Infrastructure at SRO
Introduction
Our site has excellent intrinsic characteristics, such as sky darkness, transparency and seeing. We have unusually easy access for a site with these characteristics. There are few thunderstorms, no summer monsoons and almost no wind. However, without a sound infrastructure, these characteristics of little consequence. Key aspects of our infrastructure at SRO includes the structural characteristics of the observatories, technical support, internet service (including internet security and backup), local networking, weather/sky telemetry and roof control. We’ll discuss these in more detail.
Observatories
There are 8 individual roll-off roof observatories and four larger multi-telescope buildings which each house 12-16 telescopes. In addition, two additional large multi-telescope buildings are under construction. Telescope sizes range from small refractors to 28” RC telescopes. The floors are intentionally wooden to decrease the slow nighttime release of heat seen with concrete floors. All the multi-telescope buildings have 9-10 foot ceilings designed to make it impossible for the telescopes to contact the roof, regardless of the position of the telescope, so that the roof can open or close at any time without damage occurring. The roll-off roof model is typically used at SRO because we have little or no wind and the thermal equilibrium is very fast with these structures. For those with meter class telescopes, individual domes can be placed at SRO. Also, we have a close association with PlaneWave Instruments, allowing for turnkey installations of telescopes up to a meter in size at SRO (fully equipped telescopes which are fully operational after installation).
Technical Support
At SRO technical support is available for onsite upgrades, repair and maintenance. We have two experienced full time technicians at SRO. In addition, the owner lives on site. Most issues can be solved without shipping equipment out. Machine shop services are provided by SRO and by local businesses. Because we are relatively close to a major metropolitan area, we have access to local computer and machine shop services in addition to our own.
Internet Service
When SRO was first founded in 2007 we initially had T-1 internet service. As the number of clients exponentially increased, we became aware that this might eventually prove to be inadequate. Then, three years ago our Internet Service Provider upgraded SRO to fiber optic internet and additionally eased their internet throttling bringing our available bandwidth to even higher rates than would normally be possible. Currently we have standard speeds of 1 Gbps for uploads and downloads (full duplex). We have over a dozen fiber optic cables available should our bandwidth be exceeded. Our clients also have the option of their own dedicated fiber with 2.5 Gbps available on request.
We have automatic satellite internet backup with Skylink, in the unlikely event of the fiber optic internet failing. We have endeavored to make all our critical systems at SRO redundant or backed up, so that our clients will not lose contact with their telescopes. Our VPN firewall is backed up with a second unit and we have a backup industrial Generac generator.
We have taken measures to make our site safe and secure. Those changes remain proprietary and we do not share information regarding our security systems for obvious security reasons. In addition, there is private and secure VPN for each client.
Telemetry
Currently we have two AAG CloudWatcher units, RainWise and SkyAlert weather systems. These are professional grade IR cloud and humidity/rain sensors (with computer bypass). Telemetry information is used to signal the roof to open or close based on local weather conditions. In addition, a rain sensing bypass will send a signal directly to the roof to close with a rain event, even if the site software fails. This is another example of redundancy of systems at SRO.
For sky quality we have a Unihedron/Knightware sky quality meter for measuring site darkness. Sky transparency is also measured.
There are two seeing monitors, an SBIG seeing monitor and Alcor Systems Cyclope seeing monitor. The Cyclope seeing monitor is a professional grade seeing monitor from Alcor Systems, which is being used at a number of professional observatories. It is a robust and sealed system with built in temperature and humidity detectors which allow it to clear any dew from it’s window. It is reliable and accurate. You can learn more about the unit at Alcor’s website. The data we are getting from Clyclope is similar to our older SBIG seeing monitor but far more accurate.
Web cameras with passive (no IR contamination) ultra-sensitive night vision are posted throughout the observatory.
There is a EUDA All Sky Camera, a professional grade All Sky camera from Alcor Systems. This camera has an 8 MP cooled chip camera equipped with a filter wheel which is especially useful for cloud detection. You can see the Alcor cameras in use at Kitt Peak and other professional observatories by going to http://www.astrosurf.com/cavadore/meteo/current/allSkys.html .
Weather telemetry is obtained with the SkyAlert, RainwiseMK-III-LR weather station and the AAG cloud and rain detector. We have an intelligent roof management system from SkyRoof (http://interactiveastronomy.com/skyroof.html) that will close the roof under adverse weather conditions and then reopen it when the weather permits. When the roof closes because of excessive clouds, dew point or high humidity, SRO clients can go to the weather section of the SRO web site and find out what happened. Weather and roof position files are produced and can be read by our clients and used to script an imaging session. If you are interested in historical data, you can see the RainWise data at the following sites: http://www.rainwise.net/weather/sro andhttp://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:93602.1.99999?sp=KCAAUBER13
All telemetry data is available on SRO website at www.sierra-remote.com.
Roof Control
SRO uses an intelligent roof management system utilizing a number of weather telemetry capture devices. Currently we use the SkyRoof system for roof automation with weather. Current weather conditions are then evaluated once every few seconds for any kind of actionable changes in conditions, such as cloud cover, humidity, dew levels, and/or precipitation. Should an actionable weather change be detected, the roof will then be closed to protect our clients’ equipment from any kind of adverse conditions. Once good observing conditions have been re-established, the roof will then re-open to provide optimal client access to productive observing time. Files with weather and roof position information are available and can be added to the FITS file and the roof position data can be used to script your imaging session. We have rain detection backup which will result in roof closure even if the computer or network is down.
Summary and Other Infrastructure Updates
We have added hardware to our local network that offers both Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP). This has been helpful for those engaged in precision astrophotography, such as those involved with occultation studies and satellite tracking. Although not strictly a infrastructure update, we have written informational packages on how to get set-up and running at SRO. These documents have made startup at SRO much less complicated.
We hope this review has given you a sense of our attention to the details of a seamless and efficient infrastructure. Environmentally, SRO is unique and well suited for remote astronomical data acquisition and imaging. In order to make the most use of our excellent imaging conditions, we are continually upgrading the infrastructure of SRO.
Our site has excellent intrinsic characteristics, such as sky darkness, transparency and seeing. We have unusually easy access for a site with these characteristics. There are few thunderstorms, no summer monsoons and almost no wind. However, without a sound infrastructure, these characteristics of little consequence. Key aspects of our infrastructure at SRO includes the structural characteristics of the observatories, technical support, internet service (including internet security and backup), local networking, weather/sky telemetry and roof control. We’ll discuss these in more detail.
Observatories
There are 8 individual roll-off roof observatories and four larger multi-telescope buildings which each house 12-16 telescopes. In addition, two additional large multi-telescope buildings are under construction. Telescope sizes range from small refractors to 28” RC telescopes. The floors are intentionally wooden to decrease the slow nighttime release of heat seen with concrete floors. All the multi-telescope buildings have 9-10 foot ceilings designed to make it impossible for the telescopes to contact the roof, regardless of the position of the telescope, so that the roof can open or close at any time without damage occurring. The roll-off roof model is typically used at SRO because we have little or no wind and the thermal equilibrium is very fast with these structures. For those with meter class telescopes, individual domes can be placed at SRO. Also, we have a close association with PlaneWave Instruments, allowing for turnkey installations of telescopes up to a meter in size at SRO (fully equipped telescopes which are fully operational after installation).
Technical Support
At SRO technical support is available for onsite upgrades, repair and maintenance. We have two experienced full time technicians at SRO. In addition, the owner lives on site. Most issues can be solved without shipping equipment out. Machine shop services are provided by SRO and by local businesses. Because we are relatively close to a major metropolitan area, we have access to local computer and machine shop services in addition to our own.
Internet Service
When SRO was first founded in 2007 we initially had T-1 internet service. As the number of clients exponentially increased, we became aware that this might eventually prove to be inadequate. Then, three years ago our Internet Service Provider upgraded SRO to fiber optic internet and additionally eased their internet throttling bringing our available bandwidth to even higher rates than would normally be possible. Currently we have standard speeds of 1 Gbps for uploads and downloads (full duplex). We have over a dozen fiber optic cables available should our bandwidth be exceeded. Our clients also have the option of their own dedicated fiber with 2.5 Gbps available on request.
We have automatic satellite internet backup with Skylink, in the unlikely event of the fiber optic internet failing. We have endeavored to make all our critical systems at SRO redundant or backed up, so that our clients will not lose contact with their telescopes. Our VPN firewall is backed up with a second unit and we have a backup industrial Generac generator.
We have taken measures to make our site safe and secure. Those changes remain proprietary and we do not share information regarding our security systems for obvious security reasons. In addition, there is private and secure VPN for each client.
Telemetry
Currently we have two AAG CloudWatcher units, RainWise and SkyAlert weather systems. These are professional grade IR cloud and humidity/rain sensors (with computer bypass). Telemetry information is used to signal the roof to open or close based on local weather conditions. In addition, a rain sensing bypass will send a signal directly to the roof to close with a rain event, even if the site software fails. This is another example of redundancy of systems at SRO.
For sky quality we have a Unihedron/Knightware sky quality meter for measuring site darkness. Sky transparency is also measured.
There are two seeing monitors, an SBIG seeing monitor and Alcor Systems Cyclope seeing monitor. The Cyclope seeing monitor is a professional grade seeing monitor from Alcor Systems, which is being used at a number of professional observatories. It is a robust and sealed system with built in temperature and humidity detectors which allow it to clear any dew from it’s window. It is reliable and accurate. You can learn more about the unit at Alcor’s website. The data we are getting from Clyclope is similar to our older SBIG seeing monitor but far more accurate.
Web cameras with passive (no IR contamination) ultra-sensitive night vision are posted throughout the observatory.
There is a EUDA All Sky Camera, a professional grade All Sky camera from Alcor Systems. This camera has an 8 MP cooled chip camera equipped with a filter wheel which is especially useful for cloud detection. You can see the Alcor cameras in use at Kitt Peak and other professional observatories by going to http://www.astrosurf.com/cavadore/meteo/current/allSkys.html .
Weather telemetry is obtained with the SkyAlert, RainwiseMK-III-LR weather station and the AAG cloud and rain detector. We have an intelligent roof management system from SkyRoof (http://interactiveastronomy.com/skyroof.html) that will close the roof under adverse weather conditions and then reopen it when the weather permits. When the roof closes because of excessive clouds, dew point or high humidity, SRO clients can go to the weather section of the SRO web site and find out what happened. Weather and roof position files are produced and can be read by our clients and used to script an imaging session. If you are interested in historical data, you can see the RainWise data at the following sites: http://www.rainwise.net/weather/sro andhttp://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:93602.1.99999?sp=KCAAUBER13
All telemetry data is available on SRO website at www.sierra-remote.com.
Roof Control
SRO uses an intelligent roof management system utilizing a number of weather telemetry capture devices. Currently we use the SkyRoof system for roof automation with weather. Current weather conditions are then evaluated once every few seconds for any kind of actionable changes in conditions, such as cloud cover, humidity, dew levels, and/or precipitation. Should an actionable weather change be detected, the roof will then be closed to protect our clients’ equipment from any kind of adverse conditions. Once good observing conditions have been re-established, the roof will then re-open to provide optimal client access to productive observing time. Files with weather and roof position information are available and can be added to the FITS file and the roof position data can be used to script your imaging session. We have rain detection backup which will result in roof closure even if the computer or network is down.
Summary and Other Infrastructure Updates
We have added hardware to our local network that offers both Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP). This has been helpful for those engaged in precision astrophotography, such as those involved with occultation studies and satellite tracking. Although not strictly a infrastructure update, we have written informational packages on how to get set-up and running at SRO. These documents have made startup at SRO much less complicated.
We hope this review has given you a sense of our attention to the details of a seamless and efficient infrastructure. Environmentally, SRO is unique and well suited for remote astronomical data acquisition and imaging. In order to make the most use of our excellent imaging conditions, we are continually upgrading the infrastructure of SRO.