt to run it locally on a tripod for a bit before moving it remote. I worry about being on a timer while onsite.

Definitely test, test, test and do more testing locally before sending your setup to a remote facility. Work out every kink and issue beforehand. It will make installation much easier. I tested my system in my backyard for about 6 months before I took my system out to New Mexico. It made a huge difference in getting everything setup once I was on site.

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