MDM Observatory 2.4m Telescope Observing Report for 2015 Jun 23

Observer(s): John Thorstensen
Institution(s): Dartmouth

Instrument: modspec+echelle CCD

Worked for 3 hours (first half of the night)
Conditions were Mixed most of the night.
No equipment or software problems were encountered.

Seeing and Weather:
   Clouds from 11 PM until end.
   Beg: Seeing 1 arcsec, Clear, Winds Light & Variable
   Mid: Overcast, Winds Moderate
   End: Overcast, Winds Light & Variable

Observing Summary:

The night started out very good, with almost-clear skies except
for a big complex far to the south, and it stayed that way for
several hours. Just before 11 PM a big bank of heavy cloud 
moved in, with no end in sight, so I closed up. There was some 
light rain in the middle of the night, so it's a good thing
everything was buttoned up.  

This doesn't rise to the level of a trouble report, but the 
modspec shutter didn't operate for the first couple of exposures.
I seem to have cured it by cycling the power on the blue 
shutter controller box and flipping the open/close switch
manually a few times.  

Very minor point:, the red coating on the light bulb above the 
loading dock is flaking,leading to white-light leaks.  With 
60 Watts dissipating in there, the housing is hot to the touch.
Home Depot is selling 25-W equivalent red LED lights for 
something like $7.  We might try a few -- the red lights are
on for thousands of hours a year.

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Submitted on 2015 Jun 24 [4:17:03]