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There are a number of remote observatory companies in Spain apart from Roboscopes and overall we are very similar in how and what we do, one
small difference between us however is when humidity is very high we do
not close the roof. We still gather data rather than simply close the
roof. The man reason for this as UK astronomers is dew and humidity is
something we deal with 12 months a year and in the UK and if we closed
the roof for humidity we would never open the roof a single night in all
365 of them. So we firmly believe that some data is far better than no data. Others amongst you may disagree with this philosophy and that's the point of this post
This approach mind does come benefits and issues
Let’s start with issues
us work wise because we have to keep on top of High humidity, dew, high
haze, not to mention sub standard data where we simply have to just
resubmit it for the group as a whole.
Every data set get checked with blink and we monitor the weather very
closely this time of year because high haze has a tendency of slipping
past the IR based weather systems because it may only alter the sky
temperature but 1º above clear and for the most part we leave a 3º
differential so the roof is not bouncing open/closed all night like a
yoyo.
Roboscopes staff will always do our best to keep on top of things and
let you know when we have foibles etc however you must also take into
account remote diagnosis of issues takes time unlike popping out into
your backgarden/yard with mark1 eyeball.
So at present we are in a quandary, do we mirror all the other remote
observatory operators we know and close the roof when the humidity is
high or do we leave it open and keep collecting data ?
Obviously for us closing the roof is by far the easier option but in the
very beginning Roboscopes chose not to do this as in our opinion even
with the extra work involved for us and you the members, you can still
get some good data/images during the wet season.
I know some of you are long standing members and will remember last
season was very extending rain wise and the roof remained firmly shut
for long periods. This season seams to be high haze and humidity instead
so far.
However we feel the time has come to draw a line under it being our
decision to make alone and as the members we want your opinion.
So a vote from each member would be fantastic please
High humidity times
1 - Roof open and keep imaging despite it being extra work for all concerned etc etc?
Or
2 - Close the roof until the nudity and other atmospherics get to a lower level
Whichever option gets the most votes on each pier we will simply go with what you ask
Ray, Mike and other dual subscribers may we be so bold as to presume
that your vote would count on any pier you are a subscriber ?
Foot note:
I will say that this year has been the worst of 5 years I have been in
Spain, Pier 3 as well as some others we have never had to even turn the
due control on in previous years so its been a little bit of an eye
opener, Not to mention the complexities of getting extra items stuck in
Spanish customs in this wonderful post Brexit world we now live in
Extra dew control was posted out weeks ago and fingers crossed it should land very soon.
However if we don’t get it right or we mess up then you have our
apologies but believe me it’s not for the want of hard work at our end
but we are only human as dedicated as we are
Steve and the team
small difference between us however is when humidity is very high we do
not close the roof. We still gather data rather than simply close the
roof. The man reason for this as UK astronomers is dew and humidity is
something we deal with 12 months a year and in the UK and if we closed
the roof for humidity we would never open the roof a single night in all
365 of them. So we firmly believe that some data is far better than no data. Others amongst you may disagree with this philosophy and that's the point of this post
This approach mind does come benefits and issues
Let’s start with issues
- Not all subs are good[/*]The user has more work to sorting through and removing below par subs[/*]Overall the data is not as good as it is the rest of the year due to atmospherics[/*]You get all the data warts and all so yes some manual labour is 100% required[/*]
- The roof is open so you get data you would never receive with a closed roof[/*]
us work wise because we have to keep on top of High humidity, dew, high
haze, not to mention sub standard data where we simply have to just
resubmit it for the group as a whole.
Every data set get checked with blink and we monitor the weather very
closely this time of year because high haze has a tendency of slipping
past the IR based weather systems because it may only alter the sky
temperature but 1º above clear and for the most part we leave a 3º
differential so the roof is not bouncing open/closed all night like a
yoyo.
Roboscopes staff will always do our best to keep on top of things and
let you know when we have foibles etc however you must also take into
account remote diagnosis of issues takes time unlike popping out into
your backgarden/yard with mark1 eyeball.
So at present we are in a quandary, do we mirror all the other remote
observatory operators we know and close the roof when the humidity is
high or do we leave it open and keep collecting data ?
Obviously for us closing the roof is by far the easier option but in the
very beginning Roboscopes chose not to do this as in our opinion even
with the extra work involved for us and you the members, you can still
get some good data/images during the wet season.
I know some of you are long standing members and will remember last
season was very extending rain wise and the roof remained firmly shut
for long periods. This season seams to be high haze and humidity instead
so far.
However we feel the time has come to draw a line under it being our
decision to make alone and as the members we want your opinion.
So a vote from each member would be fantastic please
High humidity times
1 - Roof open and keep imaging despite it being extra work for all concerned etc etc?
Or
2 - Close the roof until the nudity and other atmospherics get to a lower level
Whichever option gets the most votes on each pier we will simply go with what you ask
Ray, Mike and other dual subscribers may we be so bold as to presume
that your vote would count on any pier you are a subscriber ?
Foot note:
I will say that this year has been the worst of 5 years I have been in
Spain, Pier 3 as well as some others we have never had to even turn the
due control on in previous years so its been a little bit of an eye
opener, Not to mention the complexities of getting extra items stuck in
Spanish customs in this wonderful post Brexit world we now live in
Extra dew control was posted out weeks ago and fingers crossed it should land very soon.
However if we don’t get it right or we mess up then you have our
apologies but believe me it’s not for the want of hard work at our end
but we are only human as dedicated as we are
Steve and the team
Please ignore my dylexia wherever possible, just be thankful I can control my Tourettes ;)
Things to do, so little time!
Steve
Roboscopes Tea Boy
Hi all
i m for option 1 , i prefer data than no data (as now in my locations , 4weeks cloudy time , i m highly depressed ..)
But , the problem is that we check data at the complet end of a job which may finish in a month or more . And if we resubmit , it will last another month or so . Which make project very hard to follow .
may be we need a way to check more often the raw data so to be able to reschedule earlier , only the bad subs , and not all of them ?
may be to have dirrectly acces to the rwa file each day so we will make our own project file ?
i m for option 1 , i prefer data than no data (as now in my locations , 4weeks cloudy time , i m highly depressed ..)
But , the problem is that we check data at the complet end of a job which may finish in a month or more . And if we resubmit , it will last another month or so . Which make project very hard to follow .
may be we need a way to check more often the raw data so to be able to reschedule earlier , only the bad subs , and not all of them ?
may be to have dirrectly acces to the rwa file each day so we will make our own project file ?
I chose the full and complete answer so all users could see "Roboscopes" reasoning on the subject not just for current users but future users also, as the forum is available for everyone to read. So I went for completeness so please excuse my hyperbole on this occasion
I am hoping that common sense prevails and the roof stays open so that kid off says where any casting votes may lean
Steve
Option 1 it is then for Ray
I am hoping that common sense prevails and the roof stays open so that kid off says where any casting votes may lean
Steve
Option 1 it is then for Ray
Please ignore my dylexia wherever possible, just be thankful I can control my Tourettes ;)
Things to do, so little time!
Steve
Roboscopes Tea Boy
0
Undo
Votes
It never occurred to me that verbal diarrhoea might be contagious Steve, but I wonder if you may have inadvertently caught it quite recently from someone at Kelling.
With my vote already cast for option 1, can I assume that voting has now closed on a couple of the syndicate piers at least. Now a couple of likely irrelevant questions, my speciality, but in the event of a tie I assume you will have the final say and when does voting close.
Cheers,
Ray
With my vote already cast for option 1, can I assume that voting has now closed on a couple of the syndicate piers at least. Now a couple of likely irrelevant questions, my speciality, but in the event of a tie I assume you will have the final say and when does voting close.
Cheers,
Ray
Ray
Roboscopes Guinea Pig
Hi Steve,
Having gone through last winter season when the conditions for a while were better here in the UK, I'd also had the benefit of the prior seasons, so was able to take a measured view. For anyone who may have only recently joined it must be somewhat frustrating. Those who have been members for longer probably have some catching up to do on the data collected during the better months when it's often difficult to keep up with the data being collected.
Hopefully for those most affected right now the disappointment resulting from this current run of bad data will in time dissipate. There is the prospect of amassing many hundreds of hours of data for a reasonable cost by the time the year is up.
I believe that you may have already been taking some mitigation measures Steve by limiting the imaging hours when dew is forecast, is this maybe another solution, or do you just want us to pick from the 2 options?
I would prefer to stay with the current setup, option 1, and leave it to us to request replacement data. Hopefully I may have the casting vote on a couple of the piers.
Thanks for the info and suggestion.
Cheers,
Ray
Morning and Agreed Ray,
Parts of last Autumn/Spring season was not much fun either hence why I proposed a poll. We love what we do at Roboscopes as you are well aware but we also have lives and need to keep a certain work life balance. We cannot do much more than monitor the skies during waking hours this time of year and keep a close eye on the humidity levels. Sometimes I feel like the BBC weather man I watch so much Radar
I understand why most other remote observatories simply close the roof as it becomes hard work for us.
When the Skies are good in Spain the rest of the year you get more quality data than the average person can handle but it does not seem right to what is in my mind the potential for 40-60% decent data from what we take each night this time of year. Especially what is taken earlier in the evening before lets say 11-12pm as a random time.
We run the syndicates in a very different way to the hourly system and to the most part we treat the pier as "yours" so you can input your own requests, cancellations and checking of subs etc much like you would at home. This way apart from the scope being remote you really are in charge of the data, image quality and final processing just like at home. Yes we blink the data before sending over and if anything obvious jumps out we resubmit it but on the whole we leave you to it to assess the data and retake if needed just like it should be as its "your pier"
From my point of view I like to see you all autonomous and discussing things and resubmitting as needed, not just from a logistical point of view for Roboscopes but because it means discussion and a true syndicate approach where you work together with us to get the best results from the Pier
Nothing is perfect and we have hiccups, problems and even equipment deaths (Pier-1 Camera 6 months ago, Pier-13 Atlas focuser only last week) but working together we are trying to make this the best experience possible at a very reasonable price point. Yes we could do way way more from our end I am sure of that but then the price will increase to suit the man hours and again we don't want that, we want remote imaging to stay as affordable as possible for our users.
Like I have said many times, we prefer the roof open even with high humidity even if it means "you" the users have more checking to do. However if it means undue hassle for high humidity during the wet season about data quality then we could at 75/80% humidity auto close the roof. I will leave it up to the users in each group to make a decision that suits them but from a personal point of view I hope you all keep the roof open as we will always do our best to monitor as well as adjust the weather system to close the roof if conditions are just unusable (hoping this last part removes your option 3 question Ray)
So it's a simple 1 or 2
HTH
Steve
Please ignore my dylexia wherever possible, just be thankful I can control my Tourettes ;)
Things to do, so little time!
Steve
Roboscopes Tea Boy
0
Undo
Votes
Hi Steve,
Having gone through last winter season when the conditions for a while were better here in the UK, I'd also had the benefit of the prior seasons, so was able to take a measured view. For anyone who may have only recently joined it must be somewhat frustrating. Those who have been members for longer probably have some catching up to do on the data collected during the better months when it's often difficult to keep up with the data being collected.
Hopefully for those most affected right now the disappointment resulting from this current run of bad data will in time dissipate. There is the prospect of amassing many hundreds of hours of data for a reasonable cost by the time the year is up.
I believe that you may have already been taking some mitigation measures Steve by limiting the imaging hours when dew is forecast, is this maybe another solution, or do you just want us to pick from the 2 options?
I would prefer to stay with the current setup, option 1, and leave it to us to request replacement data. Hopefully I may have the casting vote on a couple of the piers.
Thanks for the info and suggestion.
Cheers,
Ray
Having gone through last winter season when the conditions for a while were better here in the UK, I'd also had the benefit of the prior seasons, so was able to take a measured view. For anyone who may have only recently joined it must be somewhat frustrating. Those who have been members for longer probably have some catching up to do on the data collected during the better months when it's often difficult to keep up with the data being collected.
Hopefully for those most affected right now the disappointment resulting from this current run of bad data will in time dissipate. There is the prospect of amassing many hundreds of hours of data for a reasonable cost by the time the year is up.
I believe that you may have already been taking some mitigation measures Steve by limiting the imaging hours when dew is forecast, is this maybe another solution, or do you just want us to pick from the 2 options?
I would prefer to stay with the current setup, option 1, and leave it to us to request replacement data. Hopefully I may have the casting vote on a couple of the piers.
Thanks for the info and suggestion.
Cheers,
Ray
Ray
Roboscopes Guinea Pig
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