Singularity Observatory Indoor Observing Success!

Indoor Celestron 14" EdgeHD CGX-L telescope lunar imaging through an opened deck door.
The Moon is seen up about 45 degrees elevation in the sky, and left of the OTA

Moon by Humanoido, imaged Thursday,
March 21, 2019 at 8:05 pm local time.
EdgeHD 14" telescope, Celestron FR, stock
23mm 2" EP and star diagonal, hand held
Apple iPhone Xs MAX, imaged indoors, single
image, processed with Photo, corrected for
EP achromatic aberration, air pollution, and
light pollution.

Singularity Observatory
Successful Indoor Lunar Observing
with a Big Telescope

by Humanoido

Breaking News
Thursday March 21st 2019

I was surprised the immense massive and heavy Celestron 14-inch EdgeHD CGX-L telescope fit inside the home fully assembled, with three counterweights and castors on the feet to provide more resting surface area so as not to crack or mar the ceramic floor. The EdgeHD 14-inch is the largest telescope manufactured by Celestron Company and also the most expensive. It's important to get full use from this telescope with as many convenient observing programs as possible, even if the telescope must sometimes remain indoors for work on both day and night programs. During the day, the scope observes the forest jungle for wildlife conservation studies and runs experiments in optics and telescope dynamics. The telescope is also useful for tracking SPACE1's rocket launches and various space missions.

The top of the OTA just cleared the ceiling by about 2-inches, certainly a stroke of luck. The telescope room has a lowered ceiling to make space for a sleeping loft. Just a few days earlier a plan was outlined for operating the telescope from indoors while peering through the opened deck door.

https://space1usa.blogspot.com/2019/03/space1-singularity-observatory_20.html

This was a quick experimental setup because the entire day was heavy overcast, and suddenly shortly after lunar rise time the haze began to dissipate and it was time to scramble to get set up with the new telescope and accessories. First off, the door was opened to the outside for an hour to achieve thermal equilibrium. The heat was on in the 85 deg. F. weather. Humidity was pushing 96%. The image of the Moon barely fit into the telescope's FOV after a Celestron FR was attached to get around f/7. The OTA needed precise positioning so at not to engulf the door frame. Only one photo was lucky enough to capture the entire Moon because the Moon was framed right up to the edged of the EP. The camera used is an iPhone Xs MAX in auto exposure mode, hand held in front of the EP (a very taxing and difficult process) for the afocal method of projection with a supplied Celestron 23mm 2-inch. No drive was running at the time and the telescope was moved by hand. The polar axis was only rough aligned with a compass. Images were shot through clouds, haze, strong air/light pollution. As the hour progressed, the telescope protruded into the door frame and obstructed the images.

This provides a lot of wiggle room for the future to obtain much higher resolution results. A portable smart phone mount is on order for the bionic phone, higher quality EPs, two FRs without field correction, and soon the CCD imager system will be setup with the computer along with the drive cabled to power the mount at the exact computed lunar rate. One thing noticed is the sky opening covers the exact area where the Moon passes by frequently in the springtime and is the same area where the planet Mars hovered during the 2018 opposition, and more recently Venus made an appearance. The sky-view has a peak elevation around 45 degrees facing East Southeast. The area could also catch Jupiter, Saturn and other objects with the correct timing.

Singularity Observatory Telescope Indoor Observing

Celestron's largest most massive Aplanatic telescope aims at the sky through an open deck door

Singularity Observatory
Indoor Telescope Observing!
by Humanoido

Last summer heat rose to 120 degrees week after week in the shade. In the winter, the Monsoon period brought month after month of intermittent rain. Such intense heat or even a rain drop on a sensitive optical coating can destroy a telescope. Massive telescopes weighing many hundreds of pounds are not easily moved indoors and out. It also takes time to put on and take off coverings when suddenly a downpour happens. Is there a better solution?

Normally one would never put a telescope in a home and observe from the inside of the home. Heat waves from temperature differentials would destroy clear viewing. And, viewing through window glass is horrendous, causing smeared blurred images that won't focus. Not to mention vibrations from family members or apartment rental dudes walking around on the floor or your ceiling. But special circumstances require special measures.

During telescope assembly, it takes two people to place the massive OTA onto the mount, and one does not want to disassemble it and repeat the process anytime soon! The author wants only big telescopes, choosing to use the largest telescopes made by Celestron Company,  even they weigh in at several hundred pounds. In fact, the one telescope is so large it won't fit into many homes. So what to do?

The author has solved all these challenges with Celestron's largest and most massive Aplanatic telescope, applied indoors for observational astronomy. Here's how it's done:

* Keep the telescope fully assembled
* The telescope is placed in one room
* The telescope is vibration insulated from the floor
* The room has deck access with large sliding glass doors
* The room can be fully enclosed with a door

Close the room door, open the deck doors, and let the temperature stabilize for several hours. Position the telescope for the best sky position relative to the open deck doors for max viewing. It's likely the telescope will need to move as close as possible to the sliding glass door opening. This is your viewing portal, like an observatory dome slit opening with bi-parting shutter doors.

For approximated polar alignment, use an electronic compass. You won't be able to see the North Star or true north. If you want to use a GOTO computerized mounting, additionally use the one star alignment process on a known visible star through your sky portal. Calculate the size of the available sub section of sky and program it into your sky program on an adjacent computer or mobile device. Now you can determine which objects, i.e. Moon, planets, deep sky objects, etc. will be visible within your sky section, on certain days, seasons and times.

As the Earth turns, celestial objects become visible at different times and seasons. Access this information for best results. The plan works best when the deck doors face South, but it's also workable if they face East or West. Planets, like Venus, often flip from East as a morning object to West as an evening object. The Moon is seasonal, being in a better position depending on Spring or Fall. Deep Sky objects also rise and set and lie within seasonal constellations. Become a sleuth, doing the detective work to determine which objects of interest will grace the confines of your sky portal.

Note! Check back soon to see how this experiment pans out. We are planning to image the Full Moon on Thursday, March 21st, 2019, when it's calculated to be in the perfect position, fitting into the available sky view after rising in the East in the evening. Calculations show the indoor telescope looking through the open deck door will see almost up to 45 degrees elevation.