NGC 6960 / NGC 6992 / NGC 1499 / M 33

08/30/2025 - No clouds...some moon early.  Set up the Ekos scheduler for NGC 6960 with dual narrow band filter in place with M 33 scheduled for near the end of the evening (0400) when there's no moon (using the UV / IR filter only). Utilizing the venerable Meade LX10 SCT with the Starizona SCT Corrector III, Svbony SV405cc cooled camera, the Xagyl 1.25" 8-slot filter wheel, the Meade zero-shift focuser on the Celestron CGEM DX mount.  Guiding through the 5x90 RACI guide scope using the Zwo ASI120MC-S camera with built-in ST-4 guide port cable running to the mount .  Double checked polar alignment and tested the internal guider in Ekos and set Ekos up to to use this instead of phd2 (which has a habit of dropping the Indi guide camera...thus ending the imaging session prematurely).

In the morning noted 100x NGC 6960 light frames had been collected. Only a few M 33 frames were collected until Ekos shut down the system due to the end of astronomic night time.  

Examined guide errors using phdlogview and these showed an odd pattern with the initial guiding session showing good polar alignment error (0.5') but all subsequent guiding sessions showed an alignment error of 7'+.  This was reflected in the DEC errors (all sitting above the zero line). Total RMS errors were reasonable at ~1.5".

Ekos Analyze tab for 08/30-31/2025 illustrating the improving sky (median values) overnight, the loss in guiding when NGC 6960 went behind trees and the eventual start of the M33 job at 04:30.

Indi Allsky background camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count for the evening of 08/30-31/2025 showing exceptionally good skies with levels consistent at around 4000.

08/31/2025 -- Some clouds with clearing expected after midnight.  Performed a polar drift alignment (minor corrections) using PHD2 then set up the scheduler for NGC 6960 using dual narrow band filter followed by M33 using the UV/IR filter.  

Ekos Analyze tab for 08/31-9/1/2025 for NGC 6960 and some M33 collection.

09/01/2025 -- Intermittent clouds (and moonlight) expected until midnight when skies clear and the moon sets.  The scheduler started automatically...collected several NGC 6960 light frames (with chiller on)... but noted weirdness with guiding (star trailing) with the internal guider reporting ridiculously low RMS errors.  Parked and restarted Kstars/Ekos. Discarded the current calibration data in the internal guider module.

Seeing forecast for 09/01-02/2025 showing intermittent clouds (and moonlight) through midnight.

Indi Ekos Analyze tab for 09/01-02/2025 illustrating successful NGC 6960 colleciton, but (again) a failure to collect M33 in the early hours.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count for 09/01-02/2025 with a remarkably low sky quality metric of ~3500.

Ultimately, 61x120s dual narrow band light frames from NGC 6960 were collected through 02:28. Noted that the guiding camera was detached from the RACI guide scope the next day...which may have occurred overnight...leading to the failed collection.

A key problem encountered in setting up and executing the scheduler was the fact that the focus module insisted in using the dual narrow band filter...which required exposure times (unguided) of 30 seconds...leading to numerous examples of wind, etc. with poor star shapes impacting focusing. Restarted kstars and reconfigured the scheduler... but continued to see this problem even after reconfiguring the focus tab to use the UV/IR filter for focusing operations. Despite this problem, the focuser did find a usable focus point that appeared optimal when viewing subsequent light frames.

In examining the Indi Allsky backyard camera results during the collection, noted an unusually good value for the pseudo sky quality metric (3490).

09/02/2025 - No clouds... moon sets early.  Reconfiguring the Ekos scheduler to re-try NGC 6960 and M33 combination.  Fixed the guide camera (and the filter wheel usb cable) which were found detached. Unclear if this occurred overnight or during the day(?).  Used phd2 to double-check the polar alignment and found it to remain excellent (-0.56' after many minutes of drift). 

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 09/02-03/2025 suggesting excellent skies once the moon sets at 01:42.

Tested the focus module and ran through a capture & analysis of one frame with UV/IR and dual-band filters in place. Finalized with a UV/IR capture / analysis of one frame.  This seemed to work as expected with the 5 second exposure (UV/IR) and 30 second exposure (dual-band) saved and reloaded automatically.  But when the scheduler was configured for NGC 6960 followed by M33, when the focus module was executed by the scheduler it revered to dual-band filter. 

Ekos focuser screen shot from a second iteration of the focus routine using the dual narrow band (Ha/OIII) filter instead of the broadband UV/IR filter that's desired. This second iteration finished after only 3 light frames with a reported HFR of 2.03 (FWHM)".

Overnight 60x120s dual narrow band light frames were collected from NGC 6960 and 33 from M33. Fortunately the scheduler worked successfully and the NGC 6960 job finished at 02:05 and M33 ran until twilight at 04:34.  Guiding dropped out (why?) for light frames 21-40, unfortunately.  It resumed successfully for all following frames. However, the total RMS guide error overnight started poor for NGC 6960 with numerous light frames aborted in the first instance of the scheduler running (14 failed/aborted light frames). The second instance had no guiding but the third instance of the NGC 6960 job run from the scheduler showed similar failed collections due to guiding errors exceeding the 2" limit (9 failed out of 29 light frame collection attempts). For the second job in the scheduler (M33), an even larger percentage of light frames were aborted.  For the M33 job, the guider dropped out for light frames 24-32.  

Guider drop-outs may stem from failed calibration... this needs investigation & testing. Guiding during 09/01-02 was improved relative to these results and fewer aborted light frame collections occurred. 

Ekos Analyze tab for 09/02-03/2025 illustrating guiding challenges with frequent light frames aborted. Guider drop outs are visible for both NGC 6960 and M33 jobs at some instances. A significant difference in media light frame value is apparent between NGC 6960 and M33 light frames. HFR values fluctuate significantly for NGC 6960 when the guider dropped out. 

Indi Allsky backyard sky camera showed consistently good skies (no large cloud banks) but the sky quality did not reach the same outstanding level as 09/01...with a value of around 4300 (more typical of DC skies).  The weewx weather station ran overnight and showed no wind and separation overnight between the dew point and the air temperature.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count for 09/02-03/2025 with values dipping to ~4300 overnight after the moon set at 01:37.

Weewx weather station hyper-local weather for 09/02-03/2025 showing outside air temperature and dew point.

Weewx weather station wind results showing a calm night.

09/03/2025 - Big moon, no clouds.  Indi Allsky backyard sky camera (in moon mode) sits at at pseudo sky quality metric of ~17,700 (where 15,000 would suggest reasonable skies in moon mode).  Setting up NGC 6960 and M33 for additional collection under similar conditions. Adjusted polar alignment using PHD2 drift alignment (noted inital 2.5' polar alignment error). Immediately over-corrected by a factor of 2x... and re-adjusted. Brought the error down to ~-1.3.

Ekos Analyze tab for 09/03-04/2025 illustrating slightly better guiding compared to 09/2-3 with fewer aborted collections (through 03:00...at which point trees likely impacted collection).

Indi Allsky backyard sky camera results for 09/03-04/2025 including pseudo sky quality metric and star count. Illustrates few clouds overnight. After the moon set around 02:44, sky quality metrics hovered around 4500, which is good but not great.

Weewx outdoor weather station showed some mild wind gusts over night.

Ultimately 45x120 light frames were collected over NGC 6960 through ~03:00.  The scheduler continued to attempt collection despite configuration ending this job at 02:35.  M33 was launched, but not until 03:59. 16x100 light frames for M33 were collected ... but guiding dropped out after frame 3 and elongated stars were noted.

09/11/2025 - After a spell of cloudy days, uncovered the mount and OTA and prepped for some collection...although there's few clouds predicted, the moon remains at 72% once it rises at 22:05. Started with a polar drift alignment.  Indi Allsky backyard camera shows relatively poor sky quality at 21:30 at ~6300.  Guiding was problematic with low SNR (poor skies, few stars, all weak). Boosted Zwo ASI120MC-S gain to 70, set exposure up to 3 seconds...at which point calibration with the internal guider was successful. However, guide errors were excessive (4.79").  Switched to the external (phd2) guider (also running on the Odroid C4).  This saw immediate improvements with guide errors below 1".  Set up the scheduler to craft a 3x1 mosaic of NGC 6992 with 20x120s light frames using the dual narrow band filter, gain of 285 and offset 24 with the chiller at 5C.

Seeing forecast from meteoblue showing large moon (82%) up most of the night but only few clouds.

Seeing forecast from cleardarksky suggesting reasonable conditions except for seeing.

During capture (at 24:43) discovered the collection process hung during alignment waiting for a dialog involving the StellarSolver option for Automatic and Manual Rotator Control following the meridian flip.  This may have caused other prior sessions to get stuck. Unchecked this option (since I'm unworried about maintaining the exact same rotation) and the alignment process completed and the scheduler moved on to guiding.

By morning, 78x120s light frames were collected for part 5 of the mosaic.

Ekos Analyze tab showing alignment, collection, guiding, HFR and sky conditions for 09/11-12/2025. The large gap was due to the rotation dialog from Stellarsolve in the Align tab.

Indi Allsky backyard camera exposure for 09/11-12/2025 illustrating the moon rise which came through the field of view of this camera. Oddly, no clear impact was seen in the main OTA median sky value results.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality and star count results for 09/11-12/2025 illustrating the moon rise.

09/12/2025 - No clouds, diminishing (but still huge..61%) moon.  The Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric fell down to ~6000 at 22:11 when it switched to moon mode. Set up the scheduler to take parts 4-1 for the NGC 6992 mosaic.  Storing these in the 20250911 folder since the scheduler is using the same sequence file.

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 09/12-13/2025 suggesting few clouds...lots of moon.

Seeing forecast from cleardarksky for 09/12-13/2025 with similar predictions...and suggesting unusually good seeing.

09/18/2025 - No moon, no clouds... great opportunity for high quality captures from the telescope this evening. Rains the previous day should have cleared out aerosols.  And only one night...since clouds expected again starting tomorrow for another week.  Initial phd2 polar drift alignment showed a 20' initial error.  After two adjustments, brought this down to -0.67'.  Worked the focus tab manually to verify operation and brought the OTA into focus on the broadband UV/IR filter. Launched the scheduler with Parts 1-3 at 22:00.  The Indi Allsky backyard camera showed a peudo sky quality metric of ~7140 and dropping slowly (not great).   The external PHD2 guider was configured and ran without an initial calibration. Early guide errors looked reasonable with total RMS at 1.23" after several minutes of guiding.

Seeing forecast for meteoblue for 09/18-19/2025 with an outstanding prediction for clear skies and no moon and good seeing.

Seeing forecast for 09/18-19/2025 from cleardarksky showing no moon, no clouds and good seeing expected overnight. 

Ultimately, the external guider crashed and did not restart...leading to an end to guided collection with light frame #36 at 00:12.  More light frames were captured, but phd2 was not running and these were deleted.  Oddly, after light frame #56 at 00:55, the capture process repeatedly failed (unknown why) but ultimately the scheduler aborted repeatedly and shutdown the cooler and parked the mount with successful shutdown at 03:14.

NGC 6992 Part 3 from 09/18/2025 AstroPixelProcessor analytical results per light frame plot after removing a couple bad light frames.

09/19/2025 - Saw the BSO. Reconfigured to use the internal guider (given drop-outs & crashes with phd2). Left the scheduler running and the NGC 6992 mosaic (part 3) ran automatically...starting around 21:00. Clouds rolled in at various points (20:26-20:43, 21:05 - 21:21,22:46-23:20).  With a break in the clouds at 23:26, re-started the scheduler with Part 2 of the mosaic in hopes of grabbing a few frames to test out the mosaic.  The Indi Allsky camera provides guidance on when to peak between clouds... during times without clouds, the pseudo sky quality metric is ~6500 at 23:36. Sadly, no luck.

Processing these light frames using calibration frames collected on 2025-08-30 showed very faint returns from the nebula from 24x120s (2880s, 48 minutes) of collection suggesting poor skies overall with strong sky background.  Additionally, these results also suggest that focusing with the dual narrow band filter remains a problem in Ekos where it insists on focusing with that filter...even though focusing with the UV/IR filter would be much faster and likely better (assuming they're par-focal).

NGC 6992 Part 3 from 09/19/2025 AstroPixelProcessor analytical results per light frame plot after removing bad light frames from intermittent clouds and a couple light frames with non-round stars from guiding issues.

24x120s light frames from NGC 6992 Part-3 mosaic from 09/19/2025 integrated with Ha/OIII color deBayering in AstroPixelProcessor. 

Better results were obtained in AstroPixelProcessor after combing 09/18 and 09/19 light frames totaling 56x120s (6720s, 112 minutes).

NGC 6992 Part 3 from 09/18 and 09/19/2025 AstroPixelProcessor analytical results per light frame plot.

56x120s light frames from NGC 6992 Part-3 mosaic from 09/18 and 09/19/2025 integrated with Ha/OIII color deBayering in AstroPixelProcessor. 

10/01/25 -- Government furlough day 1:  Temperatures falling overnight to the high fourties. Brrr.  Big moon, no clouds... Indi Allsky backyard camera (in moon mode) showed a pseudo sky quality metric of ~12,500 at 23:00 ... which is low for moon mode and bodes well for clear skies.  Set up part 1 of the NGC 6992 mosaic in the scheduler.  Adjusted the sequence files for each part of the mosaic to do an initial 2x60s light frames with the UV/IR cut filter before capturing 20x120s light frames with the dual narrow band filter ... hoping that this may solve the focus module problem where it insists on focusing on the narrowband filter (ignoring configuration to use the narrowband filter).  Performed an initial polar drift alignment with three adjustments to get below 1'.  Using the internal guider... which had sporadic problems but converged over time to a guide error down to 1.15" RMS.

Seeing forecast for 10/1-2/2025 from meteoblue showing the moon at 65% but no expectations for clouds overnight.

Seeing forecast for 10/1-2/2025 from cleardarkskies with a similarly favorable forecast.

Ultimately, 60x120s dual narrow-band (Ha/OIII) light frames were collected for Part 1 of the NGC 6992 mosaic. At ~02:00, the scheduler was set up to collect broadband (UV/IR filter) light frames of M 33.  Unfortunately, Kstars/Indi/Ekos crashed after repeatedly attempting to perform a meridian flip and only 18x60s light frames were collected.  The mount was manually parked after 10am.  :<

Conditions overnight were excellent with only an occasional high level cloud as illustrated by the Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo quality metric. The weewx weather station showed no wind.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric (before and after the moon set) and the star count for 10/01-02/2025.

Weewx backyard weather station wind/wind gust as well as temperature/dew point

 and humidity metrics for 10/01-02/2025.
  

 10/02/2025 - Even bigger moon, plus some clouds.  Attempting to capture a few usable light frames for the only piece of the NGC 6992 mosaic not yet collected (Part 2) to test AstroPixelProcessor mosaic and see how the overall set of frames look so far.  While the prediction looks grim and the Indi Allsky backyard camera shows a relatively poor pseudo sky quality metric of ~16900 at 21:28 (with the moon up high), when looking at light frames captured through the UV/IR filter (during focusing, plate solving and the initial 60s light frame), the skies looked very usable.  Set up the scheduler to run 20x120x3 with 2x60s broadband (to fake out the focus module).  Did not check polar alignment...but did notice that the 

Seeing prediction from meteoblue for 10/02-03/2025 with grim cloud levels and a large moon that does not set until nearly 03:00.

Seeing prediction from cleardarksky with a more mixed set of cloud predictions (with the European model looking clear early but heavy clouds at 03:00) and relatively poor transparency.

1x120s dual narrow band (Ha/OIII) light frame of NGC 6992 mosaic (Part 2) from 21:36 grabbed as a screenshot from Kstars/Ekos setup tab showing clear nebula features despite the poor prognosis for skies and poor pseudo sky quality metric values (~16,900).

When the house interrupted collection around 01:10, set up the scheduler for a new NGC 1499 mosaic and launched collection. Sky conditions definitely worsened at 00:34 when high level clouds started to push through the FOV.  Noted that the box outlining NGC 1499 in KStars is definitely mis-aligned... and so the mosaic is likely in the wrong spot...and will need re-created.  

Ultimately, 52x120s light frames from NGC 6992 Part 2 were collected and then 33x120s light frames for Part 10 of this (misplaced) NGC 1499 mosaic were collected through 04:44 in the morning.  The scheduler shut down the camera cooler and parked the mount successfully.  The meridian flip occurred without incident at 01:25.  

Interestingly, the European model in cleardarksky appeared to be the only forecast that matched results, although the cloud cover it predicted started and ended at different times. Meteoblue's forecast was useless in this case and would have motivated no collection given the amount of low, mid and high level clouds it predicted.

KStars / Ekos Analysis tab for 10/02-03/2025 for two jobs from two mosaics (NGC 6992 Part 2 and NGC 1499 Part 10). A cloud bank moved through from roughly 00:25 through 02:37. Following 03:00, the moon set and the sky background values fell dramatically. Interestingly, this tracks well with the Indi Allsky Background camera pseudo sky quality metrics. The guide error threshold of 2" RMS does lead to many aborted light frame collections overnight (especially for the second job).

Indi Allsky Backyard camera pseudo sky quality metrics and star count for 10/02-03/2025 spanning the collection time frame from 22:20 through 04:46. Shows the large cloud band moving through starting at 00:36 through ~02:30. The moon mode changing after setting can be seen at ~02:42.

Weewx outdoor weather station temperature/dew point, humidity and wind/wind gust data for 10/02-03/2025 showing no wind. Also illustrates that the dew point was not reached overnight (meaning less dew?).

Initial processing of all NGC 6992 mosaic 120s light frames from the dual narrow band filter showed good registration and a reasonable initial mosaic. However, Ha and OIII extraction are needed... and noted serious focusing problems with the dual narrow band light frames.  The hope of using the UV/IR cut filter as a focusing solution via the filter wheel does not seem to hold true...or else the focus module routine is not working consistently well.  Some mosaic Parts (1,4) appear far better than the others...which show bloated stars.  Within AstroPixelProcessor (2.0.0 beta 38) selected "Ha-OIII extract HA" in the algorithm drop-down in the 0) RAW/FITS tab and then "Ha-OIII extract OIII". Used the RGB Combine tool with the HOO algorithm to set the levels for R, G and B channels to create the image. Then cropped and applied light pollution correction...saved to NGC_6992-HOO_1-crop-lpc-cbg.fits. Adjusted levels and saved to 16-bit PNG. Google photos 'Pop' adjustment brought out additional contrast.

Initial NGC 6992 mosaic (35520 seconds, 9.8 hours of integration) from 2025-09-11 (69x120s, part 5), 2025-09-12 (74x120s, part 4), 2025-09-18 (33x120s) and  2025-09-19 (24x120s, part 3), 2025-10-01 (53x120s, part 1) and 2025-10-02 (43x120s, part 2).  

 

10/03/2025 - New KStars/Ekos/Indi version downloaded on the Odroid C4 from ppa.launchpadcontent.net/mutlaqja repository.  Even larger moon...no clouds.  Preformed a polar drift alignment...initial error was 14'.  Initial collection of light frames went well, but once again...after the meridian flip...significant problems with guiding were experienced. No clouds...no other issues...but repeated failures to capture with guide errors under 2" RMS.  Switched to the external (PHD2) guider... and results were immediately better...although stars were noticeably out of round with higher errors in DEC.  The external guider functioned successfully until after 04:30 when it dropped connection to the camera and several light frames were collected unguided.

Ultimately, 40x120s light frames for NGC 6992 Part 5 were collected and 22x120s additional light frames were collected for Part 3 of the mosaic.  For the mosaic in-work for NGC 1499 (North American nebula), 35x120s light frames were collected.

Ekos Analysis tab for collection during 10/03-04/2025 for NGC 6992 parts 5 and 3 and the new mosaic for NGC 1499. Shows a large 30 minute drop-out post meridian flip due to guide errors. Guiding switched to PHD2 from the internal guider at that point.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metrics and star counts for 10/03-04/2025 showing relative good skies (except for the giant moon up nearly all night).

Weewx outdoor weather station temperature/dew point, humidity and wind/wind gust data showing no disturbances from wind overnight.

10/04/2025 - Clear skies, but the moon is at 96%.  Indi Allsky backyard camera shows a pseudo sky quality metric of 16763 at 21:12 (not great).  In any event, set up to re-balance the NGC 6992 mosaic for part 1 (53x120s), part 2 (43x120s) and part 3 (57x120s) compared to parts 4 (74x120s) and 5 (69x120s) with some additional collection. Double-checked polar alignment (0.75') and started the scheduler for parts 1-3.

Thanks to google, noted that the Ekos job scheduler parameters (like completion conditions) can be edited by double clicking on the job...which changes the + sign to a check mark (to save the change). 

Set each of these mosaic jobs to run twice (~1 hour 25 minutes for 40x120s light frames, according to the scheduler). Having started at 20:57 (basically 21:00), all six jobs would nominally be done around 01:30, but it's likely there's not enough sky (house gets in the way) so part 3 will be short.

Seeing forecast for 10/04-05/2025 from metoblue showing clear skies and giant moon.

Seeing forecast from cleardarksky agrees (to include the European model). In both forecasts, seeing is predicted to be surprisingly good (which may result in better guiding with lower guide errors?)

Ekos Analyze tab from 10/04-05/2025 for jobs including NGC 6992 mosaic Part 1 (40x120s light frames), NGC 6992 Part 2 (20x120s light frames), NGC 1499 mosaic Part 8 (40x120s light frames) and NGC 1499 Part 7 (38x120s light frames..but guiding was functioning only to 23).

10/05/2025 -- Processed M 33 (Triangulum galaxy) using AstroPixelProcessor 2.0.0 beta 38. Initially found terrible results... but then recomputed using the correct UV/IR cut filter flat and flat dark calibration frames computed from collection on 08/30/2025.

M33 (Triangulum galaxy) captured with Meade LX10 EMC with Meade zero-shift micro-focuser and a Starizona Corrector III 0.63 focal reducer (1250mm @ F6.3) with UV/IR cut filter.  Collection spanning five nights on 2025-08-30 (5x100s), 2025-08-31 (3x100s), 2025-09-02 (24x100s),  2025-09-03 (3x100s), 2025-10-01 (19x60s) on a Celestron CGM DX. Total integration of 4640 seconds (1 hour, 17 minutes) on Svbony SV405CC at gain 285, offset 24 

10/14/2025 - No clouds...moon comes up after 01:00 waning at ~30%.  

As a test to prep for a future remote setup, using the external battery+inverter to power the entire set via AC (~14-15W at 120v == 0.16A reported on the display). Using the the older Celestron PowerTank (sealed lead acid batter) as additional 12v cigarette lighter input (provides 1.2W at 12v==.1A).  

Set up M33 (try and improve the SNR) to run three times with 20x100s light frames with UV/IR filter and a new mosaic attempt for NGC 1499 using the Ha/OIII narrow dual band filter (since the moon will be rising starting around 01:30).  Ran phd2 drift alignment and achieved <0.5' polar alignment error after a couple adjustments.  Manually stepped through the focus module to double check its operation & usable focus results... then launched the scheduler with M33 then the NGC 1499 mosaic panels. The external PHD2 guider was configured rather than the internal guider.

The indi allsky backyard camera showed a remarkable (near record low) pseudo sky quality metric of 3440 at 23:52...remarkable skies.  Weewx outdoor weather station showed no wind and temps of 54F.  At this high level of sky quality, a single 100s light frame showed a descent image of the Triangulum galaxy.  Guide errors frequently  at or below ~1" RMS.

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 10/14-15/2025 showing few clouds expected through 5 am with the moon rising at 01:15 at 32% (waning).

Ultimately, the combination of the Celestron PowerTank + the battery pack with the inverter powered the system through 03:12.  Oddly the battery pack+inverter display showed ample remaining battery in the AM, which proved incorrect. The battery was completely drained.  The PowerTank would no longer provide 12v power and was likely also drained completely.  The OTA was not crashed...it was pointed near zenith (and heavily dewed).  

Interestingly, the Indi Allsky backyard camera suggests light clouds started to roll in just after the system shutdown (suggesting not much was lost in this battery endurance experiment).  Almost no wind was noted by the Weewx backyard weather station.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count for 10/14-15/2025 showing near record breaking sky quality before the moon rose at 01:15 and continuing good skies until just after 03:00.

Weewx outdoor weather station temperature/dew point, humidity and wind speed/gust speed measurements for 10/14-15/2025 illustrating a couple mild (1mpg) events but generally no wind overnight.

For the M33 job in the scheduler, 60x100s light frames were collected.  For NGC 1499, 16x120s light frames from part 15 of the new mosaic were collected before the system shutdown for the night when battery power was exhausted.

Ekos Analyse tab from collection occurring on 10/14-15/2025 showing guiding RMS errors and sky background during the the M33 and NGC 1499 Part 15 jobs. 

10/15/2025 -- no clouds, later & smaller moon.  Repeating the same schedule from 10/14, except that the moon isn't set to rise until after 02:20.  No battery test this time.  Running from shore power. Double checked polar alignment with phd2 drift alignment (below 1') and set up the scheduler (after replacing the Ethernet patch cable and restarting everything from scratch after experiencing unusable wifi connection to the Odroid).  Noted repeated issues with guiding (using PHD2 external guider) and stop to do a re-calibration.   At 22:00, the Indi Allsky backyard camera shows less spectacular skies than last evening with a pseudo sky quality metric of ~4450 (average). 

Seeing forecast for 10/15-16/2025 from meteoblue showing no significant clouds predicted but poor seeing expected overnight.

In examining results from the collection in the morning, the scheduler completed both the M33 and NGC 1499-Part_14 job (repeating each 3x) resulting in 60x100s light frames for M33 and 60x120s light frames for NGC 1499 Part 14. Guiding dropped out for the final two NGC 1499 light frames leading to elongated stars (these two were deleted before downloading to the server). 

Ekos Analyse tab from collection occurring between 10/15-16/2025 for M33 and NGC 1499 part 14 jobs. Includes RMS error in red only during collection.

10/16/2025 - no clouds, even later & smaller moon.  Repeating the same M33/NGC 1499 schedule except that the moon rises even later (03:28) and at only 15%.  Outstanding conditions.  Low temperature expected to hit 40F overnight (with the Svbony SV405CC chiller set to 5C == 41F).  The Indi Allsky backyard camera showed an initial pseudo sky quality metric of ~4529 at 22:00 (about average quality).  Double checked polar alignment and made a small (over) correction with the result just over 1.7' RMS in PHD2.  

Using PHD2 as an external guider, guide errors for the initial 100s light frame were ~1.56" RMS.  Noted oscillations in the PHD2 guide errors with elongation in the first couple light frames for M33.  And the guider did not start initially for the first couple light frames.  First usable light frame likely at 21:53

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 10/16-17/2025 with no clouds and no moon until after 03:28.

10/17/2025 - Processing M33 light frames to date -- spotted a big problem.  Collection from 10/16/2025 overwrote the light frames from 10/15/2025 on the Odroid...and these were unfortunately copied over the light frames on the main processing server...also from 10/15/2025.  However, all M33 light frames collected up to and including 10/15/2025 were already stacked (and poor quality light frames already removed) before this goof occurred.  Subsequent M33 collection will need to be stacked into its own result...and then merged with this existing FITS result (which sits in the folder ~/Astro/20251016_APP_Working in the file M_33-6_7_session_1_session_2_session_3_session_4_session_5-1.fits.

AstroPixelProcessor Analytic Results plot from all light frames spanning 08/30, 08/31, 09/02, 09/03, 10/01, 10/14, 10/15/2025 for a total of 15,015s of exposure.

AstroPixelProcessor stack of all light frames spanning 08/30, 08/31, 09/02, 09/03, 10/01, 10/14, 10/15/2025 for a total of 15,015s of exposure. Includes light pollution removal, cropping and contrast adjustment.

10/17/2025 - No moon, possible clouds.  Started the scheduler for M33 and NGC 1499 Part-12 hoping to get some usable light frames captured before high level clouds set in.  Got a late start after looking into recovering light frames from M33 captured on 10/15/2025...but because they were overwritten (not deleted), normal file recovery tools are not helpful...it's likely the files were truly overwritten (especially given the limited 64GB micro SD drive they're stored on using the Odroid C2).  Double-checked polar alignment, tested focusing and started M33 collection near 23:00.

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 10/17-18/2025 showing no moon until after 04:30 but the potential for high, mid and low level clouds overnight.

Seeing forecast from cleardarksky showing discrepancy between North American and European models wrt expected cloud cover.

In the morning, Ekos Analysis tab showed all three M33 jobs in the scheduler completed successfully as well as NGC 1499 mosaic Part 12.  Part 11 was started but collection ended after 22x120s light frames were captured by 05:18.  During an extended set of meridian flip attempts between 03:50 and 04:25, several NGC 1499 Part 12 light frames (048-060) were captured without guiding enabled from PHD2 (why?). However, when Part 11 job started, guiding resumed.

Ekos Analysis tab for light frame collection for M33, NGC 1499 parts 12 and 11 over 10/17-18/2025 showing low guide errors (<1" RMS during collection), median background (sky) intensity falling over night, and those light frames with and without PHD2 guiding present.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count overnight for 10/17-18/2025 showing clear skies with exceptional sky quality (as low as 3500) except for one period with clouds coming through between 03:28 and 04:15.

10/18/2025 - Processing M33 light frames from 10/16 and 10/17 (118x100s + 1x15s for 11815 seconds, total). Integrated these into M_33-session_1_session_2-1.fits under the folder 20251016_M33_APP_Working.  Statistics are stored in 140507-TableData.csv. Combined this stack with the stack generated on 10/17 (~/Astro/20251016_APP_Working in the file M_33-6_7_session_1_session_2_session_3_session_4_session_5-1.fits). Loaded each as a light frame in AstroPixelProcessor with no calibration frames and integrated (but without decimating by 0.5...since each light frame was already binned by a factor of 2).  Over 7 hours and 27 minutes of total integration.

AstroPixelProcessor stack of all light frames spanning 08/30, 08/31, 09/02, 09/03, 10/01, 10/14, 10/15,10/16, 10/17/2025 for a total of 26830s (7.45 hours) of exposure. Includes light pollution removal, cropping and contrast adjustment.

10/18/2025 - Potential for clouds...but no moon.  Double checked polar alignment (~1'), adjusted focus...and found a problem from earlier where the second set screw for the zero shift micro-focuser was night tight... and the camera/filter was shifted back. Was unable to get to focus from within Ekos...and investigated and found this issue. Fixed... but the camera orientation has likely changed from earlier (suggesting new calibration frames...and the existing mosaic outline is no longer exactly correct. After fixing... M33 started normally with NGC 1499 Part 11 scheduled to finish its missing frames. Indi allsky camera showed pseudo sky quality metric of ~3900 when collection on M33 started at 23:40

Seeing forecast for meteoblue (from around 23:00 on 10/18) for this evening showing some grim prospects for clouds after midnight.

Seeing forecast from cleardark sky did not share this grim outlook...no clouds predicted in either model.

Ultimately overnight, the M33 job in the scheduler completed 2 of the 3 20x100s collection tasks (with 37 successfully guided) before the scheduler was manually update to move to finishing NGC 1499 mosaic part 11 (where again, the PHD2 guider dropped out for the last few light frames (057, 059, 060...oddly 058 was fine although the Analysis tab in Ekos showed no guiding for that frame).  

Ekos Analysis tab for the M33 task run from the scheduler during 10/18-19/2025 showing guiding drop-out during the last several frames. But otherwise low guiding errors ...typically under 1" RMS. Median background levels (the "median" metric) varied across the collection...rising and falling during the session with a peak near 00:35. This variability was also reflect in the Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metrics which showed some cloud activity from just after midnight through 01:30. However, the median values are suppressed during dual narrowband collection for NGC 1499 and do not track with the backyard camera results (which showed two briefer periods of clouds near 02:30).

Ekos Analysis tab for the NGC 1499 Part 11 job showing similar behavior where PHD2 drops the Indi camera and stops guiding for the last couple frames.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality and star count metrics during collection on 10/18-19/2025 which tracked reasonably well with the seeing forecast from meteoblue which predicted some clouds (high, medium and low level).

Initially copied M33 light frame to the main server under 20251018 folder but copied the new NGC 1499 mosaic part 11 light frames to 20251017 in the NGC1499-Part_11 folder to sit with the other light frames from that panel.  But then recalled that these (too) will need to be calibrated with a new set of flat and dark flat frames because the camera moved in the OTA.  In fact, all collection from here on will need to be processed with a new set of calibration frames.

10/19/2025 -- Collected calibration frames during the day.  Used the LCD panel (covered with a cushion to limit extra light) with the neutral density filter to collect flat frames from the UV/IR cut filter (8 seconds with gains at 285 and 200) and the dual narrow band (Ha/OIII) filter (25 seconds, gain at 285) along with dark flat frames with the Svbony SV405cc set to 5C. With rain pending in the evening, fully covered the OTA and mount with all three layers (large trash bag, OTA cover, full telescope rain cover) for the dark flat collection.

10/20/25 - Clear skies, no moon.  Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric of ~4200 at 23:25.  

Weewx outdoor weather station reports:

        "time": "2025-10-20T23:25:00-0400",

        "generator": "weewx 5.2.0"

        "temperature": {"value": 46.73548387096777, "units": "°F"},

        "dewpoint": {"value": 40.89783453763717, "units": "°F"},

        "humidity": {"value": 80.0, "units": "%"},

        "heat index": {"value": 44.86903225806451, "units": "°F"},

        "wind speed": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind gust": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind chill": {"value": 46.73548387096777, "units": "°F"},

        "rain rate": {"value": 0.0, "units": "in/h"}

Checked polar alignment (phd2 drift alignment) and made adjustments (getting <1') following a day with no collection due to rain & strong winds. Set up the scheduler to run M33 20x100s twice...then complete NGC 1499 Part 11 and start on Part 10.

Seeing forecast for 10/20-21/2025 from metoblue showing no moon, no clouds. Does not get better than this.

Seeing forecast from clear darkskies agrees -- outstanding conditions.

Ultimately over night, 40 light frames for M33 were collected along with two remaining light frames for NGC 1499 Part 11 (to complete that panel of the mosaic) and 40 light frames for panel 10.

Ekos Analysis tab from 10/20-21/2025 for M33 (40x100s) and NGC 1499 Part 11 (2x120s) and NGC 1499 Part 10 (40x120s) with reasonable guiding errors (<1" RMS).

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count for 10/20-21/2025 showing great skies nearly all night with one brief cloud passing through.

10/22/2025 - a few clouds...but no moon.  Set up M33 and NGC 1499 mosaic in the scheduler after briefly checking that the polar alignment is not waaay off with a drift alignment in PHD2.  At 23:16, noted the Indi Allsky backyard camera showing clear skies with a pseudo sky quality metric of ~4650 (average skies).  Guide errors from PHD2 (external guider) remain <1" RMS.

 Weewx outdoor weather station shows:

        "time": "2025-10-22T23:10:00-0400",

        "generator": "weewx 5.2.0"

        "temperature": {"value": 48.57575757575758, "units": "°F"},

        "dewpoint": {"value": 40.46805550156627, "units": "°F"},

        "humidity": {"value": 73.42424242424242, "units": "%"},

        "heat index": {"value": 46.584272727272726, "units": "°F"},

        "wind speed": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind gust": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind chill": {"value": 48.57575757575758, "units": "°F"},

Seeing prediction from meteoblue for 10/22-23/2025 suggesting intermittent clouds...bad seeing for planetary objects. No moon until 09:37.

Overnight only the M33 job was able to collect any usable light frames (21x100s with UV/IR) until clouds rolled in.  Let the NGC 1499 (part 13) sit sleeping in the scheduler until 02:45 hoping clouds would eventually clear out...but this did not happen overnight and so only M33 light frames were collected (and some of these had intermittent cloud effects).

Ekos Analyze tab for M33 collection during 10/22/2025 showing persistent (external phd2) guiding and good guide errors <=1" RMS.  Guiding failed and collection was aborted for the final light frame as clouds rolled in.

 

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality and start count metrics for 10/22-23/2025 illustrating that the seeing prediction showing intermittent clouds in the 5-20% range was a bit off from the solid 100% cloud cover see all night from the sky camera in this case.

10/23/2025 - tonight, no moon, no clouds.  Set up the scheduler as normal to start with M33 and then move to NGC 1499 after double checking focus and polar alignment. Left for a concert.  The scheduler started a bit early with M33 still in the trees.  After 30 minutes, it emerged and collection began...but phd2 external guider did not start. 

Discovered that the drift alignment tool was open...preventing guiding.  Deleted these light frames and moved on to NGC 1499 after returning home.  At this point, seeing forecasts remain clear and the Indi Allsky backyard camera showed a pseudo sky quality metric of 3950 (slightly better than average) at 23:35.

Next, discovered that the Svbony SV405cc camera is at 3.6C... and the Capture sequence is set to 5C (and enforcing temperature). Updated the NGC 1499 mosaic jobs 10, 9, 8 to use 0C. This will force new calibration frames (including dark frames) to be used from here out.

Weewx outdoor weather station showed:

      "time": "2025-10-23T23:35:00-0400",

        "generator": "weewx 5.2.0"

        "temperature": {"value": 44.0, "units": "°F"},

        "dewpoint": {"value": 37.12222090004097, "units": "°F"},

        "humidity": {"value": 76.58064516129032, "units": "%"},

        "heat index": {"value": 41.69929032258067, "units": "°F"},

        "wind speed": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind gust": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind chill": {"value": 44.0, "units": "°F"},

Seeing forecast for 10/23-24/2025 from cleardarksky with outstanding conditions for astrophotography.

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 10/23-24/2025 showing excellent skies expected.

Overnight, the NGC 1499 mosaic part 10 completed (total of 60x120s light frames) and part 9 collected 33x120s light frames successfully with guiding.  Several additional light frames were captured where the PHD2 external guider had dropped out (frames numbered 35-39) which were deleted.  

The last light frame was captured at 03:36. The scheduler continued to attempt to start the final 20x120s light frames for part 9 and teh focus and align modules ran repeatedly in parallel with a meridian flip task (which ultimately succeeded), but the collection process did not proceed with guiding and capture. Logs indicate guiding failed.  PHD2 showed an error indicating the INDI camera was disconnected. 

Ekos Analysis tab showing NGC 1499 part 10 and 9 captured 10/23-24/2025 and illustrating the PHD2 guiding problem that prevented additional capture overnight.

Weewx outdoor weather measurements for 10/23-24/2025 showing no wind and low temperatures down to 40F overnight.

Indi allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count for 10/23-24/2025 showing excellent skies with one brief elevated period between 01:15 and 01:30.

10/24/2025 - Processing M33 light frames from 10/18, 10/20 and 10/22/2025 which require their own dedicated calibration frames (from 10/19). This include two sets of flats for the UV/IR filter...collected at gain of 200 and gain of 285.  In processing the M33 light frames from these three nights, noted that the flats are a bit too strong in amplitude ... and the gain of 200 is better...but still not as good for calibration as the flats originally collected on 08/31 in producing a flat calibrated background result.  Ultimately, this set of three nights can be merged with the previous sessions to produce a stronger signal to noise result. The fits file is in ~/Astro/20251020_APP_Working under the filename M33-session_1_session_2_session_3-crop.fits.

M33 integrated in AstroPixelProcessor 2.0.0-beta38 from 82x100s light frames collected on 10/18, 10/20 and 10/22/2025 and calibrated using flat and flatdark frames from 10/19/2025 with flats at gain 200. 8500 seconds total integration (2.36 hours).

AstroPixelProcessor stack of all light frames spanning 08/30, 08/31, 09/02, 09/03, 10/01, 10/14, 10/15,10/16, 10/17, 10/18, 10/20 and 10/22/2025 for a total of 35330s (9 hours and 45 minutes) of exposure. Includes light pollution removal, cropping and contrast adjustment.

Combined this result with the previous integrations for a total of 35,330s of exposure. Noted that as additional integrated stacks are combined, the stars outside the center gain a larger and larger degree of distortion (coma) not initially noted in the individual stacks. Tried a couple different types of registration (normal, mosaic, same as well as different optics options) to no avail. 

In examining this in more detail, it's possible the addition of the zero shift autofocuser and the filter wheel may have increased the backfocus too far...beyond the Starizona SCT Corrector III limits (TBD).

AstroPixelProcessor Analytical Results plot for 31x100s light frames from 10/18/2025 (furthest left), 34x100s light frames from 10/20 (middle) and  15x100s from 10/22/2025 (furthest right). 

10/24/2025 - again tonight, no moon, no clouds.  Set up the scheduler as normal to start with M33 and then move to NGC 1499 after double checking focus and polar alignment (lots of adjustments back & forth...over-correcting).  The Indi Allsky backyard camera shows a pseudo sky quality metric of 4622 (about average) at 21:41 towards the beginning of M33 collection.  Again, similar to 10/23, the temperature is low enough that the chiller is set to 0C... meaning that the calibration frames from 10/19/2025 won't work...and new dark/bias frames will be needed.

Weewx outdoor weather station reports:

        "time": "2025-10-24T21:45:00-0400",

        "generator": "weewx 5.2.0"

        "temperature": {"value": 43.77777777777777, "units": "°F"},

        "dewpoint": {"value": 36.935378882244535, "units": "°F"},

        "humidity": {"value": 76.66666666666667, "units": "%"},

        "heat index": {"value": 41.45888888888889, "units": "°F"},

        "wind speed": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind gust": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind chill": {"value": 43.77777777777777, "units": "°F"},

Seeing forecast for 10/24-25/2025 from meteoblue. Does not get much better than this.

Seeing forecast from cleardarksky looks similarly hopeful for clear, dark skies.

10/25/2025 - Solid clouds...collecting calibration frames at 0C (flats, darkflat, darks and bias frames).  Set up the LCD panel on top of the stack of neutral density filters with collection starting around 22:30 (in the dark). Brought up light frames from M33 (UV/IR filter) as well as NGC 1499 mosaic frames (dual narrow band Ha/OIII filter) and set exposure time above 8s and gains at a level to match the amplitude at center of frame.

Update at 01:30 -- clouds have lightened...after finishing calibration frames, started Scheduler with NGC 1499 mosaic tasks (starting with finishing part 8 light frames). Using the internal guider. Didn't double check polar alignment...but initial guide errors are trending to ~1" RMS.  Indi Allsky shows a pseudo sky quality metric of 4027 (a bit better than average skies) at 01:30...suggesting promise for collection over night.

The Weewx outdoor weather station reports temperatures in the 40's... and so the camera chiller is set to 0C.

        "time": "2025-10-26T01:25:00-0400",

        "generator": "weewx 5.2.0"

        "temperature": {"value": 44.554838709677426, "units": "°F"},

        "dewpoint": {"value": 39.71740454276625, "units": "°F"},

        "humidity": {"value": 83.0, "units": "%"},

        "heat index": {"value": 42.61132258064517, "units": "°F"},

        "wind speed": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind gust": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind chill": {"value": 44.554838709677426, "units": "°F"},

Seeing forecast from meteoblue for 10/25-26/2025 showing some low and mid-level clouds expected overnight.

Seeing forecast from cleardarkskies presents a more optimistic viewof the skies after 03:00.

Ultimately, overnight, the cleardarksky forecast proved truer to outcome since the clouds cleared at 03:13 for the rest of the morning.  Collection for NGC 1499 part 8 (14x120s...completing the panel) included intermittent clouds...but NGC 1499 part 7 collected 48x120s light frames with clear skies.

Noted that the introduction of 2x100s light frames collected with the UV/IR broad band filter in each sequence file in the Capture module for this NGC 1499 mosaic did result in the focus module focusing each job with the UV/IR filter...rather than attempting to focus through the dual narrow band Ha/OIII filter (which can be problematic and time consuming). This appears to be an effective work-around for the Ekos focus module insisting on focusing based on the filter included in the upcoming sequence file (with no override in settings). Each focus task executed overnight used the UV/IR filter and reported sane HFR values each time.

Ekos Analyze tab for collection spanning 10/25-26/2025 with NGC 1499 part 8 competing with clouds but the second scheduled task (part 7 of the mosaic) completed 48x120s light frames relatively cloud free. The red trace shows guide errors around 1.5" RMS with the internal guider adn the gold trace shows sky background light levels computed by SEP on the guide frames. Cyan shows HFR levels of captured light frames.

The Indi Allsky Backyard camera was useful in tracking progression of clouds overnight and trended well with the sky background measured in guide module during collection.  Weewx backyard weather station showed no wind or gusts overnight.

 

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count overnight for 10/25-26/2025 showing clouds mostly clearing by 03:13.

Weewx outdoor weather station wind speed, temperature / dew point and humidity results for 10/25-26/2025 showing no wind and temperatures dropping near 40F.

10/26/2025 - intermittent clouds, no moon.  

First night using a new wireless client connected via ethernet to the Odroid C4 to communicate with the home wifi network provided by the Linksys Velop mesh nodes. The TP-Link EAP225-Outdoor V3 has been re-flashed with OpenWRT 24.10.2 and running routed to route packets from the two radios (5GHz AC as well as 2.4GHz B/G/N) through to the ethernet port.  

This replaces the earlier TL-WR802N 300Mbps Wireless N Nano Router running in client mode with the proprietary firmware...which was nearly always slow.  Greater throughput & improved latency is needed since the Kstars / Ekos app is running on the Odroid with the desktop accessed remotely via RDP.  

Earlier OpenWRT experiments attempted to bridge the wifi and ethernet ports with WDS client protocol...which was super-fast...but ultimately not compatible with the Linksys (proprietary) mesh system... with all other wifi clients losing internet access (likely a routing problem). 

Once again today, a rather grim forecast for clouds...but launching M33 and NGC 1499 in the scheduler to see what's possible overnight given that the moon is still setting early and still at only 21%.  The Indi Allsky backyard camera shows a pseudo sky quality metric of ~5000 at 21:00 (a bit worse than average) falling to 4872 by 22:00. 

The Weewx outdoor weather station shows:

        "time": "2025-10-26T22:05:00-0400",

        "generator": "weewx 5.2.0"

        "temperature": {"value": 45.317241379310325, "units": "°F"},

        "dewpoint": {"value": 39.58267468987641, "units": "°F"},

        "humidity": {"value": 80.20689655172414, "units": "%"},

        "heat index": {"value": 43.318689655172406, "units": "°F"},

        "wind speed": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind gust": {"value": 0.0, "units": "mph"},

        "wind chill": {"value": 45.317241379310325, "units": "°F"},

Seeing forecast for 10/26-27/2025 from meteoblue showing a depressing set of  low, mid and high level clouds expected after 22:00 and lasting all night. 

The seeing forecast from cleardarksky shows some discrepancy between North American and European cloud models...with Europe providing a more optimistic approach.

Over the first few hours of collection, the M33 task in the scheduler captured all 60x100s light frames with clear skies. No clouds.  NGC 1499 part 7 also completed 14x120s (to complete collection for that panel of the mosaic) without clouds.  However, for NGC 1499 part 6, high level cloud activity began around 01:00.  

For reasons that are not clear, the internal guider dropped out after the meridian flip at 03:19. A series of NGC 1499 Part 6 light frames (numbered 27-40) collected without guiding enabled.  Switching from the PHD2 external guider to the internal guider was assumed to fix this issue...but it's clearly sprung up again. Because RMS guide errors are 0.5" high (typically) for the internal guider in Ekos, this suggests that switching back to the external guider may not actually lose functionality (since drop outs in guiding are occurring even with the internal guider in Ekos).

Guiding resumed for the NGC 1499 part 6 task after the 20x120s light frame collection task ended at light frame numbered 40.  However, this error in guiding was unlikely to have resulted in any real lost light frame collection, because at 03:04 (Ekos time, appears to show up at 03:09 in the Indi Allsky backyard camera results) significant clouds rolled in and persisted to daylight. Because of the guiding issues and the clouds, all NGC 1499 part 6 light frames after number 26 were deleted on the Odroid C4 filesystem (before file transfer to the server) so they can be re-collected later.

Ekos Analyze tab for M33 and NGC 1499 Part 7 and Part 6 collected across 10/26-27/2025 during a period of cloudiness started around 03:30.

Indi Allsky backyard camera pseudo sky quality metric and star count spanning 10/26-27/2025 showing excellent skies for M33 collection until ~01:00 when high level clouds appeared and then significant deterioration after ~03:30 when mid/low level clouds ended opportunity for collection.

It's important to note that all the remaining NGC 1499 sequence files required updating to move the chiller temperature to 0C. 

Also noted that NGC 1499 part 6 also did not include the 2x100s UV/IR task ahead of the 20x120s dual band filter collection task, resulting in the autofocus routine using this dual narrow band filter for focusing. This provides an opportunity to compare star HFR values and differences with focusing broad band vs narrow band in post-processing.  All the other sequence files (for parts 1-5) were updated to include this initial UV/IR collection...assuming that this results in a better overall autofocus result than with the dual narrow band filter.

In examining NGC 1499 dual narrow band light frames at 1:1 focused initial with the UV/IR filter in place and comparing to NGC 1499 part 6 (which was focused using the dual narrow band filter), it appears the autofocus routine for part 6 worked very well (no evidence of donut-shapped red-dot / blue-ring star signatures). These were very prevalent in NGC 1499 part 7 (focused with UV/IR). But in comparing against NGC 1499 part 8 (also focused the previous night with UV/IR filter), the signature is present but appears slightly less strong...suggesting variability when using the UV/IR filter for autofocus for dual narrowband collection.

NGC 1499 Part 6 (frame 008) using the dual narrow band filter during the autofocus routine. Note solid blue or white stars.

NGC 1499 Part 7 (frame 052) using the UV/IR filter during the autofocus routine. Note the appearance of blue ring around a red dot for some smaller stars.

NGC 1499 Part 8 (frame 052) using the UV/IR filter during the autofocus routine. Similar (if slightly weaker) donut signature present.