M106 & NGC 3675

 03/02/2025 -- After setting up and testing the new rotary table on the Meade standard field tripod and performing a polar alignment, tested exposures for broadband imaging using the UV/IR cut filter. This includes the Meade LX10 SCT, the Starizona SCT corrector III and the zero shift micro-focuser... all using the Svbony Sv405cc with gain of 228 and offset 24. Noted several large annoying dark donuts from spots on the mirror (or corrector...or focal plane?) in the 60s test light frame (even after cleaning the outside of the corrector plate with an optical wipe.  After testing the 60s exposure with these settings on M106, set up the scheduler to run through 03:00 and then switch to M51 (which should be in view by then).

Skies are quite good with no moon, no clouds. The Indi Allsky backyard camera shows a pseudo-sky quality metric of ~5600 at 22:22...which is fairly good (with ~4000 being exceptionally clear).

Meteoblue seeing forecast captured at 22:20 on 03/02/2025 showing very good skies for dark targets (though poor seeing as usual ...limited to ~2").

Seeing forecast for 03/02/2025 captured from cleardarkskies at around 22:20 on 03/02. This shows similar forecasted skies & seeing.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo-sky quality metric and star count for 03/02/2025 captured around 22:20 showing a metric of ~5600.

The M106 scheduler started without problems with the autofocus routine converging in 4 iterations and the guider calibrating without error. Initial guide errors followed the earlier trend at ~1.2" RMS with the internal guider (in fact, of all of Kstars/Indi/Ekos) running on the Odroid C4 via RDC virtual desktop. 200x60s light frames were collected from M106.  Sadly, M51 collection was started by the scheduler but the plate solving failed repeatedly and no light frames were collected.

60s x 1 light frame from 03/02/2025 using gain 228 and offset 24 during the M106 scheduler run with guiding and following autofocus.

03/03/2025 - Good skies predicted until ~01:00 (according to meteoblue... may stay clear according to cleardarkskies) and so started the scheduler on NGC 3675 until M106 comes up.  Mount was no moved from yesterday.  No polar realignment was undertaken...but guide errors remained <~1". Indi Allsky backyard camera showed a very consistent pseudo sky quality metric of ~6500 (not great).  With the weather station beside the mount showing a temperature of 34F at 22:00, kept the chiller on the SV405cc engaged to keep the temperature below -4.5C to stay in family with yesterday's light frames (which varied from -4.5 to -5.1C). 

Seeing forecast from cleardarkskies for Montgomery County suggesting clouds may stay away until 04:00 (European model).

Seeing forecast for 03/03-04 2025 from meteoblue suggesting clouds roll in at 01:00. 

03/04/2025 - Not a great night for observations. Moon is up ... clouds expected near mid-night with rain tomorrow. Started a collection on M81/Cigar Galaxy to see how many light frames could be collected before clouds roll in. Set the chiller to -4.5C...and it had to work hard given ambient temperature at ~50F. Indi Allsky backyard camera showed a consistent pseudo sky quality metric of ~6900 (definitely not great) starting from 19:00. Meteoblue seeing prediction (in particular) showed high level clouds.  So pretty marginal for (broadband) imaging.

Seeing prediction for 03/04/2025 from cleardarkskies. Downloaded at ~21:15. Provides some hope wrt cloud cover...but seeing is bad.

meteoblue seeing forecast for 03/04/2025 with a grim indication of high level clouds already at 21:00 and projected to worsen with significant low and mid-level clouds at 23:00.