{"id":31,"date":"2020-08-29T18:33:52","date_gmt":"2020-08-29T16:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amos.s.mqd.at\/?page_id=31"},"modified":"2021-03-03T22:35:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T21:35:07","slug":"amos-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/amos-1\/","title":{"rendered":"History - AMOS Observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t<\/h1>\n

\n\t\tThis is how it all started\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

It's not so easy to say when everything began or found its start. For us, it was probably always the view of the stars that filled us with fascination and a little awe as children. At some point, the much longed-for first telescope arrived, which at that time still cost a small fortune, with which one could observe the first lunar craters and planets.<\/p>\n

Sp\u00e4ter reichte das einfache Beobachten nicht mehr und wir haben begonnen, die \u201eWunder des Universums“ fotografisch fest zu halten. Nat\u00fcrlich haben wir es uns einfacher vorgestellt als es war. Schnell mal das alte Teleskop verkauft, ein neues mit Computersteuerung her und eine Kamera hinten dran geschnallt, schon hat man die traumhaften Fotos, wie man sie von den Hubble Aufnahmen her kennt, selbst gemacht.<\/p>\n

Wenn es nur so leicht w\u00e4re! Endloses Einnorden des Teleskops, die ewig lange Suche nach einem Leitstern etc. machten die N\u00e4chte bei Minusgraden oft zur Qual und wenn dann endlich alles lief, zogen oft Wolken auf. Um sich das st\u00e4ndige neue Aufbauen und Ausrichten f\u00fcr die Astrofotografie zu sparen, gab es eigentlich nur eine L\u00f6sung – eine eigene Sternwarte musste her.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"AMOS\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tAMOS Horsehead nebula L Ha SII B\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"AMOS\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tAMOS I with Kanzelhoe in the background\n

\n\t\tAMOS I\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

Building your own observatory is not an easy task. In 2003, amateur observatories were rare and information on the Internet was still scarce.<\/p>\n

By chance, we got the opportunity to use a small test observatory of the Kanzelh\u00f6he Observatory, which was unused at that time, for 1 \u00bd year. This allowed us to test our ideas with our equipment and finally to see if we could implement our ideas at all.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tThe right solution for every problem\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

Of course, we immediately set about setting up the observatory with our existing equipment. Actually, one should believe that from now on everything ran smoothly. However, we unfortunately had to realize that a smooth functioning of the equipment, even in an observatory is not as easy to realize as thought.<\/p>\n

Our first telescope in the observatory was a Celestron C11GPS in a fork mount. According to the manufacturer, it is perfect for astrophotography. Since long exposures with a fork mount are only possible in conjunction with a polar wedge, or field derotator, we decided to have a very stable polar wedge constructed by a friend. The polar wedge and the C11GPS harmonized perfectly with each other, at least visually.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"C11\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tC11 GPS with polar wedge\n

\n\t\tPolar aligning the telescope\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

As it is known from many descriptions, our instructions were not very satisfactory, our telescope was e.g. constantly of the opinion that Sirius was somewhere on the ground in front of the observatory so that we looked for alternative instructions on the Internet.<\/p>\n

Wir haben auch bald eine gute Videoanleitung eines Amerikaners gefunden, diese hatte jedoch nur EINEN kleinen Haken, der amerikanische Dialekt war nur schwer zu verstehen und so ben\u00f6tigten wir ca. 1 Stunden bis wir endlich das Schl\u00fcsselwort \u201eCelestial Pole“ verstehen konnten.<\/p>\n

Now that we knew how it worked, we got right to work aligning our telescope. After about 4 hours of careful setting up, we connected the camera to the telescope and took the first test image.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tThe first test shot\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

Of course, we had expected a nice shot and reasonably round stars right away. Well, the stars were round, but strangely each star was a quadruple star.<\/p>\n

At some point, long after midnight, we gave up looking for the error and decided once again to search the Internet for solutions. After some time of research, it became clear to us, it can not work, because contrary to what the manufacturer promises, the fork mount does not withstand the loads in the long term in the inclined position, so sooner or later it comes to problems even with a new telescope.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this was an immediate problem with us; a friend was able to continue taking pictures with his C11 for a full 6 months after our conversation before his mount also confronted him with the same problem.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"C11\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tC11 on the CGE with guide scope\n

\n\t\tEine neue Montierung muss her…\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

After consulting with our dealer, we decided on the CGE from Celestron. I would like to briefly note here that we did not yet have the CGE X which is now on the market, but the first generation of CGE mounts.<\/p>\n

The CGE already made a very good impression when unpacked, stable, large-dimensioned and it carried the C11 without problems. After we had adjusted them, we have of course immediately made a test photo. Well, what can I say now? Of course, we had a problem again.<\/p>\n

Es war schon positiv das wir dieses mal keine Vierfach-Sterne hatten, daf\u00fcr machte sie was ganz tolles Neues und zwar bildete sich jeder Stern als ein ein \u201eY“ ab. Interessanterweise jedoch nicht als reine Strichspur, sondern immer an den Eckpunkten des \u201eY“ als fester Punkt.<\/p>\n

Wir ben\u00f6tigten ca. einen Monat um den Ursprung des Problems zu finden. Vom Celestron Support hatten wir zu Beginn der Fehlersuche den Satz, Zitat: \u201eDie Teleskope werden in Kalifornien gefertigt, dort wird es nicht so kalt und deshalb funktioniert das bei ihnen nicht“ geh\u00f6rt, was uns klar machte, dass wir wohl alleine den Fehler finden mussten. Bleibt noch kurz anzumerken, dass wir damals so um die +16\u00b0C hatten und ich glaube mich zu erinnern, dass es auch in Teilen Kaliforniens mal unter +20\u00b0C kalt wird.<\/p>\n\t

After closer inspection of the gearbox, we noticed that it suddenly stopped running during operation and then continued to run again for no apparent reason.<\/p>\n

We decided to shoot a video of it and send it to the support, which fortunately replaced the mount without any problems.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tFinally everything is running and we take pictures\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

I have to say that we were more than satisfied with the CGE and anyone can have the misfortune to get a Monday mount. But the replaced CGE worked flawlessly.<\/p>\n

As you can see in the photo above, we have already pushed the CGE to its limits. Under full load, the CGE carried the C11, a refractor 102\/660, the Canon 20D, and the SBIG ST-4 without any problems.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"AMOS\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tAMOS I in der Langzeitbelichtung\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Bauplatz\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tBauplatz AMOS II\n

\n\t\tAMOS II – Zur\u00fcck zum Start\n\t<\/h2>\n\t

After we needed over a year to get the observatory running fully automatically photographically, including the development of our own dome control, the test observatory was again needed by the observatory for its purposes.<\/p>\n

For us it was quickly clear, we build our own observatory, AMOS II. A few meters next to AMOS I there was a foundation with a column, which was concreted several years ago. After discussions with the Kanzelh\u00f6he Observatory, the University of Graz, and the BIG, we were able to build our new observatory on this foundation.<\/p>\n

What we didn't know at the time was that it would take another 5 years from the first talks to the start of construction, during which we were able to realize our dream with the help of sponsors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tThe construction of AMOS II\n\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So hat alles begonnen Es ist nicht so einfach zu sagen, wann alles begonnen bzw. seinen Anfang gefunden hat. Bei uns war es wohl schon immer der Blick zu den Sternen, der uns als Kinder schon mit Faszination und ein wenig Ehrfurcht erf\u00fcllt hat. Irgendwann kam dann doch das hei\u00df ersehnte erste Teleskop, dass damals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"disabled","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"disabled","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"disabled","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"disabled","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655,"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31\/revisions\/655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatory.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}