MDM Observatory 2.4m Telescope Observer's Report for 2008 Sep 03

Observer(s): J. Thorstensen
Institution(s): Dartmouth

Instrument: echelle CCD direct + Buckeye FW

Worked for 10.5 hours (all night)
Conditions were Photometric most of the night.
No equipment or software problems were encountered.

Seeing and Weather:
   Beg: Seeing 0.7 arcsec, Patchy Clouds, Winds Light & Variable
   Mid: Seeing 0.9 arcsec, Clear, Winds Light & Variable
   End: Seeing 0.7 arcsec, Clear, Winds Light & Variable

Observing Summary:


Photometric almost all night, dark, with sub-arcsecond seeing. 
Acceptable, I'd say.  Clouds and showers around in the afternoon
went away completely by sunset, and it was gorgeous.

This was the first time the new Buckeye filter wheel has been 
actually used.  It worked beautifully!  Not only can it go
both ways, it's very, very fast.  Thanks to everyone who 
worked on this or helped make it happen.  All it lacks
is that new filter-wheel smell.  

Actually, there are a couple of minor issues remaining.  The
stops around the filter in the 2-inch inserts are too small, so
I'm losing field at the edges of my 2-in filters (which I use
for historical reasons -- in astrometry it's always wise 
never to change anything).  Also, to get my historical 
field angle rotation I have to put the rotator to -92, and when 
I go south of about +10 the umbilical (which is extended way
out in this orientation) snags the counterweight.  I can 
lift it over that snag as long as I'm aware, but if I try
to go south of about -10 the umbilical binds on the motor that
drives the E-W counterweight.  So that limits me to north 
of -10 or so.  Please don't do anything about this on the
current run -- Kilic is coming in and he needs the dewar
mounted the way it is -- but we'll have to think about this 
a bit more the next time we put this on.  

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Submitted on 2008 Sep 4 [6:15:19]