David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1430 Attempt (2026-05-09)

Notes (S1429)

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Notes (S1430)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (4),  Small Defects (4),  Continuous Improvement (5)
	- Figures (1)
	No images from session  >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2026-05-09 Attempt)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions.
2. AstroMain. Check new AstroMain 3.82  version for any issues or problems following introduction of a number of changes.

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• TheSky6 6.0.0.65, CCDSoft5 5.0.201, DeviceHub 7.1.0.4707, MeadeGeneric ?, UPB 3, PulsarDome 6.4.0.0/1.3.12.522
• Pegasus-UI 2.12, Peg-Focuser 2.12, Peg-Switch 2.12, TCF-LSI 3.3.5
• SharpCap 3.2.6482, PHD2 2.6.14, Siril 1.4.2, deCONZ ?, ASCOM 7.1.0.4707
   
• AstroMain 3.82 / 3.82.1 beta, AstroPlan 1.46.2, AstroShCap 0.0, AstroGuard 1.13.2
  AstroMag 1.5.12, AstroVOE 1.16, AstroSN 1.16, AstroProtect 1.7, AstroMove 1.18.1
  AstroAllSky 3.27.10, AstroWeather 1.30.3, AstroObsCam 1.13.1, AstroNorthCam 1.8.2, AstroLaunch 1.14.9

Highlights

• Targets. 2/14 planned targets were completed with 2 targets partially completeted. However these were all rejected due to cloud, poor focus, poor guiding. Other targets failed due to cloud / session suspensiion. Conditions were noteably worse than forecast.
•   AstroMain. AstroMain 3.82 operated without problem or issues.
•  Dome. No issues open/closing shutter, however the Shutter Bot sensor was not operational Dome was successfully parked at the end of the session.

Notes

• This was the first session in which the Session Notes were drafted using AstroMain's new 'NotesBuilder' facility.

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 20:43:27 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 22:18 & 02:49 20:43:28   AutoStart Waiting AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 22:18 22:18:42   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 22:40:33 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (22:40) 22:40:40 Session Created Session Created (Live, 2026-05-09 S01430) 22:40:42   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.) 22:41:05   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Switch 22:42:52   Services Started Observatory Services started 22:43:02 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 22:43:04   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 22:43:06 Session Pending Session pending (2026-05-09) 22:43:08 Session Initiating Session initiating (2026-05-09) 22:43:28   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 22:43:31   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.46.2) 22:44:24   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (PlanID: 1230) 22:45:08   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 22:45:32 Session Equilibration Session ready to Open Dome 22:46:17   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee --) 22:46:19 Session Running Session running 22:46:21   Queue Started Observing Queue started (14 targets selected) 22:46:26     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 13, HIP 63666) 22:46:37       Dome Unparked Dome unparked 22:50:41       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-LSI) 22:51:08       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 22:52:48       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 22:54:32       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 22:54:54     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 13, HIP 63666) 23:00:00     Target Started (1/14) Target started (1/14, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 23:05:43       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-LSI) 23:17:53     Target Completed Target completed (1/14, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 23:17:57     Target Started (2/14) Target started (2/14, CGCG 008-040 w/SN2026jsg) 23:23:58       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - unable to find a star (TCF-LSI) 23:31:46   Critical Cloud Alert Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Dome) 23:31:48   HardSuspend Called Hard Suspend called due to Critical Conditions (cloud) 23:31:50     Target Aborted (2/14) Target aborted (2/14, CGCG 008-040 w/SN2026jsg) due to cloud 23:31:52   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 23:31:54 Session Suspending Session suspending 23:32:41   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 0s) 23:32:44 Session Suspended Session suspended 23:37:17     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (2/14, CGCG 008-040 w/SN2026jsg) due to cloud 23:59:37     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (3/14, NGC 3437 w/SN2026kie) due to cloud 00:21:57     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (4/14, NGC 3660 w/SN2026cff) due to cloud 00:44:17     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (5/14, NGC 3689 w/SN2026gwx) due to cloud 00:57:43     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (6/14, T CrB) due to cloud 01:17:33     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (7/14, AT2026lck) due to cloud 01:39:53     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (8/14, NGC 4205 w/SN2026fvx) due to cloud 01:43:19 Session Resuming Session resuming 01:44:14   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 55s, Zigbee 11,528s) 01:44:16 Session Running Session running 01:44:18   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 01:44:21     Target Started (9/14) Target started (9/14, NGC 6070 w/SN2026ejy) 01:49:08       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI) 02:00:30   Critical Cloud Alert Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Dome) 02:00:32   HardSuspend Called Hard Suspend called due to Critical Conditions (cloud) 02:00:34     Target Aborted (9/14) Target aborted (9/14, NGC 6070 w/SN2026ejy) due to cloud 02:00:36   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 02:00:38 Session Suspending Session suspending 02:01:25   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 0s) 02:01:28 Session Suspended Session suspended 02:02:14     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (9/14, NGC 6070 w/SN2026ejy) due to cloud 02:24:33     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (10/14, AT2026jyw) due to cloud 02:38:33     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (11/14, AT2026juw (CV)) due to cloud 02:48:51     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (12/14, GCVS BL Lac) due to cloud 03:09:11     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (13/14, NGC 5907 w/SN2026kid) due to too few stars 03:20:03 Session Resuming Session resuming 03:20:48   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 42s) 03:20:50 Session Running Session running 03:20:52   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 03:20:54     Target Started (14/14) Target started (14/14, HIP 87937) 03:26:26     Target Completed Target completed (14/14, HIP 87937) 03:26:28   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 03:26:30 Session Closing Session closing 03:27:19   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 4,766s) 03:28:06   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 40s), Az: 90.0 deg 03:28:40   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 29s total) 03:29:03   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 03:30:00   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 03:31:26   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 03:31:29 Session Finishing Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 03:31:51     Dome (Find Park) Find Park started (Search Az 88.0 to 92.0°, Step 0.2°, Narrow) 03:32:33     Dome Find Park found (Best Park Az 90.2°) 03:32:39     Dome Dome has been synced at park position (Az 90.0°, Adjustment: -0.2°) 03:32:41   Dome Parked Dome parked 03:35:44   Dome Charging Dome is parked and well charged (95%, 14.9v) 03:35:46 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time     Type       Name Detail 03:35:44 Yellow Alert Dome Charging Dome is parked and well charged (95%, 14.9v)

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Operational Issues (2026-05-09 S1430A)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (0)
• Minor Issues (4)
• Small Defects (4)
• Continuous Improvement (5)
• Figures (1)
  

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• The battery level in Zigbee 'Shutter Bot' sensor has unexpectedly fallen (2026-05-09  22:41). A new CR1632 battery was installed in the 'Shutter Bot' open/close sensor on 2026-05-04, after it had progressively fell to around 38% at which point its connection to the network failed.   Whilst the new battery started at 100% it has fallen to 78% by 2025-05-09 (ie a 22% points drop in less than than a week). It would seem that the new battery is a poor quality one.   Battery level to be monitored.  Whilst it it reports as being Closed, the last seen time of 13.4 hours ago is of concern. A new battery was installed (from the same pack of 4) today 2026-05-10, and reconnected to network.  Whilst it responds to the sensor halves being open or closed, its battery level is still showing as 78%. The voltage in the removed battery was 2.94V.   The second new battery initially seemed to be operating ok, battery level is now showing 100% (2026-05-11), but had had fallen to  65% by the following day (2026-05-12), and was the sensor was unreachable the day after that (2026-05-13) and reading 2.95 V when taken out of sensor.  A third new battery was installed today (2026-05-14), and was operation during session S1430 (2026-05-17) but by 2026-05-19 its battery level had fallen to 78%. Whilst rate of battery level fall is not as bad as with the other new batteries it is clearly not of the quality exected from a Panosonic branded battery.  So far 3 out of 4 batteries from a Panosonic Pack of 4 have been effecictivity duds or of bad quaility. Eventually determined that the Sensor had developed a fault and was resolved by installing a new replacement (identified by phoscon sensor id 26, see Fig 2) on 2026-05-27.
  Fixed  2026-05-27 (Observatory, Zigbee Network / Shutter Bot Sensor)
   
• The 'Shutter Bot' sensor was not operational through the session and led to unreliable Zigbee Opening/Closing times for the Shutter (23:32). A new battery (Panosonic CR1632, 3V Best before Dec 2034) was installed in the Shutter Bot as recently as 2026-05-04 and was reconnected to the zigbee network on 2026-05-07.  but has been noted to have unexpected falling battery levels and was last seen around 13 hours before the session started. . in Zigbee 'Shutter Bot' sensor has unexpectedly fallen (23:32). After conditions deteriorated and became critical at 23:31 the session was suspended and the shutter was commanded to close. Whilst the shutter closed (50s closing time) the zigbee closing time was reported as being 0s, and a warning was raised with the message "Shutter hasn't finished closing within 60s. The ObsViewer picture showed the shutter as being 'PartOpen' for 30 mins, Later (at 00:04) this correctly changed to Closed - this seemed to correspond with user running the 'Query Zigbee Network' button routine from the 'More/Dome' tab.  When Shutter opened at the start of there session there where no warning, but the Zigbee Opening Time as reported as '--' i.e. unknown.  It would seem that the recent installed battery is possibly a bad one and should be replaced. There is a risk that the whole packet with 3 remaining batteries are bad.   A new battery (from the same pack of 4) was installed today 2026-05-10, and reconnected to network.  Issues with battery strength continued beyond 2026-05-10 and are documented in the ticket above. Eventually determined that the Sensor had developed a fault and was resolved by installing a new replacement (identified by phoscon sensor id 26, see Fig 2) on 2026-05-27.
  Fixed  2026-05-27 (Observatory, Zigbee Network / Shutter Bot Sensor)
   
• The 'Observatory Door' open/close sensor has become unreachable to the Observatory's Zigbee Network (22:41).  The 'Observatory Door' was noted to be unreachable at the start of the session,  after only recently being reconnected to the network (on 2026-05-07).  Its battery level is down to around 48% and is affecting connectivity to the Network,  Battery needs to be replaced with a new CR1632 3V battery.  There is a risk that the whole packet with 3 remaining batteries are bad due to problem seen with Shutter Bot Sensor (see above).  A new battery (from the same pack of 4) was installed today 2026-05-10, and reconnected to network. It shows battery level at 100%.  The voltage in the removed battery was 2.80 V.
  To resolve 2026-05-10 (Observatory, Zigbee Network, Observatory Door Sensor)
   
• Focus Quality during the session was poor (22:50). Near Zenith auto- focusing for the LX200 telescope failed at start of the S1430A session (22:50) due to cloud and lost of the focus star, and due to later target focusing failures meant that all images from the session were out of focus - not significantly to prevent centering operations but enough to effect image quality, and require images to be rejected. Issue closed after review, problem put down to sky conditions. A separate ticket has been raised to raise a yellow Alert when Near Zenith Focusing fails at start of session.
  Closed after review  2026-05-10 (Session, Auto-Focusing)

Small Defects

• Software Versions not included in Session Notes page built using AstroMain's new NotesBuilder. A new NotesBuilder feature has been added to AstroMain 3.82, which can build a draft Session Notes page for the current or latest session.  After the S1430 session started and new SessionVersions.htm was written on the Observatory Computer, the Session Notes page was generated on the Development Computer.  Page was generated but was missing the expected section with Software Versions. Investigating show that there was a small bug in the assignment of SessionVersions file path in NotesBuilder.PopulateFields() routine. Fixed in AstroMain 3.82.1.
  Fixed 2026-05-09 (AstroMain 3.82.1)
   
• Software Versions File produced by AstroMain's ReportSoftwareVersion() routine has obmissions (22:42). The ReportSoftwareVersions() routine was modified in AstroMain 3.82 to output a SessionVersions.htm file that can be used by AstroMain's new NotesBuilder facility, however the output file is obmitting the version number for MeadeGeneric drive and deCONZ. Bugs found and fixed in AstroMain 3.82.1.
  Fixed 2026-05-09 (AstroMain 3.82.1)
   
• Current radius value for Pulsar Dome in DeviceHub's Dome Geometry Setup is incorrect.  Due to confusion in labelling in the former POTH.Hub application the radius of 2000mm has been used in DeviceHub's Dome Geometry Setup.  The correct figure to use is 1100mm (half of the dome diameter, 2.2m) .  Fixed 2026-05-12 (see Fig 1).
  Fixed 2026-05-12 (DeviceHub Dome)
   
• AstroMain/VMA's 'CompileVmaResults()' routine produced bad Result records for R CrB. PhotMeasurement table has valid records for 'R CrB' for multiple sessions has problems compiling valid PhotResult records when the CompileVmaRecord() routine is run.  Records are produced, with MeasurementDate of vcNullDate and MeasurementValue of vcNull , Altitude vcNull, Airmass vcNull, GroupSet "".    Stepping through the code shows that varMeas is computed as an empty list in BuildFilterResult() routine and show that the problem is that the PhotMeasurement table doesn't contain any 'V' (variable star) measurements.  In addition examining VMA2 reporting shows that V filter images are failing due to a missing reference record in the \Reference\ProjectStars.txt' file.  Fixed 2026-05-14 - FixBadResults4_DeleteNullDate() routine used to remove PhotResult where MeasurementDate = "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", Extra record added with to ProjectStars.txt' file. Comparison Star V Mag obtained from AAVSO  Sequence for R CrB (000-BBW-57).   Images for R CrB from S1200 to S1429 re-analysed in order to measure V magnitudes and add them to database .
  Fixed 2026-05-14 (AstroVMA)

Continuous Improvement

• Yellow 'Focusing' alert to be raised when NearZenith Focusing operation fails. Near Zenith auto- focusing for the LX200 telescope failed at start of the S1430A session due to cloud, and due to later target focusing failures meant that all images from the session were out of focus - not significantly to prevent centering operations but enough to effect image quality, and require images to be rejected. An alert would make it more likely that the user will spot issue and intervene if necessary. Implemented in AstroMain 3.82.1.
  Done 2026-05-10 (AstroMain 3.82.1)
   
• Make a number of small improvement to VarStar Graph Plotting. The VarStar Graph plotting, accessed from AstroMain/PageBuilder's Graph Tab, was recently introduced.  A number for small fixes and improvements have been identified.
   - Add 'More Blue' and 'More Red' labels to axes using Colour Index (improvement)
   - Reverse the X Axis when used for Colour Index (improvement)
   - Make check/Control Star Line of best fit, fully extend to the right hand side of graph (bug)
  Done 2026-05-13 (AstroMain 3.82.1)
   
• Provide a means for AstroMain's VMA2 analysis to optionally analyse images for a single Variable Star object. Currently VMA2 analysis is performed on images in a single folder.  If images from just a certain target object need to be newly analysed or re-analysed those images have to be copied to or moved to a new photometry data folder (e.g from 'Fits_S1312_3x3'  to 'Fits_S1312_3x3 RR Leo'), but this carries a manual and disk space overhead. Alternatively the whole set of images has to be analysed a fresh, but even though the database loading operation removes prior records to prevent any duplication this alternative leads to unnecessary analysis and adds time to the analysis process.    In ths situation It would be more convenient if the name of the specfic target object could be entered in a field or selected from a list, and the VMA2 analysis then restricted to images of the one object.   Similarly the compile results operation should be applied to just the one target object.  Implemented in AstroMain 3.28.2.
  Done 2026-05-14 (AstroMain 3.82.2)
   
• Extend AstroMain's MagnitudePlotter to handle graph time spans of less than one day, need when plotting a TimeSeries dataset. The MagnitudePlotter in AstroMain 3.82/3.82.1 is designed to handle time spans for several days to several years.   But for plotting a graph of a time series taken in a single session, the time span may extend from under an hour to several hours.  To handle this new variables (spanHours, tickHours & tickMinutes) are added to the MagnitudePlotter class (supplementing the existing spanDays variable and tickDays ). New members ( Minute, FiveMinutes, TenMinutes, FifteenMinutes, ThirtyMinutes, Hourly) are added to the TickMode enum.  ComputeXAxisTicks() routine is extended to handle sub-day time spans.  t.  Implemented in AstroMain 3.28.2
  Done 2026-05-14 (AstroMain 3.82.2)
   
• Incorporate Legacy Mag Graph plotting in AstroMain's MagnitudePlotter.  Before the current MagnitudePlotter was built, there was a prior prototype Magnitude Graph Plotting set of routines for Transient & Supernova Light Curves with TDays (Days since Discovery) on X Axis.  It is proposed to do incorporate the these legacy TDays graph features into Magnitude Plotter, and in due course redact & remove the older plotting routines. This will be achieved by creating a generic VarStar/Graph configuration in AstroVma, called 'GenericTDays' ,  populating the VarStar fields and setting a .UseLegacyTDays flag to True, which is used to reproduce the style of the original TDays graphs. Implemented in AstroMain 3.82.2
  Done 2026-05-14 (AstroMain 3.82.1)

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