keele observatory
TRANSCRIPT
KeeleObservatory
AnnualReport
2017
KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport20171
TableofContents
FromtheDirector.......................................2
Administrativereport.................................2Personnel..........................................................................2Finances.............................................................................2
Infrastructureandequipment.....................3EngineeringworkontheThornton.......................4MaintenanceoftheGrubbanditsdome..............6Binoculars’enclosure...................................................6
Researchactivities......................................7SolarSystemobservations........................................7Publications......................................................................7
Outreachactivities......................................7BBC2’s“StargazingLive”............................................7Mediaactivities...............................................................8Publicviewings...............................................................8Schoolsandteachers....................................................8Communitygroupvisits.............................................8AdultEducationsessions...........................................8
ObservatoryHillasseenbyadroneduring`InternationalSUNday’on18thofJune2017.Credit:DuncanRichardson.
2KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport2017
FromtheDirector
Insomewaysthisyearwasprettymuchayearasanyother.TheObservatoryplayed
hosttothousandsofvisitors,youngand
old,thankstothededication,enthusiasm
andskillsofitsteamofengineers,outreach
ambassadorsandstudents.Weenjoyedplentyof(positive!)mediavisibility.
Thenagain,everyyearisdifferent.
Fromanunexpectedtelescopedonationorpowersurge,torallyingbehindStoke-on-
Trent’sbidtobecome`CityofCulture’,therewasalwayssomethingtoattendto.
Figure1WeactivelysupportedthebidbyStoke-on-
Trentforthestatusof`CityofCulture'in2021.
Whilethe24”upgradeprojectdidnot
cometoafinalconclusionasyet,agreaterunderstandingofthesystemwasgained
andfurtherpreparationsforthenewcamerawereconducted,andweareall
justifiablyoptimisticaboutnextyear.
Iwouldliketothankeveryoneforcontributingtheirtimeandenergy,andfor
theirtrustandpatienceinthisendeavour.
“Onwardsandupwards!”
JaccovanLoon
Administrativereport
Personnel
KeeleObservatoryisoperatedandmaintainedthroughauniquepartnership
betweentheAstrophysicsCentreinthe
SchoolofChemicalandPhysicalSciencesatKeeleUniversity,andacoregroupof
skilledanddedicatedvolunteers:the
ObservatorySupportTeam(“TheCrew”).
Formerdirector,andfounderofthe
observatory,Dr.RonMaddison,andLianBryantarelifetimehonorarymembersof
theteam,inrecognitionfortheirgreat
contributionstotheobservatory. In2017theCrewwascomposedof
AlanBagnall,DaveCaisley,IanJohnson,
PaulKlimczak,St.JohnRobinson,Andrew
Shepherd,MatthewStretchandJohnWebb,
alongwithanumberofaffiliatemembers.
Dr.JamesAlbinsonandStephenDoody
assumedalessprominentrolethisyear,
buttheyremainhighlyvaluedassociates.
ElectricalengineersIanKnightandKassim
Al-Muflehihadexpressedaninterestinjoiningourteam,asdidChrisBriggswho
willoverseeoursocialmediapresence.
UndergraduatestudentsLucyAuger
(whoseassistancehasbeeninvaluable)
andKrisTurner(whohasbeenworkingon
atechnicalproject)alongwithPhDstudentTeoMočnikwerejoinedbyundergraduate
studentsAbdulkarimMoallimandRachelWallace.DukeofEdinburghAwardee
RohiniKrishnadasalsojoinedourteam.
Finances
TheKeeleObservatorybuildingispartof
theSchoolofChemicalandPhysical
Sciences.Wesuccessfullyappliedtobeallowedtopurchasesomenewfurniture
(bookcases,desks)forthe24”control
roomandthe`library’.TheSchoolalso
providedareplacementhydrogenbulb.As
theObservatorydoesnothaveabudgetofitsown,inordertooperatemore
autonomouslyandefficientlyitneedsto
generateitsownfunds. Incomewasgeneratedbyvisitsof
communitygroups,schools–organizedbyusorviacolleaguesattheHuborwidening
KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport20173
participationdepartment(fundedbytheScienceLearningCentreor,moreoften,the
HigherHorizonsscheme)andfromAdult
Educationsessions.Donationsremaindisappointinglylowandfewandfar
between,andmostlyarisefromsalesofKeeleObservatory’sHistorybookletand
appreciationoftelescopesurgeries.
Boththetotalincomeandthetotalexpenditurein2017wereverysimilarto
previousyear’sfigures,thoughmorewas
spentonthe24”telescopethisyear.
Table1Financialaccountfor2017.
1.Balancebroughtforward £6419
Income
ScienceLearningCentre £90
Schoolactivities £771
Communitygroupvisits £711
AdultEducation £136
Donations £33
2.Totalincome £1741
Expenditure
Generalmaintenance £153
Developmentofthe24” £554
PrintingAnnualReport2016 £75
3.Totalexpenditure £782
4.Unspent,ringfenced £979
Surplus(items1+2–3;exclude4) £7378
Basedonthemostrecentaccounts
andbudgetfor2017,wesetabudgetfor
2018,slightlyincreasedbothintermsof
incomeandexpenditure.Weforeseesomefurtherexpensesrelatedtocommissioning
anupgraded24”,andallowforsome
additionalpurchasesandcontingency.
Table2Budgetfor2018.
1.Balancebroughtforward £7378
Income
Hospitality £1300
Donations £100
2.Totalincome £1400
Expenditure
Generalmaintenance £400
24”upgradeproject £600
Acquisitionofequipment £200
PrintingAnnualReport2017 £80
3.Totalexpenditure £1280
4.Ringfencedforsolartelescope £979
Surplus(items1+2–3;exclude4) £7498
InfrastructureandequipmentWithcontributionsbyStJohnRobinson
Figure2The`Lucascope'10"Newtonianreflector;
studentvolunteerSamYarwoodinthebackground.
Besidestheaforementionednewfurniture
forthe24”controlroom(abookcase,a
5%
41%
8%
44%
2%SLC
Community
AdultEdu
Schools
Donations
4KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport2017
deskandastoragecabinet)and`library’(twobookcasesandamagazinedisplay
cabinet)thatreplacedandaugmented
someoftheagingfurniture,alongwithnewofficechairsforthecontrolroomand
lectureroom,weacquireda10”Newtonianreflector(make:OrionOptics)generously
donatedbyPeterLucas–the`Lucascope’–
whichweadaptedtobeabletomountontheC-GEMmountthatnormallycarriesthe
6”Luntsolartelescope(seefigure2).
Withregardtotheexterior,itwasa
relieftoseeNeptunerestoredtoitsformer
glory.Runningalongit,`ObservatoryWalk’,acrossObservatoryHill,hadmeanwhile
beenfittedwithlightbollardstoguide
pedestriansontheircommutetoandfromthenewcarparkontheothersideofthe
SustainabilityHub.Whileadvicehadbeen
soughtfromus,andwehavebeengranted
theabilitytodimthelights,theydoleak
morelightthanwehadbeenpromised
initially.Unfortunatelywecannotwinthe
battleagainsttheexpansionofthecampus
–theextensivecarparkatthebottomof`ObservatoryWalk’hasmadewayforthe
constructionofanewhallofresidence.
Whiletheprojectstalled,itisunlikelythat
additionallightpollutioncanbeavoided.
Othercampuseventswhichaffected
operationincludedaconcertorganizedat
theStudentUnion,participantsofwhich
hadparkedtheircarsblockingaccessto
andfrom`ObservatoryWalk’whilewehad
ourowncarsparkedonObservatoryHill
andhadbeenentertainingguests.Security
couldnotgetholdofthecarownersand
whileacomplaintwasfiledwiththeStudents’Unionnoresponsewasreceived.
WehavesincereportedittotheSchool’sSafetyCommittee.Anotherevent
concernedapowerspikeneartheendofa
particularlybusyvisit,causingpowerloss.The12”domehadtobeclosedmanually,
forwhichStephenDoodykindlycamein
early(theweatherwasfairthatnight). StephenDoodyandJamesAlbinson
stooddownfromactivedutythisyear,andtheirexpertise,dedicationandfriendship
willbesorelymissed.
EngineeringworkontheThornton
Thedecisionwastakentofabricateanew
focusplatformtosupporttheQSICCD
camera,FLICL-1-10filterwheeland
WynneCorrector.Whilstsimilarindesign
andconstructiontotheonecurrentlyin
service,ithasanumberofsignificant
differences.TheQSIoffersalargerfieldofview,whichshouldfacilitatetestingthe
AWRIntelligentDriveSystem.
Tofacilitateanyfutureexchangeof
instruments,thefocusplatformdesign
criteriacalledforaflatsurfacetomount
theinstrumentonandaquickbutsecure
methodofmountingandremoval.Thisimpliesthatthethreadedrodsthatsupport
themovingpartofthefocusplatform
wouldneedtotravelinwardstowardsthe
lightpathofthetelescope,butnotimpinge
intoit.Oncethelimitsoffocustravelfor
ourinstrumentshavebeendeterminedthe
rodswillbetrimmedtosize.
Figure3CurrentST7imagingtrainonthe24".
Theaboveimage(figure3)ofthe
currentlyinservicefocusplatformshows
howthethreadedrodsprojectoutwards
throughthemovingplateofthefocus
platformbeyondthecurrentSBIGST7XMECCDcamera;itthereforerestrictsthe
instrumentsthatcanbemountedin
betweenthethreadedrods,anditisalsoacumbersometasktodismounttheimaging
train,duetothemethodusedtocouplethe
componentstogether.
KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport20175
StephenDoodycommencedwiththemarkingupandinitialmachiningof
individualpartsusingaMyfordSuper7
lathecurrentlylocatedinourworkshop;wegratefullyacknowledgetheuseofthis
machineprovidedbyDr.JamesAlbinson.
Figure4Oneofsixbearinghousingplatesonthe
Myfordlathe,being`clocked'priortomachiningto
acceptaselfaligningbearing.
Furthermachiningwasdoneby
MatthewStretchusingaBridgeportmilling
machine;wegratefullyacknowledgethe
useoftheworkshopfacilitiesatSuper
MarineinHanleyStaffordshire.Additional
fabricationandmachiningofsmallparts
andinitialassemblywascarriedoutin
StJohnRobinson’sworkshop(figure5).
Figure5StJohnRobinson'sDoreWestburymilling
machine,beingusedtoslotthebaseplate.
Figure6showsanearlyfinishedproduct.Whilstthefilterwheelorientationremains
fixedwithrespecttothefocusplatform,the
QSICCDcamerawhenattachedcanberotatedtozerotheCCDcamerarollangle.
Figure6FLICL-1-10filterwheel,showingthebrass
QSIadaptercoupling,mountedandsecuredbyuseof
quickreleaseturnbucklestothenewfocusplatform.
Thesteppermotorandgearheadusedtodrivethe
threetoothedtimingpulleywheelsaremountedon
thefixedfocusplatformbaseplate.
A2”focusercanbefittedinplaceoftheCCDimagingtrain.Itcanbeusedto
carryaneyepiece,digitalSLRcameraora
smallspectroscope,andusedasanaidininitialcollimationoftheopticalsystemor
forgeneralviewingofthenightsky.We
alsohavetheprovisiontofita4x5plate
holderforwetphotography(seefigure7).
Byunscrewingthebodyofthefilmholderthefocusercanbescrewedintoplace.
Figure7Photographicplateholderattachedtothe
newfocusplatform,withtoitsrightthefocuserwhich
canbeusedinitsstead.
WepurchasedCCDinspectorsoftwareto
helpcollimatetheinstrumentinreal-time.
6KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport2017
InearlyNovemberAWRreturnedwithcodeupdatesfortheIntelligentDrive
System.Duringthevisitanumberofpre-
existingsoftwareproblemswereresolved;anunexpectedissuewiththetangentarm
drivingmechanismpreventedfulltraveltotestthesoftandhardmicroswitchstops
thatprotectthetangentarmdrivingrod
fromdamage;thisisbeingrectified.Amajorproblemoccurredwhenaresistor
andadamagedchipwithintheAWRDrive
Boxfailed.Theresistorwasreplacedon
site,butthedamagedchiprequiredthe
DriveBoxtobereturnedtoAWRforrepair,haltingfurthertestingofthecodeupdates.
MaintenanceoftheGrubbanditsdome
The12”Grubbdomedrive,aftertheearlierreportedpowerfailureinFebruarythen
sufferedamechanicalfailureinMarch
whenthepowercouplingrubberspiderexpired(figure8).Ithadtwistedoneofthe
twoVDrivebeltsafull180°–itwasthus
engagingthelargedrivenwheelupside
downwhilstengagingthedriverwheelthe
rightwayup,givingitselfawaybymaking
unusualnoises.Thespiderwasreplaced.
Thegraphicscardinthecomputer
inthe12”pillardiedandwasupgraded.
Figure8Thepowercouplingtodrivethe12"dome
reliesonarubberspider–itfailedbutwasreplaced.
Binoculars’enclosure
Thepowerwasrestoredtotheroll-offshed
afterafatalcablefailure.Thismeantthatit
couldbeusedagainforviewingwiththe
binocularsandforworkbystudentswith
the10”Meadeandspectrographin2018.
Figure9The6"binocularsand10"Meadeinthe
foreground,and8"refractorinthebackground.
Figure10The24"seenfromtheroofnearthe12”dome,withstudentSamYarwood.Credit:JonnyWilliams.
KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport20177
Researchactivities
Whilethisyearwasquietontheresearchandrecordedobservationalfront,asearlier
reportedengineeringpreparationshave
continuedsostaytunedforwhat’stocome!
SolarSystemobservations
TheMoonandSunwereimagedbyKassim
Al-Muflehi(figure11)andTeoMočnik
(figure12),respectively.Thereappearsto
besomereluctancetousetheLunt6”solartelescope,bothforviewingandimaging.
Thismaycallformoretrainingintheuseof
thetelescopeandinimagingwithit.
Figure11TheMoonimagedbyKassimal-Muflehi
throughthe12"Grubb,onthe3rdofDecember2017.
Figure12TheSunimagedbyTeoMočnikthroughthe8”Meadewithaneutraldensitysolarfilteronthe
2ndofSeptember2017.
Publications
In2017wepublished30copiesofthe
seventhannualreport:
“KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport2016”,
J.Th.vanLoon(ed.).KOP8
Thefrontcoverofthe2015AnnualReportwaschosenasthefrontcoverofthefirst
edition(April2017)of`TheKnow’,anew
quarterlymagazineforKeelepeople.
NormanButlercontactedusand
saidhewouldfeatureKeele’sbinocularsin
hisbook`TheHistoryofBinoscopes’,tobe
publishedinearly2018bySpringer. Wetookpartinasurveybythe
ScienceEducationDepartmentofthe
MuseumofAstronomyandRelated
SciencesinRiodeJaneiro,facilitatedbythe
InternationalAstronomicalUnion.Itaims
toidentifyinstitutionsaroundtheworld
thatusehistoricallyvaluabletelescopesin
publicskyobservationactivities.
Outreachactivities
Wewelcomedover3100visitors.Thisis
slightlydownfromrecentyears,inpart
because`StargazingLive’didnotattractthesamelevelsofattentionaspreviously.
Wealsogave`EarthHour’amissagain,due
tounavailabilityofstaff–especiallywith`StargazingLive’followingimmediately.
BBC2’s“StargazingLive”
KeeleObservatorytookpartintheseventheditionofBBC2’s“StargazingLive.BBChad
madesomeoddchoices–schedulingitinSummertimewhenskiesarestillbrightat
timeswhenyoungchildrenmightmakeit,
andputtingSaturnintothelimelightwhenitcouldnotbeviewedintheevening.Also,
theObservatoryDirectorwasabroadandtheconnectionbetweenBBCRadioStoke
andthelittletowninthehillsoutsideof
Romewasappalling.ButIantweetedinabundance,theNorthStaffordshire
AstronomicalSocietywereoutinforce,The
Sentinelcoveredit,andinspiteofthepoorweather300visitorswereentertained.
8KeeleObservatoryAnnualReport2017
Mediaactivities
Apartfromtheusualcoverageof
`StargazingLive’,KeeleObservatory
appearedinanumberofmediaand
promotionalbroadcasts.Itfeaturedinthe
`SundayPoliticsShow’onBBCMidlands
(figure13),andwasadvertisedduringthe
`AsktheExpert’chatshowwiththeObservatoryDirectoronBBCRadioStoke.
Wealsofeaturedintwopromotional
videosforKeeleUniversity,anotheroneof
avirtualtouroftheObservatory–viewat
http://youtube.be/LsuQehqiQcg–anda
farewelltotheCassinimission.
Figure13BBCMidlands’GaryfilmingEmmaThomas
forthe`SundayPoliticsShow’.
WealsosupportedStokeCity’sbid
forCityofCulture,withvideoclipsand
lendingthembinocularsandgivingaway
bookletswhenthecommitteevisited.
Publicviewings
Nearto800peoplevisitedtheObservatory
thisyearonitsfreeTuesdayeveningsand
Saturdayafternoons’publicviewings.
Schoolsandteachers
Wehostednofewerthan18visitsby
schools.Inthisway,andincludinga
teacherstrainingevent,wereached760
learnersandover60teachers.
TheLuntsolartelescopewastakentoStoke-on-Trent6thFormCollegeforthe
ScienceFestivalwithabout80learners.
Figure14Stoke-on-Trent'sstratosphericduckatan
altitudeof20miles(top)andDown-to-EarthStudent
Unionistslookingup(bottom).
OpenDaysforprospectivestudents,andvisitsbyinternationalstudentsandby
KeeleAstrophysicsstudents,amountedto
another300visitorsoftheobservatory.
Communitygroupvisits
FamilyFunDaysaw60peoplevisiting,a
Sun-blissedInternationalSUNday(in
collaborationwiththeNorthStaffordshire
AstronomicalSociety)another65,anda
further70peopleenjoyedviewsofthe
Moonafterabrass-bandperformanceof
Holst’s`Planets’inLindsayStudios.
Wehosted27speciallyarranged
visitsbysocietiesand(mainly)scouting
groups,of170adultsand400children.
AdultEducationsessions
Theobservatorycontinuedtoplayhostto
the`KeeleAstrophysicsDiscussionGroup’,
ledbyPaulKlimczak.Thegroupmeteight
times–onceamonthexceptforaSummerbreak;aDecembersessiongotcancelled
duetoheavysnow.Attendancenumbers
thisyearfluctuatedbetween7–10.Theaimofthegroupistoincrease
thevolumeanddiversityofattendance,but
tocontinuebywayofmember-suggestedtopicstodiscuss.ItmaintainsaFacebook
page:KeeleAstrophysicsDiscussionGroup
KeeleObservatoryPublications9
Copyright©2018,KeeleUniversity
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KeeleObservatory–https://www.keele.ac.uk/observatory
Frontcover:KeeleObservatoryinsnowyDecember.Credit:JaccovanLoon