MDM Observatory 2.4m Telescope Observing Report for 2016 Jan 15

Observer(s): Alper
Institution(s): Dartmouth

Instrument: Modspec/Echelle

Worked for 5 hours (last half of the night)
Conditions were Mixed most of the night.
No equipment or software problems were encountered.

Seeing and Weather:
   High Humidity from 22:00 until 02:00.
   Beg: Overcast, Winds Moderate
   Mid: Clear, Winds Light & Variable
   End: Clear, Winds Calm

Observing Summary:

First part of the night lost to clouds, which departed only to
give way to high humidity. That broke around 2:00 am, at which
point we stayed on-sky for the rest of the night despite poor
seeing.

Two things of note: one is that the telescope  jumped  roughly
30 arcsec in RA once or twice during the night. Once while we were
open but clouded over, and once while tracking. The second time
I'm not sure exactly what happened. I went to the bathroom,
and came back to find my guide star gone. Guider issues might
account for the second jump, but the first one is a mystery.

The second item to note is that the telescope has been making a
shrill whining noise, as if some gear is turning without any
grease. We first heard this through the speakers. I then stood
in the dome and listened to it for a while but due to echo
cannot diagnose exactly where it's coming from. However,
if I paddle to the east, I can usually hear it through the
speakers. I'm not sure if this is a real problem or not, but
it's certainly unpleasant to the ears.

I've not submitted a trouble report because nothing really
 broke , but I wanted to make sure you're aware of these
potential issues.

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Submitted on 2016 Jan 16 [7:14:12]