Just a post here relating to star gazing.
REMOTE IMAGING FOR THE REST OF US.
Welcome to Deep Sky West, a remote astronomical imaging observatory in Rowe, New Mexico.
Deep Sky West
DSW is a remote astronomical imaging observatory situated on Rowe Mesa in Rowe, New Mexico. This 35 acre high altitude site (elevation 7,400 feet) offers pristine dark skies, excellent seeing, and weather conditions coveted by all imagers. We make remote imaging and hosting affordable for the “average” backyard imager.
DSW “Alpha” is actually the first of several ”roll off building” observatories and is designed and operated specifically with the backyard imager in mind. We’ve created a professional, state-of-the-art, yet affordable and convenient imaging environment for you to host your own equipment, or become of a team on our equipment.
How It Works
Target Audience
DSW’s target audience is the average backyard imager who has a love for the hobby, usually has great equipment, but is plagued by poor skies. The lack of consistent clear skies results in equipment going idle for long stretches. When the weather does cooperate many imagers have to travel to remote locations, set up equipment from scratch, polar align, image, and tear it all down again at the end of the session.
Imagers fortunate enough to have a home observatories don’t have the hassles of setting up for each session, but most locations lack quality skies.
DSW changes all this because we offer access to consistently clear skies and great seeing. Your equipment investment does not go to waste. We’ve built DSW with industry standard instrumentation and safety features and done so in a way to make it affordable for you without compromise. DSW provides imagers with great skies regardless of where they live. Our members today are from Australia, England, Germany, Switzerland, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia, and Texas.
Teamwork
DSW promotes teamwork. Many of our imagers are actually part of “imaging teams”. An imaging team can be formed around your system, or you can join a team using a system owned by another DSW member.
If you decide to build an imaging team around your system (although it’s not required) we’ve proven out a few best practices that work:
Share all data facilitated through a cloud storage service
Vote on target selection
Select one member as the primary system operator familiar with
automated imaging programs (i.e., CCDAP, ACP, etc.)
Final images are property of the processor
How to get involved
Join an existing team (as low as $100/month). This is the easiest way to get involved and only requires you to find a team looking for members. DSW helps facilitate this process as needed. This website promotes team formation by allowing prospective members to post the equipment they’d be willing to install at DSW Interested members with complimentary equipment, or in some cases no equipment at all can post and apply to be a part of a team. We expect some teams to be 1 or 2 members, or in other cases the maximum of 7. Our experience tells us that between 3 and 7 is about right considering getting agreement on target selection, image integration requirements, image quality requirements, etc.
Currently available “DSW” teams. DSW staff operate 2 “in-house” systems that have limited availability. Some of our members host their own system and are members of the DSW staff teams at the same time. There are two currently available options: 1) FSQ 106EDXiii / QSI683wsg / Paramount MyT @ $100 / month, 2) RCOS 14.5″ / QSI683wsg / Paramount ME @ $200/month. Remember, you get ALL imaging data, you PARTICIPATE in image selection, and we image EVERY clear night. The per hour rate is exceptionally low in this option.
Start a team. Anyone with suitable equipment can join DSW as an individual, or start an imaging team. This involves finding a core group of imagers who together have, or can acquire a complete imaging system. For example, one DSW imaging team utilizes 14” CDK owned by a member founder from London, mounted on a Paramount ME owned by a teammate from Tennessee, plus a QSI camera and computer from yet another teammate. This group purchased a focuser that’ll be sold at the end of their partnership. Additionally, this team has several other members who only contribute to the hosting fee. All data is shared equally amongst the imaging team members.
Setting up your system. DSW personnel are available to perform system installations if you can’t make the trip. We charge a nominal fee to do set-up and testing. The process typically requires 2-3 clear nights to complete. This includes the physical installation, network set-up, polar alignment, and calibrations as required (focuser, PEC, rotator, collimation, etc.) If you perform your own installation, DSW personnel will be on site to provide assistance. And finally, we provide lodging at the residence free of charge!
Pricing. The hosting fee is $700/month. This fee includes electricity, network, support and site insurance (less favorable pricing is available for members opting for less than a 1-year commitment). Members of full teams of 7 effectively pay $100/mo/person! This demonstrates one of our key principles: remote imaging can be affordable! Some of our imagers are members of more than one team.
Observatory
Location
Rowe, New Mexico, 35.32N latitude, 105.72W longitude. Elevation 7,400 feet
Albuquerque (pop. 555,000, ~ 54 miles WSW)
Santa Fe (pop. 69,000, ~27 miles NW)
Minimal light dome to the west ~10-15 degrees in extent
Infrastructure
Observatory Building: ~25×35 corrugated P-type steel Quonset hut
The design of the observatory provides horizon to horizon coverage down to at least 25 degrees
The observatory is actuated by an electric motor which rolls the entire structure to expose the telescopes to the sky
An inner stem wall structure provides protection from ground-level wind
The structure is engineered to withstand snow and wind loads associated with local conditions
All equipment is insured. Each member hosting equipment is also required to carry insurance. Premiums vary but should be less than $300/year. We can refer you to an insurance broker to assess your insurance needs if you need help.
Each of the 9 isolated imaging locations are on 7×7 foot squares with custom built, 0.25” thick-walled, cold-rolled steel piers available. The piers have a flat top surface with universal tapped holes to fit Software Bisque and A-P mounts. Other mount brands can be accommodated as well.
Instrumentation
M1OASYS Observatory automation and control
Interactive Astronomy’s SkyAlert Cloud Sensor
Hydreon Optical Rain Sensor
Hunter Rain-Clik (tertiary rain sensing)
Interactive Astronomy’s SkyEye All Sky Camera
Unihedron Sky Quality Meter
Axis and Bosch Surveillance Cameras
Clear Sky Chart
Business-class DSL 20/20 with dual WAN failover (fiber upgrade by December 2015)
Cisco Meraki Cloud Managed network infrastructure
M1OASYS
Midnight on the OASYS......
The m1 OASYS - Observatory Automation System.
The m1 OASYS system is an Observatory Automation/Security System. This very flexible and robust system is a must-have tool for anyone wishing to secure, monitor, and remotely control their telescope observatory. The newest addition to the m1 OASYS platform is control from an iPhone and/or iPad! See pics below for this very exciting addition the an already robust rich set of tools.
The m1 OASYS is a do-it-yourself (DIY) package. The hardware architecture for this system is based on the ELK m1 Gold Platform, an industry leading home automation system. This core architecture, along with the addition of key hardware and software components makes the m1 OASYS much more then a roof motor relay system, it is a complete automation system capable of doing some amazing tasks.
To further extend control, m1OASYS has teamed up with CCDWare to bring you a whole new set of integration capabilities, including the ability to remotely START, PAUSE, RESTART, SHUTDOWN, or ABORT a CCDAP imaging session from the m1OASYS system...again the Executable Knolwedge is in the control of your hands!
The core functions of the m1OASYS system are to;
1) Secure your Observatory - The m1OASYS is a state of the art security system. The system can be monitored by a remote security service for additional peace of mind. The system can support a wide range of devices including smoke alarms, motion detectors, window and door sensors. Sensors are also used to determine scope and roof position - click here to learn more
2) Monitor your Observatory - The m1OASYS contains a built-in phone and internet server that allows for remote monitoring of all the systems in your observatory. The m1OASYS will automatically keep you informed as to the status of your observatory systems and the weather conditions at your observatory site. - click here to learn more
3) Control your Observatory - The m1OASYS true power is a an automation control system. You can control the roof open and close functions, turn on/off cameras/mounts/computers, control ventilation fans, heating and cooling systems...the list is endless. Virtually any system connected to the m1OASYS can be automated. Included with the m1OASYS system is a powerful Rules Engine that gives you the ability to write your on automation rules, it is simple and requires no programming experience. Of course all these systems can be controlled remotely via phone or internet- click here to learn more
4) Integrate your Observatory - The m1OASYS system includes an ASCOM driver that will integrate your observatory functions and automation rules, with popular image automation programs such as CCDAutopilot, ACP or CCD Commander. Included in our upcoming release of this driver is the ability to monitor, control and automate functions in your observatory based on weather conditions (support for a variety of weather stations as well as Boltwood I and II) and observatory conditions (such as AC Power Loss or Internet Failure) . - click here to learn more
Image Gallery
Interested? Contact Deep Sky West here >>> Deep Sky West