SARA-RM Report Archive

Date	Name	Affiliation	Other Observers	Instrument	Hrs Observed	Hrs Lost	Reason	Observing Program
10/06/2025	Tom Rutherford	ETSU	None	CCD	8	0	No problems to report	M31, binary star, supernova, attempted asteroid. No problems-- moon was very bright however so could not detect the asteroid (it was at opposition so too close to the moon).
10/04/2025	Michael Fauerbach	FGCU	none	CCD	10	0	No problems to report	I found 2 asteroids with short periods that were far enough from the bright Moon to make it a worthwhile night. Telescope parked and dome moved to 235.
10/02/2025	William Keel	University of Alabama	2 cats	Andor CCD	10	0	No problems to report	AGN-ionized clouds, nebulae. Focus 98700, guider focus -60. Guider still needs ROI around star input manually (+/-100 in each coordinate works, even when set to bin by 2 in guiding). Dome parked at 235.
10/01/2025	Michael Fauerbach	FGCU	none	CCD	9	0	No problems to report	Asteroid photometry. No issues to report, focus @97522 with sdss r' filter.
09/29/2025	Roi Alonso	IAC	None	ccd	5	4	No problems to report	WD photometry, no filter. Focus 101044, guider focus 20. Tracking stopped when target at west, around 45 degs in altitude, 307 Az. Closed early due to commitments in the morning next day. Telescope parked to zenith, dome closed and at AZ 235, and controls hidden.
09/29/2025	Tom Rutherford	ETSU	None	CCD	8	0	No problems to report	Binary Star, M31, EE Cep. No problems at all-- a good night.
09/28/2025	Kurtis Williams	ETAMU	none	Andor	6	1	Humidity	Started idle due to humidity. No problems observing. Used guider by taking full-frame image, identifying a guide star, and entering 201x201 ROI -- guiding was fine. Ended when done with primary target due to classes tomorrow. Parked telescope, closed dome, parked dome at AZ=235, and closed dome control panel. (Telescope was at zenith with dome at a different az when I started)
09/27/2025	Tom Rutherford	ETSU	None	CCD	10	0	No problems to report	M31, close binary star, NGC 7331. No problems, but when I logged in the dome was open and at azimuth 235 (although the dome control was hidden like we are supposed to do). When I finished, I verified that the dome was closed and at azimuth 235, then closed the dome control window.
09/24/2025	William Keel	University of Alabama	Sam Grunblatt, AY 203 class	Andor CCD	10.5	0.5	Software/Control PC Issues	AGN-ionized clouds, class objects. One drive shutdown at 0H53 EAST, +25. Guider sometimes works with auto ROI, sometimes it needs to be entered manually (I use star position +/-100 in each coordinate). Focus 98150, guider focus -100.
09/17/2025	Robert Berrington	Ball State University	none	arc	2	8	Equipment Failure	Very poor transparency also after a planned power outage for maintenance. Numerous issues on startup. The focuser did not function until Peter logged on much later to reset the system. He indicated that it had faulted with an unknown reason. The filter wheel was also having difficulty in locating the filter, and Peter indicated that it is considerably pas its lifetime and in need of replacement. He indicated that would happen on the next trip out to SARA-RM. No issues with the dome, and operated without issue.
09/23/2025	William Keel	University of Alabama	Sam Grunblatt, AY03 class	Andor CCD	5	5	Humidity	AGN-cloud survey, class objects. Focus 97600. Initialize guider stage, focus -60; guider sometimes needed manual ROI setup, sometimes found guide star and ROI automatically. Spent the night playing hopscotch with periods of high humidity.
09/22/2025	Zach Savery	University of Delaware	Patrick, Caitlyn, and Evelyn	CCD	10	1	Humidity	Closed an hour before sunrise/tracking limit as the humidity reached up to 90%. Otherwise there were no issues with RM. The telescope tracking has been great, we haven't needed to adjust things at all to keep our targets centered in the imaging throughout the night. The focus point has also been very steady.