Blog

Check out our facebook page

  • July 13, 2013

Come see us on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/SkypiOnlineObservatoryLlc.
We are including many posts of interest regarding astronomy and space flight.

Phase 2

  • July 13, 2013

Hello! We are spending this weekend onsite. John, Bob, Kevin and Brian worked most of the day today framing the walls. They packed it in around 5:00 pm before the rain came. It didn’t rain much but there was a fairly good light show! Check out our pictures of today’s progress on the Phase 2 page. More to come tomorrow. Clear skies! Jan

Phase 2 Update

  • July 6, 2013

We have been here working on the construction of the second building since Wednesday. This building will house 2 additional piers.  The floor is just about complete and John and Kevin are spending the day today cutting the wood for the walls.  We are hoping to have the major construction completed by August.  It rained most of the evening yesterday, which was more than welcomed!  Stay tuned for more pics on the Phase 2 page.  Jan :)

SKYPi Weather Update

  • June 30, 2013

The winds are calm, sky clear of clouds. There is smoke and haze due to the fire 150 miles to the south.

Seeing Monitor Update

  • June 10, 2013

The seeing monitor has been removed from the site for service and we apologize for any inconvenience.  We expect to have it back in service within 2 weeks.

Seeing Monitor Difficulties

  • June 5, 2013

Good evening! Due to technical difficulties the SKYPi Observatory seeing monitor is experiencing technical difficulties and is out of commission until at least Thursday. We apologize for any inconvenience.

NGC 2903

  • May 14, 2013
NGC 2903

ngc2903

The second image taken by Bob Birket from the great dark sky location of SkyPi Online Observatory in Pie Town, New Mexico. This image of NGC 2903 is just over 6 hours total time in Bortle 1 skies. There were some high clouds from time to time, with little interference.
NGC2903 is approximately 30 million light years away in the constellation Leo.

Imaging telescopes or lenses:RC Optical Systems RCOS 12.5 AstrographImaging cameras:SBIG STL 11000MMounts: Software Bisque Paramount MXGuiding telescopes or lenses:RC Optical SystemsRCOS 12.5 AstrographGuiding cameras:SBIG STL 11000MSoftware:Diffraction Limited MaximDL5,  Adobe PhotoshopCS5Filters:Baader Planetarium LRGB Filter SetAccessories:Alnitak Flat screen
Resolution: 2500×1752
Date: May 4, 2013

Frames:
Baader Planetarium LRGB Filter Set: 15×600″ bin 2×2
Baader Planetarium LRGB Filter Set: 14×900″ -30C bin 1×1

Integration: 6.0 hours

Darks: ~8
Flats: ~6
Bias: ~30
Avg. Moon age: 23.73 days
Avg. Moon phase: 33.50%
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 1.00
Temperature: 10.00

Opening of Second Pier-Coming Soon

  • April 20, 2013

We expect to open our second pier for lease in the coming weeks. If you would like to inquire about future availability we would be glad to speak with you. We at SKYPi are committed to providing the best possible service to go along with our Bortle 1 skies and superb seeing. Our seeing monitor will be posted soon. It has been operational for only a week and our average has been just over 1 arc second. Sub arc second seeing has not been uncommon.

The Leo Trio: NGC 3628, M65, M66

  • April 18, 2013
The Leo Trio: NGC 3628, M65, M66
All of us at SKYPI Observatory are excited to share our First Light image with you. The data was taken by our, consultant, sweat contributor, and Great Friend, Bob Birket, under dark skies over the nights of Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14.
Image Post:
RCOS 12.5
SBIG STL11000M
Baader LRGB filters
 
 Luminance = 120 minutes, binned 1×1
 RGB = 50 minutes each channel, binned 2×2
 Lum = 15 minute sub-exp
 RGB = 10 minute sub-exp
First Light Reaches SKYPi

First Light Reaches SKYPi

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