David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1466 (2026-10-17)

Notes (S1465)

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Notes (S1467)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (1),  Small Defects (4),  Continuous Improvement (0)
	- Figures (0)
	Images from 2026-10-17  >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2026-10-17)

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 xx.xx  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 1.3.12.522, UPB 3, PulsarDome 6.4.0.0
• Peg-Unity 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 2.18.2, ASCOM 7.1.0.4707
   
• AstroMain 3.84.11 / 3.84.12, AstroPlan 1.47.5, AstroShCap 1.3.23, AstroGuard 1.13.2
  AstroMag 1.5.12, AstroVOE 2.0.1, AstroSN 1.16.2, AstroProtect 1.7, AstroMove 1.19.2
  
• AstroWeather 1.33.3 / 1.33.4 / 1.33.5, AstroLaunch 1.14.10
   
• AstroAllSky, AstroObsCam  & CumulusMX/Weather Station not used (due to failed AllSky/Weather Computer)

Highlights

• Targets. 11/35 planned targets were completed with 1 target partially completed. Other targets failed due to cloud / session suspension, and cancelled due to user termination of session due to weather (this was a unfortunate because the skies cleared later)
•  Dome. No issues open/closing shutter. Dome was successfully parked at the end of the session.

Notes

• .

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

Sky Conditions (Locate Frames)

Night Sky Summary Plot

not available

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

not available

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 18:36:13 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 19:13 & 05:54 18:36:17   AutoStart Waiting AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 19:13 19:13:31   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to missing sky/weather information 19:13:41 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (19:13) 19:13:47 Session Created Session Created (Live, 2026-10-17 S01466) 19:13:50   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.) 19:14:15   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Switch 19:16:03   Services Started Observatory Services started 19:16:14 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 19:16:16   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to missing sky/weather information 19:16:18 Session Pending Session pending (2026-10-17) 19:16:20 Session Initiating Session initiating (2026-10-17) 19:16:44   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 19:16:48   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.47.5) 19:17:46   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (PlanID: 1267) 19:17:55   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 19:18:19 Session Equilibration Session ready to Open Dome 19:19:05   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 40s) 19:19:07 Session Running Session running 19:19:09   Queue Started Observing Queue started (35 targets selected) 19:19:15     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 20, HIP 99625) 19:19:31       Dome Unparked Dome unparked 19:24:29       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 19:27:06       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 19:29:57       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 19:30:25       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 19:32:31       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 19:34:27       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 19:34:51     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 20, HIP 99625) 19:34:55     Target Started (1/35) Target started (1/35, CGCG 248-049 w/SN2026aeaq) 19:39:30       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-LSI) 19:55:45     Target Completed Target completed (1/35, CGCG 248-049 w/SN2026aeaq) 19:55:49     Target Started (2/35) Target started (2/35, T CrB) 19:59:54       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:02:27       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 20:07:31     Target Completed Target completed (2/35, T CrB) 20:07:35     Target Started (3/35) Target started (3/35, AT 2026stb (Nova)) 20:11:57       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:15:05       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 20:26:34     Target Completed Target completed (3/35, AT 2026stb (Nova)) 20:26:38     Target Started (4/35) Target started (4/35, Nova Aql 2026 (Nova)) 20:30:37       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:33:46       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 20:40:01     Target Completed Target completed (4/35, Nova Aql 2026 (Nova)) 20:40:05     Target Started (5/35) Target started (5/35, GCVS CI Cyg) 20:43:53       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:46:01       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 20:50:06     Target Completed Target completed (5/35, GCVS CI Cyg) 20:50:10     Target Started (6/35) Target started (6/35, AT2022bvc (CV)) 20:53:56       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:56:31       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 21:02:40     Target Completed Target completed (6/35, AT2022bvc (CV)) 21:02:44     Target Started (7/35) Target started (7/35, GCVS BL Lac) 21:06:19       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:08:21       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 21:12:15     Target Completed Target completed (7/35, GCVS BL Lac) 21:12:19     Target Started (8/35) Target started (8/35, LEDA 1104425 w/SN2025nou) 21:33:32     Target Completed Target completed (8/35, LEDA 1104425 w/SN2025nou) 21:33:36     Target Started (9/35) Target started (9/35, Nova Sge 2026 (Nova)) 21:37:47       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:40:20       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 21:47:41     Target Completed Target completed (9/35, Nova Sge 2026 (Nova)) 21:47:45     Target Started (10/35) Target started (10/35, AT2026kwi) 21:51:27       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:53:56       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 22:10:09     Target Completed Target completed (10/35, AT2026kwi) 22:10:14     Target Started (11/35) Target started (11/35, AT2026adgn (CV)) 22:30:43     Target Completed Target completed (11/35, AT2026adgn (CV)) 22:30:48     Target Started (12/35) Target started (12/35, PCG 2324+0051) 22:34:38       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:37:44       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 22:49:13   Critical Cloud Alert Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Dome) 22:49:15   HardSuspend Called Hard Suspend called due to Critical Conditions (cloud) 22:49:19     Target Aborted (12/35) Target aborted (12/35, PCG 2324+0051) due to cloud 22:49:21   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 22:49:23 Session Suspending Session suspending 22:50:13   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 43s) 22:50:16 Session Suspended Session suspended 23:09:57     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (13/35, PCG 0017-0206) due to cloud 23:31:57     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (14/35, AT2026yov) due to cloud 23:53:57     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (15/35, M31 w/AT2026wvv) due to cloud 00:06:07     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (16/35, GCVS RX And) due to cloud 00:21:13     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (17/35, GCVS U And) due to cloud 00:31:01 User Intervention User Intervention to abort job queue & switch back to Manual Mode 00:31:03 Observatory (Manual) Observatory placed in Manual Mode 00:31:05   Queue Aborted Job Queue aborted 00:31:18   Services Stopped Observatory Services stopped 00:32:42 Program Opened Program Opened (AstroMain 3.84.12) 00:32:53   Obs.Overseer Started Obs.Overseer started 00:33:36   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 00:33:38   Services Started Observatory Services started 01:32:29 Session Resumed Session Resumed (Live, 2026-10-17 S01466) 02:14:51 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 02:14 & 05:54 02:14:53 Observatory (AutoStart) Observatory placed in Auto-Start Mode 02:14:55   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to cloud 02:15:39 Observatory (Manual) Observatory placed in Manual Mode 02:16:51   Services Started Observatory Services started 02:18:21 Session Closing Session closing 02:18:23   Dome Closed Dome already closed (closed at 22:50, closing time 50s, zigbee 0s) 02:19:23   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 50s), Az: 90.0 deg 02:19:31   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 3s total) 02:19:55   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 02:20:39   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 02:20:53   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 02:20:56 Session Finishing Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 02:21:43     Dome (Find Park) Find Park started (Search Az 88.0 to 92.0°, Step 0.2°, Narrow) 02:22:33     Dome Find Park found (Best Park Az 90.6°) 02:22:39     Dome Dome has been synced at park position (Az 90.0°, Adjustment: -0.6°) 02:22:41   Dome Parked Dome parked 02:24:11   Dome Charging Dome is parked and re-charging Ok (16mA) 02:24:13 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time     Type       Name Detail 23:05:24 Red Alert AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins 23:06:24 Green Clear AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data is active again (outage 6.0 mins) 23:41:33 Red Alert AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins 23:42:53 Green Clear AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data is active again (outage 6.4 mins) 00:43:27 Red Alert AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins 00:43:32 Red Alert Cloud Sensor Cloud Sensor data has been inactive for more than 5 min 00:46:02 Green Clear Cloud Sensor Cloud Sensor data is active again (outage 7.5 min) 00:46:04 Green Clear AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data is active again (outage 7.6 mins) 01:30:21 Red Alert Cloud Sensor Cloud Sensor data has been inactive for more than 5 min 01:30:23 Red Alert AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins 01:30:51 Green Clear Cloud Sensor Cloud Sensor data is active again (outage 5.5 min) 01:30:53 Green Clear AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data is active again (outage 5.5 mins) 01:33:13 Red Alert Telescope Power Telescope has been on for 1 hour without AstroMain safeguard (01:33) 01:51:38 Red Alert AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins 01:51:43 Red Alert Cloud Sensor Cloud Sensor data has been inactive for more than 5 min 01:52:03 Green Clear Cloud Sensor Cloud Sensor data is active again (outage 5.4 min) 01:52:05 Green Clear AllSky/Synopsis AllSky Star & Synopsis data is active again (outage 5.5 mins) 02:16:15 Green Clear Telescope Power Telescope is connected and under AstroMain Protection. 02:24:11 Green Clear Dome Charging Dome is parked and re-charging Ok (16mA)

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Operational Issues (2026-10-17 S1466)

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

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Restarts of the ObsEnv Listener service in AstroWeather are unable to receive ObsEnv records from AstroMain.  AstroWeather 1.33 - 1.33.3 have received quite a lot of updates, and whilst testing it is noticed that the AstroWeather is unable to successfully restart the ObsEnv listener service.  An earlier issue where the service immediatelly exited upon restart has been resolved earlier, but this exposes a deeper issues that whilst the service loop  runs, new records are not being received. Multiple attempts to fix this, including modifications to AstroWeather 1.33.4 & 1.33.5 and a modification to AstroMain 3.83.12, failed to resolve the new restart issue. The workaround for this issue is to restart the whole AstroWeather program whenever services need to be restarted / modified.  In progress. 
  Following command use to diagnose problems
     netstat -ano | findstr :4020
  Powershell elevated:
     netsh trace start capture=yes tracefile=c:\temp\nettrace.etl
     netsh trace stop
   To investigate 2026-10-18 (AstroWeather 1.33.6, AstroMain 3.84.13)

Small Defects

• Part of new GuideQualityChart was clipped off when Session & AstroMain program was restarted (00:32).  The session's Guide Quality Chart shows minor clipping of the last a data pont & a short section of grid lines and a there is single time label which is missing. This suggests an issue reestablishing correct position when the session was restarted at 00:32 to install a new AstroMain program version. (3.84.13). Although the chart's grHours is saved when session/program closes (and after 9 guide runs it would already have been extended to some 4.5 or 5 hours) and then read in again when the session restarts (this was added in AstroMain 3.84.11 on 2026-10-16 (MI S1464)). However  it seems that the correct value of grHours had become overwritten by the grHours=4 hours default value, and the chart was then subsequently clipped when it was next extended which would have been when the final chart was made at the end of the session, as no further guide points were added after the program restart (however the same issue would have occurred). Problem seems to be that the ResumeSessionCharts() routine doesn't call GuideQualityChart.ResumeChart, due to coding oversight when GuideQualityChart was introduced in AstroMain 3.84.9 (2026-10-12). Fixed in AstroMain 3.84.13. GuideQualityChart.ResumeCharts() is now called when session resumes. This routine has the following lines:
      EndTime = StartTime.AddHours(grHours)
    grRight = grLeft + grHours * xScale
  Setting grRight is critical as the ExtendGraph() routine needs to define the correct x Position to extend the graph from with
      xExtend = grRight - 10
   Fixed 2026-10-18 (AstroMain 3.84.13)
   
• Multiple instances where AllSky Star & Synopsis data or CloudSensor data being similarly inactive for more than 5 minutes (23:05- 01:51). There were 5 raised AllSky/Synopsis alerts during the session with the message "AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins" and 3 instances of Cloud Sensor data has beein inactive for more than 5 minutes. These were all associated with testing new AstroWeather versions in attempt to fix an ObsEnv connection issue when the ObsEnv is restarted.   The messages in AstroMain are a side-product of that testing. Ticket closed as this issue understood, the underlying issue in AstroWeather/ObsEnv remains unresolved however.
   Closed 2026-10-18 (AstroWeather, AstroMain) 
   
• Observatory Shutter Charts weren't updated after the session  (2026-10-18).  Charts produced by AstroWeather after the session didn't show the battery information. Problem was identified as being due to temporary disablement of ObsEnv data whilst testing Restart ObsEnvListener issues using AstroWeather 1.33.5. Issue resolved by importing AstroMain's saved ObsEnv data into AstroWeather and using AstroWeather 1.33.6 where the saving of ObsEnv data was reenabled.
   Fixed 2026-10-18 (AstroWeather 1.33.6) 
   
• FtpQueue isn't immediately exiting when AstroWeather's new WebUpload Service is stopped. WebUpload Service was recently added to AstroWeather (to replace its former location in AstroAllSky).  When the new service is stopped the loop in FtpQueue continues executing until all items in the queue  (could be as many as 60 or so) are all uploaded.  Whilst a flag bCloseFtpQueue' is raised when there is a request to stop the WebUplod Service, it is currently only checekd in the outer loop and not in the inner loop. . Fixed in AstroWeather 1.33.6, the check on bCloseFtpQueue is now also made inside the inner loop.
   Closed 2026-10-18 (AstroWeather 1.33.6) 

Continuous Improvement

• None

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