David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1402 (2026-03-07)

Notes (S1401)

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Notes (S1403)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (1),  Minor Issues (4),  Small Defects (0),  Continuous Improvement (1)
	- Figures (1)
	Images from 2026-03-07  >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2026-03-07)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions.
2. ShCap Imaging/Processing.   Begin project to use TS80/178MC guidescope and camera for more regular imaging involving improved  AstroMain/AstroShCap routines and workflow including Siril script.

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• TheSky6 6.0.0.65, CCDSoft 5.00.201, DeviceHub 7.1.0.4707, MeadeGeneric 1.3.12.522, UPB 3,  Pulsar Dome Firmware 1.51 & Driver 6.3.10
• Pegasus-UI 2.10, Peg-Focuser 2.10, Peg-Switch 2.10, TCF-LSI 3.3.5
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.13, Siril 1.0.6, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 7.1.0.4707
• [ DomeLink 1.0 / 1.1 - not used ]
   
• AstroMain 3.80.22,  AstroPlan 1.46.2, AstroShCap 1.3.16, AstroGuard 1.13.1  (any new items or versions in bold)
  AstroMag 1.5.12, AstroVOE 1.16,  AstroSN 1.16,  AstroProtect 1.10.6,  AstroMove 1.17.7
  AstroAllSky 3.27.6, AstroWeather 1.30.1,   AstroObsCam 1.13.1, AstroNorthCam 1.8.1, AstroLaunch 1.14.6 / 1.14.8

Highlights

• Targets. 28/29  planned targets were completed with 1 target only partially completed due to an injected ToO target (M95 - TS80 Imaging).
  ShCap Imaging/Processing.   Images collected from 8 ShCap targets (Berkeley 1, Berkeley 11, Berkeley 49, Berkeley 50, Berkeley 51, Berkeley 63, Berkeley 72, M95)
•  Dome. No issues open/closing shutter. Dome was successfully parked at the end of the session.

Notes

• Aurora Images from 2026-03-06 / 2026-03-07 
  
  

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

Sky Conditions (Locate Frames)

Night Sky Summary Plot Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s) Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs) Note:  The NorthCam Star Count line is unreliable and should be ignored (The AstroNorthCam 'Find' Star method is producing many false positives from clouds)

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 19:17:25 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 19:17 & 04:57 19:17:49 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (19:17) 19:17:56 Session Created Session Created (Live, 2026-03-07 S01402) 19:17:58   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.) 19:18:17   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Switch 19:20:05   Services Started Observatory Services started 19:20:16 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 19:20:20 Session Pending Session pending (2026-03-07) 19:20:22 Session Initiating Session initiating (2026-03-07) 19:20:44   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 19:20:47   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.46.2) 19:21:21   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (PlanID: 1199) 19:22:04   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 19:22:28 Session Equilibration Session ready to Open Dome 19:23:14   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 41s) 19:23:49 Session Running Session running 19:23:50   Queue Started Observing Queue started (29 targets selected) 19:23:58     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 8, HIP 39357) 19:24:13       Dome Unparked Dome unparked 19:28:33       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 19:30:29       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 19:32:25       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 19:32:27       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 19:34:25       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 19:36:06       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 19:36:25     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 8, HIP 39357) 19:37:15     Target Started (1/29) Target started (1/29, C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS)) 19:41:50       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 19:43:58       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 19:52:41     Target Completed Target completed (1/29, C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS)) 19:52:46     Target Started (2/29) Target started (2/29, C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)) 19:58:29       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI) 20:07:35     Target Completed Target completed (2/29, C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)) 20:07:39     Target Started (3/29) Target started (3/29, AT2026evo) 20:11:41       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:13:59       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 20:29:57     Target Completed Target completed (3/29, AT2026evo) 20:30:01     Target Started (4/29) Target started (4/29, 240P/NEAT) 20:33:12       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:35:40       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 20:46:41     Target Completed Target completed (4/29, 240P/NEAT) 20:46:45     Target Started (5/29) Target started (5/29, Berkeley 72). Using SharpCap 20:49:16       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:51:37       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 21:00:53       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 21:00:55     Target Completed Target completed (5/29, Berkeley 72) 21:00:58     Target Started (6/29) Target started (6/29, AT2026eva) 21:06:38       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:08:48       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 21:24:46     Target Completed Target completed (6/29, AT2026eva) 21:24:50     Target Started (7/29) Target started (7/29, M31 w/M31N 2025-10a?) 21:29:30       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:31:59       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 21:48:31     Target Completed Target completed (7/29, M31 w/M31N 2025-10a?) 21:48:36     Target Started (8/29) Target started (8/29, UGC 622 w/AT2026epv) 22:08:39     Target Completed Target completed (8/29, UGC 622 w/AT2026epv) 22:08:44     Target Started (9/29) Target started (9/29, Berkeley 63). Using SharpCap 22:11:04       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:13:14       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 22:22:04       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 22:22:07     Target Completed Target completed (9/29, Berkeley 63) 22:22:09     Target Started (10/29) Target started (10/29, Berkeley 11). Using SharpCap 22:26:37       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:28:42       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 22:37:25       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 22:37:28     Target Completed Target completed (10/29, Berkeley 11) 22:37:30     Target Started (11/29) Target started (11/29, UGCA 200) 22:43:44       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:46:07       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 23:08:22     Target Completed Target completed (11/29, UGCA 200) 23:08:26     Target Started (12/30) Target started (12/30, M95, ToO). Using SharpCap 23:10:45       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:13:01       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 12) 23:37:20       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 23:37:22     Target Completed Target completed (12/30, M95, ToO) 23:37:24     Target Started (13/30) Target started (13/30, M95) 23:42:17   TheSkyScopeMonitor Frozen TheSkyScopeMonitor appears to be frozen at around 23:42 00:16:49     Target Completed Target partially completed (13/30, M95) 00:16:53     Target Started (14/30) Target started (14/30, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 00:20:28       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI) 00:32:19     Target Completed Target completed (14/30, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 00:32:23     Target Started (15/30) Target started (15/30, GCVS RZ LMi) 00:35:48       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:37:56       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 13) 00:43:11     Target Completed Target completed (15/30, GCVS RZ LMi) 00:43:46     Target Started (16/30) Target started (16/30, AT2026cpv) 00:47:56       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:50:10       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 14) 01:51:01     Target Completed Target completed (16/30, AT2026cpv) 01:51:05     Target Started (17/30) Target started (17/30, GCVS ER UMa) 01:58:48     Target Completed Target completed (17/30, GCVS ER UMa) 01:58:52     Target Started (18/30) Target started (18/30, GCVS RR Leo) 02:02:15       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:04:27       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 15) 02:09:55     Target Completed Target completed (18/30, GCVS RR Leo) 02:09:59     Target Started (19/30) Target started (19/30, T CrB) 02:14:01       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:16:09       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 16) 02:20:28     Target Completed Target completed (19/30, T CrB) 02:20:32     Target Started (20/30) Target started (20/30, UGC 11058 w/SN2026ewd) 02:23:54       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:26:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 17) 02:42:38     Target Completed Target completed (20/30, UGC 11058 w/SN2026ewd) 02:42:42     Target Started (21/30) Target started (21/30, GCVS CY Lyr) 02:46:01       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:48:10       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 18) 02:52:12     Target Completed Target completed (21/30, GCVS CY Lyr) 02:52:38     Target Started (22/30) Target started (22/30, Berkeley 49). Using SharpCap 02:54:48       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:57:05       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 19) 03:05:49       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -25°C) 03:05:51     Target Completed Target completed (22/30, Berkeley 49) 03:07:28     Target Started (23/30) Target started (23/30, Berkeley 50). Using SharpCap 03:11:21       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI) 03:20:02       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -25°C) 03:20:04     Target Completed Target completed (23/30, Berkeley 50) 03:22:18     Target Started (24/30) Target started (24/30, 24P/Schaumasse) 03:26:08       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:28:27       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 20) 03:37:49     Target Completed Target completed (24/30, 24P/Schaumasse) 03:37:53     Target Started (25/30) Target started (25/30, GCVS AM Her) 03:41:24       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:43:46       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 21) 03:48:37     Target Completed Target completed (25/30, GCVS AM Her) 03:49:37     Target Started (26/30) Target started (26/30, Berkeley 51). Using SharpCap 03:51:50       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:54:01       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 22) 04:03:18       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -25°C) 04:03:20     Target Completed Target completed (26/30, Berkeley 51) 04:04:27     Target Started (27/30) Target started (27/30, NGC 7006) 04:09:18       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI) 04:23:03     Target Completed Target completed (27/30, NGC 7006) 04:23:40     Target Started (28/30) Target started (28/30, C/2026 B2 (Sun-Gao)) 04:27:53       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:30:20       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 23) 04:56:15     Target Completed Target completed (28/30, C/2026 B2 (Sun-Gao)) 04:56:19     Target Started (29/30) Target started (29/30, GCVS BL Lac) 04:59:30       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:01:42       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 24) 05:05:28     Target Completed Target completed (29/30, GCVS BL Lac) 05:05:33     Target Started (30/30) Target started (30/30, Berkeley 1). Using SharpCap 05:08:15       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:10:37       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 25) 05:24:19       Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -25°C) 05:24:21     Target Completed Target completed (30/30, Berkeley 1) 05:24:23   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 05:24:26 Session Closing Session closing 05:25:14   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 49s, Zigbee 44s) 05:25:50   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 28s), Az: 90.0 deg 05:26:47   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 51s total) 05:27:05   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 05:28:02   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 05:29:26   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 05:29:29 Session Finishing Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 05:30:31     Dome (Find Park) Find Park started (Search Az 80.0 to 100.0°, Step 1.0°, Wide) 05:31:27     Dome Find Park found (Best Park Az 91.0°) 05:31:33     Dome (Find Park) Find Park started (Search Az 89.0 to 93.0°, Step 0.2°, Narrow) 05:32:20     Dome Find Park found (Best Park Az 90.8°) 05:32:26     Dome Dome has been synced at park position (Az 90.0°, Adjustment: -0.8°) 05:32:28   Dome Parked Dome parked 05:32:39   Dome Charging Dome is parked and re-charging Ok (5mA) 05:32:41 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time     Type       Name Detail 19:18:32 Green Clear Dome Shutter Pulsar Shutter has woken up (fresh data at 19:18:31, outage 19,029,318.5 min) 23:44:00 Red Alert TheSkyScopeMonitor TheSkyScopeMonitor appears to be frozen (last cycle at 23:42:17) 23:44:03 Red Alert TheSky6 Alert TheSky6 program isn't responding 23:46:50 Green Clear TheSkyScopeMonitor TheSkyScopeMonitor has resumed again (23:46) after 4.6 mins 05:32:39 Green Clear Dome Charging Dome is parked and re-charging Ok (5mA)

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Operational Issues (2026-03-07 S1402)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (1)
• Minor Issues (4)
• Small Defects (0)
• Continuous Improvement (1)
• Figures (1)
  

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• AllSky/Computer showing black screen in vnc after restarting computer (post-session). Upon restarting the AllSky/Weather Computer, an attempt to connect remotely showed a black screen after login in.  May be an issue during restart.    Windows Explorer connection to the computer from the Development Computer is working.  Cntl-Alt-Del  worked via VNC and AllSky/Weather Computer was able to be restarted again.  But after logging in there was again a black screen. Logged is as Admin, but again it lead to a black screen.  Will likely need to do a Windows Restore or failing that a full WindowsImage Restore (from bakup on G Drive).  A furtherl attempt to re-login again remotely a couple of hours later worked before an Observatory Visit was made. It seems to have been a 'Windows 11' thing, with 'screens' asking to set up Windows Cloud Backup need response before proceeding to Window Desktop.   If these screens were black earlier this might have caused the percieved issue. AllSky/Weather Computer and Applications working again.  (The previous problem involving an issue starting/connecting to Pegasus Server upon startup again occurred)
  Resolved 2026-03-08 (AllSky/Weather Computer, Window 11)

Minor Issues

• Red 'TheSkyScopeMonitor' and 'TheSky6' alerts were raised (23:44). A red TheSkyScopeMonitor alert was raised by ObsOverseer at 23:44:00 with the message "TheSkyScopeMonitor appears to be frozen (last cycle at 23:42:17)"  followed by a red 'TheSky6 Alert' at 23:44:03 with the message "TheSky6 program isn't responding". Image Linking of Locate frame took a very long time as it depends on TheSky6 being fully responsive.  ObsOverseer recognised that TheSky6 application was frozen, and reported that "Session will be suspended at 23:48:17 unless TheSky6 resumes".   In the event TheSky6/TheSkyScopeMonitor resumed again by themselves at 23:46:50, after an outage of 4.6 mins. This is an occasionally seen issue which almost always resolves itself after a small amount of time and the ObsOverseer proceeded according to design, ready to step-in even it didn't resolved by itself.
  Resolved itself 2026-03-08 (TheSky6, AstroMain / TheSkyScopeMonitor)
   
• AstroAllSky's TakeAllSkyFrames job froze (05:42).  AstroAllSky's TakeAllSkyFrames job frozen at around 05:42 (SunAlt -11.4 deg).  This was around the time that the S1372 session was finishing and therefore didn't affect Live operations, however it meant that the morning SpaceWeather Files weren't captured and Night's Videos weren't created / uploaded and the session wasn't archived to G Folder. Investigating showed that the TheSky6 was frozen with a run time error dialog concerning Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime library (see Fig 1).  Issue is put down to some glitch or interaction with Windows Defender/Definition update. Issue closed 2026-03-08, but continue to monitor for any repeated instances of issue.
  Closed after review 2026-03-08 (AllSky/Weather Computer, AstroAllSky,  TheSky6, Windows 11)
   
• AstroLaunch froze on AllSky/Computer and couldn't be restarted. Upon restarting the AstroLaunch process would show in TaskManager Details, but the program's UI wouldn't appear. Computer was restarted and after problems with login, AstroLaunch was successfully restarted.
  Resolved 2026-03-08 (AllSky/Weather Computer, AstroLaunch, Windows 11)
   
• AstroMain's Image Reduction on FITS images from session using CCDSoft missed around 60 files. Although there were no errors reported, the process to reduce images from the session failed to operate on all raw folders. It is likely that high computer demand due to downloading a large volume of SharpCap image files from the Observatory Computer at the same time was likely causing the issue. CCDSoft appeared to have 'graphical resource' issues. Tried again after the SharpCap files had all finished downloading, but the problem persisted. Computer was restarted and this seemed to resolve the problem.  Perhaps just CCDSoft / AstroMain needed to be restarted and computer restart could have been avoided.
  Resolved 2026-03-08 (Development Computer, AstroMain, CCDSoft, User Awareness)

Small Defects

• None

Continuous Improvement

• Modify AstroMain's Image Reduction process to report the number of images reduced in each raw image set. Although there were no errors reported, the process to reduce images from the session failed to operate on all raw folders. It is likely that high computer demand due to downloading a large volume of SharpCap image files from the Observatory Computer at the same time was likely causing the issue. It would be helpful if AstroMain could report the number of files actually reduced for each raw set, in order to see where the gaps are. Implemented in AstroMain 3.80.23
  Done  2026-03-08 (AstroMain 3.80.23)

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