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| "It's full of stars" |
Eight is a lucky number for the Chinese, and 8-8-18 is a most special date of good luck. It's also the golden date of First Light for the Xtelescope at Skyscraper Observatory.
The story of the Xtelescope began in April when work began on the components, primarily the heavy duty gunner's tripod needed reworking. After, the mount needed machining. Upon completion of machining, the next challenge was taking a day to hoist the massive OTA Optical Tube Assembly up overhead on top of the mount.
Next, the telescope was prepped for visual work, and the astro imaging adapters were removed and replaced with a star diagonal and 2-inch eyepiece. Then the challenge was focus, as the two clutches to the primary mirror were released. Still no focus until the two mirror locking set screws were put in free float.
A number of successful test targets became bright and razor sharp on a mountain miles away. Manually moving the scope, and re-balancing, brought other targets into view. The amazing views were tac sharp over the entire FOV, and bright showing brilliant color.
Racking in and out for an intra and extra focal plane image showed perfect optical alignment considering all the moving the telescope endured. The telescope was balanced in right ascension and declination. Massive counterweights were locked down. By this time, the sun was setting and Mars was climbing.
Without a finder telescope yet installed, the tube was skyward bound and hundreds of cosmac pinpoint stars studded the field. As Mars had risen, the telescope was rough aimed towards the Red Planet, only a week past opposition and with flared brightness it zoomed into view for a massive view. The globe was tack sharp as dust storms raged across the surface. The southern polar cap was annihilated by the storms and surface features were visually challenged as massive storms were strewn about the globe. First Light was spectacular!
