tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90206410280072589012024-02-21T04:32:42.206+02:00SALT Image Quality FixupLisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-51876508048461315512013-04-26T22:40:00.000+02:002013-05-16T23:05:57.994+02:00Further Cleaning of the SALTICAM Optics<div style="text-align: justify;">
The successful cleaning of SALTICAM's front lens prompted us to apply the same techniques to the other lens surfaces that suffered coating damage. Once the cryostat is removed, the back surface of the rear barrel lens group is relatively accessible. Other than having to avoid the pick-off prisms for the auto-guider, the cleaning of this surface was a fairly simple matter & the results were encouraging.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnj1A5qJMC7o9E3tcjNlj4oh4PhO783avn3Q7YlEjETLpt5A_q9A-Idd8HdsvyZmZ5v6aDgD_Y-kIhsoBoetSvPcvvpv6vPBJbK4y6PIx7EKmwS9YwhVYDa_4-qjxNEHGoZYCMNcZh7ys/s1600/sDSCN1563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnj1A5qJMC7o9E3tcjNlj4oh4PhO783avn3Q7YlEjETLpt5A_q9A-Idd8HdsvyZmZ5v6aDgD_Y-kIhsoBoetSvPcvvpv6vPBJbK4y6PIx7EKmwS9YwhVYDa_4-qjxNEHGoZYCMNcZh7ys/s400/sDSCN1563.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rear surface of the rear barrel lens group was relatively easy to clean.</td></tr>
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The remaining 2 surfaces were extremely difficult to access as the gap between them, where the shutter & filter gripper mechanisms fit in, is only ~35 mm. The image below shows the space between these 2 lenses. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9domeLzhdb2A5c3QllEV_NTzzdtldM6BAW9urn1MlZnu6wz1dcpfHOzHm6vKOz7zYMYsuAD6lPzXooIhUvssgEGRORODL3Wb19k-X5s31ZeoW_D0Y1IUl1TD_ieObtWP55DqoAMR0iv/s1600/sDSCN1530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9domeLzhdb2A5c3QllEV_NTzzdtldM6BAW9urn1MlZnu6wz1dcpfHOzHm6vKOz7zYMYsuAD6lPzXooIhUvssgEGRORODL3Wb19k-X5s31ZeoW_D0Y1IUl1TD_ieObtWP55DqoAMR0iv/s400/sDSCN1530.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 35 mm gap between the front (lower) & rear (upper) barrel lens groups, viewed from above with the shutter & filter gripper mechanisms removed.</td></tr>
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The concave rear lens surface of the front barrel lens group suffered the worst coating damage & thus had plenty of residue deposited on the surface.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwimsFkzCVpApvavb-tt0BOJaOghScmikykDeouuDKAUT_XVVmii5JUiEUHPmxb0XKOnZIL2TAgCD_7YEhkKzgFbjbZexK1a5vWcIp3tu4mut3ikLVwM_fTfJHNJxiywxet_N7_LatGTi/s1600/sDSCN1531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwimsFkzCVpApvavb-tt0BOJaOghScmikykDeouuDKAUT_XVVmii5JUiEUHPmxb0XKOnZIL2TAgCD_7YEhkKzgFbjbZexK1a5vWcIp3tu4mut3ikLVwM_fTfJHNJxiywxet_N7_LatGTi/s400/sDSCN1531.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The concave rear surface of the front barrel lens group that suffered the worst condensation & hence coating damage.</td></tr>
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The convex front lens of the rear barrel lens group is made of thermally sensitive calcium fluoride. This surface was heavily contaminated with what appeared to be a dark, dusty material. An additional concern about cleaning this surface stemmed from the fact that uncoated calcium fluoride may be eroded by water when subject to prolonged exposure. The surface does have a Spectrum Thin Films coating, but this was compromised by the condensation event & so we were weary of using de-ionised water on this lens..</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpGIihRtHu12wKp8pky7MlVeXp9QjbTeX0Y_WEyQJpxJM3YQODh1wKbkHSZtC7Nmjh9L_ny8A9qs6YXhW72WXmOWbT0oPB10SYChRMnjIJZWd7kBpzLfGyAIgRZxTMLZuUzTSJuxq5FAT/s1600/sDSCN1534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpGIihRtHu12wKp8pky7MlVeXp9QjbTeX0Y_WEyQJpxJM3YQODh1wKbkHSZtC7Nmjh9L_ny8A9qs6YXhW72WXmOWbT0oPB10SYChRMnjIJZWd7kBpzLfGyAIgRZxTMLZuUzTSJuxq5FAT/s400/sDSCN1534.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The convex calcium fluoride front surface of the rear barrel lens group which was heavily contaminated with "dust" from mechanical wear of the shutter mechanism.</td></tr>
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Given the limited space between the 2 lenses, we planned to use a shaped wad of cotton wool to reach down to first clean the concave surface at the back of the front barrel.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCjC7ZTYsE-bKCd2c6s1OZ4klJtFGTAhniDk-SnjuSq-_Fi7Q0q3GsinRxxTHDL9BCWyOVPYP1KF5uTLYv5IYguzx0IceiC6agCMNM9DHbELMAjI-AsWwt6KcES23cvkm_DpoUv0df4-E/s1600/sDSCN1565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCjC7ZTYsE-bKCd2c6s1OZ4klJtFGTAhniDk-SnjuSq-_Fi7Q0q3GsinRxxTHDL9BCWyOVPYP1KF5uTLYv5IYguzx0IceiC6agCMNM9DHbELMAjI-AsWwt6KcES23cvkm_DpoUv0df4-E/s400/sDSCN1565.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heroes of the day: Darragh & John (Booth) preparing to take on the impossible pair of lens surfaces.</td></tr>
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This was soon found to be impractical, but fortunately John Booth's hands proved to be ideally suited to the task. With a protective sheet of thin card taped over the convex lens, he was able to reach into the narrow gap, with a damp wad of lint-free cloth, to clean the concave surface.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxuI4YDrjzlwojvlYRlA9NnqgRTMqrV_5FnoFpbrqDm-iHkg1FJA95R59HRXEaEe0gGCPYgSAKRuEZGCg2NNhcwpvzJI-eWeI9uJ52x-_RxS0cr2KCc74-DDYNoJQN7SR0tgslR2eMeA4/s1600/sDSCN1584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxuI4YDrjzlwojvlYRlA9NnqgRTMqrV_5FnoFpbrqDm-iHkg1FJA95R59HRXEaEe0gGCPYgSAKRuEZGCg2NNhcwpvzJI-eWeI9uJ52x-_RxS0cr2KCc74-DDYNoJQN7SR0tgslR2eMeA4/s400/sDSCN1584.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The essential combination of long, thin fingers, an extremely flat hand that could somehow reach down within the narrow gap between the 2 lens groups & a contortionist's dexterity to be able to sweep around the whole lens surface.</td></tr>
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Several passes were required to cover the whole lens to remove all of the dirt - including a number of dark spots visible in the image below.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinFRQV5G37BCLtKzwCqM4jWFhxWA82ROyM1jS80ydV3GLR_BzlMyFaRBXhkAUZYQnsnarBbW9CWbAqWxqXCKU7KfXFs2BHIrLr65SBd21CxN6BLcljCrwF-VWeZSVABLon_zBjAyIpyJB/s1600/sDSC_2453.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinFRQV5G37BCLtKzwCqM4jWFhxWA82ROyM1jS80ydV3GLR_BzlMyFaRBXhkAUZYQnsnarBbW9CWbAqWxqXCKU7KfXFs2BHIrLr65SBd21CxN6BLcljCrwF-VWeZSVABLon_zBjAyIpyJB/s400/sDSC_2453.jpg" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Numerous dark spots, due to the accumulation of coating residue, were visible on the back surface of the front barrel lens group & were successfully removed by the cleaning process.</td></tr>
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As with the front lens surface, an acetone/isopropanol solution was applied first, followed by de-ionised water which removed any residues from the coating damage. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAAyd-WX7UgnHtztmastkFWv5godFR0HT4JYyOsxg7KrscLGHazifs0E8YxaVdWHDKzWvV6SWS-9onL3wLbvAHMaJEjWb6rG8Ldll4gYZfF3-XQ3LFgawcXUFeBIFBO6dg-kexjO4qtAT/s1600/sDSC_2462.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAAyd-WX7UgnHtztmastkFWv5godFR0HT4JYyOsxg7KrscLGHazifs0E8YxaVdWHDKzWvV6SWS-9onL3wLbvAHMaJEjWb6rG8Ldll4gYZfF3-XQ3LFgawcXUFeBIFBO6dg-kexjO4qtAT/s400/sDSC_2462.jpg" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The de-ionised water that so effectively removed coating residue from the surfaces also left substantial drops of water which needed to be dried.</td></tr>
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Finally, the lens was dried with more of the acetone/isopropanol solution.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdThOWvT8L3Wvsm7j4zJSwqZ50c7TCNKUh8UM1dpGpSNj1c8N1x6aEleLRE6CIcwBRB4wN9fh8Dq9NrkXlOZCTEO6llXMxrFIOUR5JSef2n06tvgdjsaM38nTmpgAizySOyx-uuegQP-J/s1600/sDSC_2466.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdThOWvT8L3Wvsm7j4zJSwqZ50c7TCNKUh8UM1dpGpSNj1c8N1x6aEleLRE6CIcwBRB4wN9fh8Dq9NrkXlOZCTEO6llXMxrFIOUR5JSef2n06tvgdjsaM38nTmpgAizySOyx-uuegQP-J/s400/sDSC_2466.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The acetone/isopropanol solution readily removed the drops of moisture left by wiping the surface with de-ionised water.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CTLSjZtPthd6G6N9gqrX2KY4-SK8UKzfqHjTXJHGNMkNP9FKbH64BP0fU8PIosHbbDaIhIwmqGBbY_-dM94NhOX-HlxhREu2KONasb7NXQBy6n191kOmrrFE0U9w6_pZydQ-n_i7igLL/s1600/sDSC_2466.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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This process significantly improved the condition of the back surface of the front barrel lens group. However, looking through the lenses at this stage revealed just how badly contaminated the front lens of the rear barrel lens group was.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPW5kcKFwsdu20IKKwVVFG-ULXivpr0hY7wrXLNRnuOYM3JWze9Bel92PM836Oq9C-iw5y4n3vDoCpU2gNSERM2bYD4DAbPPc2FXLip9OAkG3P15Lk6dAJYmFIDnBacBUCmrmkSm21JcI/s1600/sDSCN1601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPW5kcKFwsdu20IKKwVVFG-ULXivpr0hY7wrXLNRnuOYM3JWze9Bel92PM836Oq9C-iw5y4n3vDoCpU2gNSERM2bYD4DAbPPc2FXLip9OAkG3P15Lk6dAJYmFIDnBacBUCmrmkSm21JcI/s400/sDSCN1601.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With 3 of the 4 damaged surfaces cleaned, it was apparent that the fourth badly needed cleaning as well, even though we were reluctant to tackle the calcium fluoride element.</td></tr>
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A protective card was taped over the clean concave lens &, as before, the surrounding lens cell was cleaned with the acetone/isopropanol solution prior to tackling the cleaning of the lens itself. Huge amounts of fine black dust were removed from the cell & surrounds.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNchg1sODx8XOhvCpYaoki-DCss_o8dt7zaS6AoazZvu09gUdpHN8n49_oWr9QOZ9jzbpPrJ3it773RhCxItAOOll9oapVi2GhtgnrLmt4zNhiFmpXDpOQxp_6FD57OuumIqjhPhSUheF/s1600/sDSCN1621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNchg1sODx8XOhvCpYaoki-DCss_o8dt7zaS6AoazZvu09gUdpHN8n49_oWr9QOZ9jzbpPrJ3it773RhCxItAOOll9oapVi2GhtgnrLmt4zNhiFmpXDpOQxp_6FD57OuumIqjhPhSUheF/s400/sDSCN1621.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The area surrounding the front lens of the rear barrel lens group was heavily coated with fine, black dust liberated by the shutter mechanism.</td></tr>
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This material is believed to be from mechanical wear on the shutter mechanism which is situated closest to this lens surface. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYKeH_0VBD3LKQQO8fPAOP1JzJbdKdHYECZcYslfJkSLQ_D48dAy9Zyo25j9zMiM2YP9cnThK-TitJLZGXJr_4WP06FOgqxyWz3Hh04lVzMAPaey2tHmLuIMJZHEEWmBsrXX4uXDi-eeI/s1600/sDSCN1629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYKeH_0VBD3LKQQO8fPAOP1JzJbdKdHYECZcYslfJkSLQ_D48dAy9Zyo25j9zMiM2YP9cnThK-TitJLZGXJr_4WP06FOgqxyWz3Hh04lVzMAPaey2tHmLuIMJZHEEWmBsrXX4uXDi-eeI/s400/sDSCN1629.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning the front surface of the rear barrel lens group was an extremely delicate process.</td></tr>
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The cleaning process for this surface was slow & particularly careful so as to remove all of this fine material without producing scratches. Given the concerns about the damaged coating on the calcium fluoride surface, we decided not to apply de-ionised water, but only used the acetone/isopropanol solution. Most of the contamination on this surface was in the form of "shutter dust" & so the strategy proved highly successful, as evidenced by the images below.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5UYXnY1MjzRBhPQxY_xlRLJayXOc2E-UEKD7FQ765hABS9uekUYFxdLOjMG0c-NSaIJ9jL4QKBkT2tIExMYZw9mufbgTo9YwDLNbSUKWB0qiD1q8pHPUSqGSPfxpgps0nz_JU3qaKuIw/s1600/sDSCN1636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5UYXnY1MjzRBhPQxY_xlRLJayXOc2E-UEKD7FQ765hABS9uekUYFxdLOjMG0c-NSaIJ9jL4QKBkT2tIExMYZw9mufbgTo9YwDLNbSUKWB0qiD1q8pHPUSqGSPfxpgps0nz_JU3qaKuIw/s400/sDSCN1636.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking backwards through all of the lenses after the damaged surfaces had been cleaned (front lens cap on).</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UkSE8RIKfjTyhTIBnBt4Js8VEPW4Ik2xOu5f_MfninPb9E3r01aTldBDyWipkeluHFg_sk0Ji4Yy1GHjKLQlm00pH1MW7WZ25BrovbewrDCS8k2DRrPQNu3FnXWufxEWOlike-oV3g9l/s1600/sDSCN1641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UkSE8RIKfjTyhTIBnBt4Js8VEPW4Ik2xOu5f_MfninPb9E3r01aTldBDyWipkeluHFg_sk0Ji4Yy1GHjKLQlm00pH1MW7WZ25BrovbewrDCS8k2DRrPQNu3FnXWufxEWOlike-oV3g9l/s400/sDSCN1641.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An encouraging reverse view through all of the lenses after they had been cleaned (ambient light).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdfax5x3crKDIlU-HwckiHgK1-_cN7ZsdK3j6hmni02mDfUQbdpaHXmwOG53nKl5AbjywI5gn_FrRXCM3y3EDw5WPRWFR-1Tul_7tQabnA36Tau74c0tKJBrOAPxu_DPBqZz72AOnx1Q4/s1600/sDSCN1643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdfax5x3crKDIlU-HwckiHgK1-_cN7ZsdK3j6hmni02mDfUQbdpaHXmwOG53nKl5AbjywI5gn_FrRXCM3y3EDw5WPRWFR-1Tul_7tQabnA36Tau74c0tKJBrOAPxu_DPBqZz72AOnx1Q4/s400/sDSCN1643.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another post-cleaning reverse view, lens cap removed & illuminated with a LED flashlight + ambient light.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4ARR5073l7F3efOaiNqgDtpEvfUMxNljP8zRei4PWzFuxMBkFyOBKPOnSqXOw_NugdxarPwcGbVXopoRvrdm4S3xcDKtaXl2-F4R9nkInvLy1o_hveiIFxtoBeUqdKwO8pYgmMKQRyWP/s1600/sDSCN1647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4ARR5073l7F3efOaiNqgDtpEvfUMxNljP8zRei4PWzFuxMBkFyOBKPOnSqXOw_NugdxarPwcGbVXopoRvrdm4S3xcDKtaXl2-F4R9nkInvLy1o_hveiIFxtoBeUqdKwO8pYgmMKQRyWP/s400/sDSCN1647.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet another reverse-view, illuminated with a LED flashlight but no ambient light.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVwLhdAFu7oszlb5kO1RjLpJGYzAC5yNwp9n0_tYqgSGACnYBMw6w_JM3vE9Fgdf6QJnR7u2hitV0yLA0ueooXcVfAQvCo6H4O3jx-Wqmx7pYjiIvQVTFS6kTdSEc4l-VNl63KR60UWhT/s1600/sDSCN1648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVwLhdAFu7oszlb5kO1RjLpJGYzAC5yNwp9n0_tYqgSGACnYBMw6w_JM3vE9Fgdf6QJnR7u2hitV0yLA0ueooXcVfAQvCo6H4O3jx-Wqmx7pYjiIvQVTFS6kTdSEc4l-VNl63KR60UWhT/s400/sDSCN1648.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front view with the optics indirectly illuminated from behind with a LED flashlight.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Illuminated with both a LED flashlight & a camera's (red) autofocus-assist lamp, we see the various surfaces of the SALTICAM lenses. The coating damage on the rear surface of the front barrel lens group is clearly visible around the red spot to the upper left of the image.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqd0OvU3myv4TTYCAUXQUpxipYYlorZoWNf4tryDVP5_RIBUrv8fBdC2Ztiv3Y1fx5IMrul3eZCH3umHVeoE2fNyPI8dzp6mTCngN91in6VLNum-ClykIF6SfhgwfwDr0kgvmYhDz-gDG/s1600/sDSC_2476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqd0OvU3myv4TTYCAUXQUpxipYYlorZoWNf4tryDVP5_RIBUrv8fBdC2Ztiv3Y1fx5IMrul3eZCH3umHVeoE2fNyPI8dzp6mTCngN91in6VLNum-ClykIF6SfhgwfwDr0kgvmYhDz-gDG/s400/sDSC_2476.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-cleaning front-view, illuminated with a LED flashlight & a digital camera's (red) auto-focus assist lamp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lastly, we also cleaned the dewar window in front of the CCDs using the combination of the acetone/isopropanol solution & de-ionised water.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqcyfLy5vPzUm8kH36SR8nqppU0LnXiRXx5gu0Sb2hlHX_xkInTcBt9m-HMAzF8tziMzbyMF6eYqZnDZkgtMVrDNYCaNwxoUFRXNaziWGYbqMX_XgNbCAHIwgPP2pKJZEaDRQDQQSMVmp/s1600/sDSCN1548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqcyfLy5vPzUm8kH36SR8nqppU0LnXiRXx5gu0Sb2hlHX_xkInTcBt9m-HMAzF8tziMzbyMF6eYqZnDZkgtMVrDNYCaNwxoUFRXNaziWGYbqMX_XgNbCAHIwgPP2pKJZEaDRQDQQSMVmp/s400/sDSCN1548.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty cryostat window prior to cleaning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All residues on this surface - including fine condensation marks near the centre of the window, were removed by the cleaning process.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIijaUi69l5KQSP_UMtAsFcw9lzw5QLddl9j5Bd6IMJQDIyTypFDek6L36VRr0j03RQCz5HdqGN-kaF8M4W7Ef0uy6kK4yz2kikcf2XXOVShmT7IUvZeDR9NQkmoLNXVt9SZ6wuTEg_Vz/s1600/sDSC_2484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIijaUi69l5KQSP_UMtAsFcw9lzw5QLddl9j5Bd6IMJQDIyTypFDek6L36VRr0j03RQCz5HdqGN-kaF8M4W7Ef0uy6kK4yz2kikcf2XXOVShmT7IUvZeDR9NQkmoLNXVt9SZ6wuTEg_Vz/s400/sDSC_2484.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cryostat window after cleaning with the combination of acetone/isopropanol & de-ionised water.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All of the above was done on Tuesday 23 April 2013.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-34046338185215670942013-04-17T22:24:00.000+02:002013-05-03T17:10:27.157+02:00Cleaning SALTICAM's Front Lens<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Monday 15 April, we attempted to clean SALTICAM's front lens. In order to access the lens edge, we had to remove the retaining ring that secures the front lens barrel in place. Although the instrument remained level throughout the process, we used screws with spacers & washers to ensure that the lenses could not move - thanks Craig!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OS1r7A8pM_0JI-WKD28snTITlORRBV43bVe_b9wJYT7fhqPO3T7rImQ1PRUzcnNWGRElQpwRUImkTK07kcQ8DpgPcUP08u9ilOIGKoUNo95dvjLce3ZcFwqw9H6ynL-oC9E3PN1Xc770/s1600/sDSCN1425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OS1r7A8pM_0JI-WKD28snTITlORRBV43bVe_b9wJYT7fhqPO3T7rImQ1PRUzcnNWGRElQpwRUImkTK07kcQ8DpgPcUP08u9ilOIGKoUNo95dvjLce3ZcFwqw9H6ynL-oC9E3PN1Xc770/s400/sDSCN1425.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washers used to clamp the front barrel in position after the retaining ring was removed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
A section of 1.5 mm thick o-ring cord was used to seal the gap exposed by the removal of the retaining ring as we did not want any moisture from the cleaning process to get into the lens barrel.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1Y3zCtdH5JykPoIzlJ8jtvUiZDSMApl_PGAG85oy4glnhsP-vXiU2F_430Ul7TIxJ8g_up8y9fXIuEs3KLyBpRZ2N1y7ijHfeMyz2rg4hZ-KaT3DPBw4yq2nmqIRgxWri4SVYgrSCatM/s1600/sDSCN1426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1Y3zCtdH5JykPoIzlJ8jtvUiZDSMApl_PGAG85oy4glnhsP-vXiU2F_430Ul7TIxJ8g_up8y9fXIuEs3KLyBpRZ2N1y7ijHfeMyz2rg4hZ-KaT3DPBw4yq2nmqIRgxWri4SVYgrSCatM/s400/sDSCN1426.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Removing the outer retaining ring left a narrow space that could have accumulated cleaning fluids so a piece of o-ring cord was used to seal the gap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We inspected the lens & took photos of the worst of the spots left by the large drops of water that dried on the surface. The colour & texture of the
spots is believed to be due to residue from the damaged coating: material that was stripped from
elsewhere on the surface & then re-deposited on the lens after
the mositure evaporated. Please click on the photos to view enlarged versions.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCWQGk8valtgw-d4Dc1bMkGphPo6dhthGvq6sePh9C3z_V2-WNflESW67BKQj7jNkElTFX0E1NDTtaV2PXuGfmjYJrcHzs6aj5Gm_NbF_KdUkkZkOseQYV_ITpLQtDoJU7DIdQYsw0Jyy/s1600/sDSCN1231.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCWQGk8valtgw-d4Dc1bMkGphPo6dhthGvq6sePh9C3z_V2-WNflESW67BKQj7jNkElTFX0E1NDTtaV2PXuGfmjYJrcHzs6aj5Gm_NbF_KdUkkZkOseQYV_ITpLQtDoJU7DIdQYsw0Jyy/s400/sDSCN1231.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the worst spots on the front lens surface - sites of large-scale deposition of the eroded coating material.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
A group of 4 large spots (the biggest being ~3 mm long & distinctly green, high-lighted in red in the image below) was noted above & to the left of the centre of the lens. Further to the upper left one can see the section of the lens with the most severe coating damage (high-lighted in blue).<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpsZUxOsUiHUw7vi9KDZrJ-9xHgeMKBDU_OS_obnMw9xs7YgZBcNLmzYnO-UjjLAvxRIl7efV_JTcHdCT17WZ_dwzKweKfAbmfoWusdDK7-fcsren2Tz1qylxPj_mwFMfHSpIaiIW4DEP/s1600/sDSC_2313.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpsZUxOsUiHUw7vi9KDZrJ-9xHgeMKBDU_OS_obnMw9xs7YgZBcNLmzYnO-UjjLAvxRIl7efV_JTcHdCT17WZ_dwzKweKfAbmfoWusdDK7-fcsren2Tz1qylxPj_mwFMfHSpIaiIW4DEP/s400/sDSC_2313.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A group of spots below the worst of the coating damage on the front lens. Note the greenish colour of the largest drop. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_1132666921"></span><span id="goog_1132666922"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We planned to follow Chris Clemens' recommendation of using a mixture of isopropyl alcohol & acetone to clean the lens, before applying the highest grade of de-ionised water (with a resistivity of at
least 18 megaohm.cm) to try to remove residues from the damaged coating. Before tackling the lens, we mixed a 50/50 isopropanol/acetone solution & tested it on one half of a clean test mirror, to check if it left any streaks or marks - it did not. We also tested a 50/50 mixture of ethanol & ether on the other half of the mirror, but found that it did not work quite as well. Thus we proceeded with the isopropanol/acetone solution. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At first, we only used a small amount of extremely pure cotton wool, wound around the end of a long cotton swab & saturated with the isopropanol/acetone solution, to try to remove one of the water marks near the bottom edge of the lens. Each swab was rotated while being lightly dragged over the surface (before being discarded & replaced with another). Although this did successfully remove dust from the lens, the spot remained unaffected.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcSG5sPaxQCSS3b5IYuVnP14xn2Fbfvg3LGmsvd7OAcLcwR37cCZ-wAUUgp9b3rhhPSO5C494Wgdq5JkrSYR8eAvp_0XG5Mf4ORdxacc-KhuHsejEHM9xZH1auPRiXiAUkGd-oI08hxTg/s1600/sDSCN1452.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcSG5sPaxQCSS3b5IYuVnP14xn2Fbfvg3LGmsvd7OAcLcwR37cCZ-wAUUgp9b3rhhPSO5C494Wgdq5JkrSYR8eAvp_0XG5Mf4ORdxacc-KhuHsejEHM9xZH1auPRiXiAUkGd-oI08hxTg/s400/sDSCN1452.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The region at the edge of the lens that we initially cleaned can be seen just to the right of the lower set of bright reflections. The faint spot in this region was immune to the isopropanol/acetone solution.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Disappointing as this was, we agreed to try the de-ionised water on the same area to see what effect it might have. The same treatment led to some reduction in the spot & so we applied more pressure & found that the spot was further reduced & eventually removed completely. We repeated this process on 2 more spots in the same region (radially inward, between the 2 bright reflections in the image above) & convinced ourselves that the technique was indeed working & that it should be applied to the entire lens.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJRz8MnsoeBslD0bPjZAeON69todACdyDKfEG9bxoIUXDAYmjlFe00C0SjhWfGAbujweSFRAWq5lG3IuII-7en3QISxQ3SjpKY6JXKHPhhxb7r3DDCPbhK-V7v86Vh9R47ViE4QNJYDyJ/s1600/sDSC_2321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJRz8MnsoeBslD0bPjZAeON69todACdyDKfEG9bxoIUXDAYmjlFe00C0SjhWfGAbujweSFRAWq5lG3IuII-7en3QISxQ3SjpKY6JXKHPhhxb7r3DDCPbhK-V7v86Vh9R47ViE4QNJYDyJ/s400/sDSC_2321.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deciding how to go about cleaning the whole lens after the successful removal of a few spots near the edge by lightly rubbing with cotton wool soaked in de-ionised water. Thanks to Ockert for grabbing the camera while the usual photographer's hands were full!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Before doing so, the edge of the lens barrel, the orange elastomer that bonds the lens in place & all the surrounding areas were carefully cleaned with more isopropanol/acetone swabs, to avoid dragging contamination from there onto the lens. Large wads of cotton wool were then rolled around the full length of the swabs & soaked with the cleaning solution before the stick was cracked to produce bow-shaped lens wipers.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqHvlWWYfYn9IC51PUlDw_uk_uCA3b5xNtlQ2RFnQjVZdOCjBcN7plxdyKfXXdJaaYbi0knTjXjT8eJdzW7E3wQWqqbCo1kkjZe3mHusdAaflB4eL2tUvmK9mINRGOjFQVBPgN-ezgR86/s1600/sDSC_2329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqHvlWWYfYn9IC51PUlDw_uk_uCA3b5xNtlQ2RFnQjVZdOCjBcN7plxdyKfXXdJaaYbi0knTjXjT8eJdzW7E3wQWqqbCo1kkjZe3mHusdAaflB4eL2tUvmK9mINRGOjFQVBPgN-ezgR86/s400/sDSC_2329.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francois rolling & soaking the wads of cotton wool for each wipe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These could not be rotated, but were gently dragged down over the entire lens before being discarded. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHUKhlwRQSpmxLYrfig0IoG7Hon907Zc23KwPZk2DSdtCpO87vQryWVWq3zsNc-0obVp6naiGnXe3rPwKRlXTa5j6E0GHm_LTCmDZCtCNyn0e4DQC5gQAGyhHaRITa2NdYGWho1P9z-tt/s1600/clean1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHUKhlwRQSpmxLYrfig0IoG7Hon907Zc23KwPZk2DSdtCpO87vQryWVWq3zsNc-0obVp6naiGnXe3rPwKRlXTa5j6E0GHm_LTCmDZCtCNyn0e4DQC5gQAGyhHaRITa2NdYGWho1P9z-tt/s400/clean1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrOFfxCpabDUybyTPBB8cuYUT4qbL5CnAyGOFQxA-OoR_UgikH5Sbe4MgFMX7CPkn-ENcWT441get7GvjcdGzP5wUrW3De_vXTOMald9Etv6CRIwbLEVqBM_MrPnh7xPDDD-7Q3t5Uno5/s1600/clean2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrOFfxCpabDUybyTPBB8cuYUT4qbL5CnAyGOFQxA-OoR_UgikH5Sbe4MgFMX7CPkn-ENcWT441get7GvjcdGzP5wUrW3De_vXTOMald9Etv6CRIwbLEVqBM_MrPnh7xPDDD-7Q3t5Uno5/s400/clean2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDUeTHMv96GIqiDn7UKwYadtsJUXbhzTCgYKu1vy-GRwI_vV8xosEiiawzNNF6KlrCMsjLLxfSRh6KUkVk8YqiIaU-kJn1ezXTASuuGvndBlR8kYvcJaPPi3ZejnqWSJ9jLMmmxjYpqB1/s1600/clean3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDUeTHMv96GIqiDn7UKwYadtsJUXbhzTCgYKu1vy-GRwI_vV8xosEiiawzNNF6KlrCMsjLLxfSRh6KUkVk8YqiIaU-kJn1ezXTASuuGvndBlR8kYvcJaPPi3ZejnqWSJ9jLMmmxjYpqB1/s400/clean3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eGHez7Zyg15qITcAg_2CwOyPKCUfb9OlpamE8ZIs8u5wdw9IkI2mVOaBzSOFDJSBGWHpMhEy7XXLXI7wDhxdxmjkJ9CdLCLGjKKlgCC_YdGgsPp-e-0vR9JXYfbV0_Fnd8JNxWIJPce_/s1600/clean4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eGHez7Zyg15qITcAg_2CwOyPKCUfb9OlpamE8ZIs8u5wdw9IkI2mVOaBzSOFDJSBGWHpMhEy7XXLXI7wDhxdxmjkJ9CdLCLGjKKlgCC_YdGgsPp-e-0vR9JXYfbV0_Fnd8JNxWIJPce_/s400/clean4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The process of dragging a wad of cotton wool (soaked with an isopropanol/acetone solution) over the entire lens surface. This was repeated several times before replacing the solution with de-ionised water & then going back to the original solution to dry any remaining moisture on the lens. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was done a number of times with the cleaning mixture as it initally produced a lot of marks at the bottom of the lens. These were removed on subsequent passes, but as previously - the original spots remained.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglW4-1JBrlQXGG1aQv1y3XX7B-i_SG0ywEfo2O21HMQGBGaAU2tFWNpt-qU4qgEs6aOQMZZTja5lbCLsx3eeQonuibMDAA_P-5jnE7DjmES9J4u9uSd9e0k44SgZtV963DAeaX1BJkbDcl/s1600/sDSCN1477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglW4-1JBrlQXGG1aQv1y3XX7B-i_SG0ywEfo2O21HMQGBGaAU2tFWNpt-qU4qgEs6aOQMZZTja5lbCLsx3eeQonuibMDAA_P-5jnE7DjmES9J4u9uSd9e0k44SgZtV963DAeaX1BJkbDcl/s400/sDSCN1477.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early passes with the isopropanol/acetone solution left a lot of residue at the bottom of the lens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The procedure was then repeated a few times with wads of cotton wool soaked with de-ionised water. More pressure was applied when dragging these over the lens surface & then a couple more isopropanol/acetone swabs were used to dry the water that had remained. The image below shows the substantially cleaner lens with all of the large spots removed, but of course the speckling due to the coating damage remains.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13L2rEnQJa0K6RiJ2-Jf7Ymt12X2-H7eKnlbgQOrwAMGqutnyqDNHhddMjdMrePOZCzgtipwXA_3dM-6SuA_O52avl5-Ox0EXLTeoaBr5GdQeA_E1uxm5GUSlya6l2gOeFFJYMXJuiLFQ/s1600/sDSCN1479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13L2rEnQJa0K6RiJ2-Jf7Ymt12X2-H7eKnlbgQOrwAMGqutnyqDNHhddMjdMrePOZCzgtipwXA_3dM-6SuA_O52avl5-Ox0EXLTeoaBr5GdQeA_E1uxm5GUSlya6l2gOeFFJYMXJuiLFQ/s400/sDSCN1479.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same area as shown above, after wiping with de-ionised water & then again with the isopropanol/acetone solution. The fine speckles that remain are from the pitted AR coating producing a lot of scattered light.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The photos taken before, during & after the cleaning process are repeated below to facilitate comparison.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNA-9qvh5kfvgipHf8SgTIQatYo2DlTDNbUsPB3Up11UDwoOFkwVdfVrOO7VU7TnWTkhK9VcPwk7UY71PbWwGY8zRGPJTY0gEtarJGzQq7lAYRbkiGOJYaclmlYNrs7rEgyed3-vskJnV-/s1600/progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNA-9qvh5kfvgipHf8SgTIQatYo2DlTDNbUsPB3Up11UDwoOFkwVdfVrOO7VU7TnWTkhK9VcPwk7UY71PbWwGY8zRGPJTY0gEtarJGzQq7lAYRbkiGOJYaclmlYNrs7rEgyed3-vskJnV-/s400/progress.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Progress during the cleaning process is shown from left to right in this panel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Below are multiple views of the cleaned lens. Many of the fine specks are on the inside of the lens, but most are due to the condensation-induced coating damage.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0Fj0WNupj9Vhyphenhyphenis9CPdEbdp2gzwF30U2lKSRAnhotGA0WRUVWihua_NU-rx1G5hjva76mBQmdRqe2AxY0E_6dP1l2hjtZSKn8IiaMN2uKyL9oWCQ7ORWEqWkgwEbRmW4YulgX4Id5iMn/s1600/sDSC_2414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0Fj0WNupj9Vhyphenhyphenis9CPdEbdp2gzwF30U2lKSRAnhotGA0WRUVWihua_NU-rx1G5hjva76mBQmdRqe2AxY0E_6dP1l2hjtZSKn8IiaMN2uKyL9oWCQ7ORWEqWkgwEbRmW4YulgX4Id5iMn/s400/sDSC_2414.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damage to the coating is clearly visible in this image, but note that the large spots have been removed. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKr8WprWpYQaG4tkU1M9NoVZU_dlgbHNDsU0HQldgiSdwNbTlX3zOPzNLs0ZtKYiISzNx0mICVEo-Zc2tnjijr0jn0se4bdKRx44zahVqjmzdJOSY2rVguhhB77ic2LuByruW7Jc4XXzt/s1600/sDSCN1484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKr8WprWpYQaG4tkU1M9NoVZU_dlgbHNDsU0HQldgiSdwNbTlX3zOPzNLs0ZtKYiISzNx0mICVEo-Zc2tnjijr0jn0se4bdKRx44zahVqjmzdJOSY2rVguhhB77ic2LuByruW7Jc4XXzt/s400/sDSCN1484.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up view for comparison with the pre-cleaning images. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFC5hxnqaYO8tOhmV9_H1R3n4FHkyALch3l080h2kGlVlpLg2BK6eIRn9bSb1nQdZSRssTYYkL8F2sQ5P5fYTxqxXQAyDxQu-TVreBQncufWN_JSAFJb6cQ4cvpNRfwEO5mjoqQcwNOhO2/s1600/sDSCN1485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFC5hxnqaYO8tOhmV9_H1R3n4FHkyALch3l080h2kGlVlpLg2BK6eIRn9bSb1nQdZSRssTYYkL8F2sQ5P5fYTxqxXQAyDxQu-TVreBQncufWN_JSAFJb6cQ4cvpNRfwEO5mjoqQcwNOhO2/s400/sDSCN1485.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another close-up showing the scattering due to the coating damage.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHD4rHpiijiRD2UVZh1hTZNjW1uSqWdSLZsRa9IDChg2jD8GztxIp-Mo2dU-iTEd70x8MLMTSn19BJ64gUz7a2io8VrmqwfCcQ5PqzeBOxJ59VNpdI3o5vsIq4EvymZw613irLvpN6A5H/s1600/sDSC_2412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHD4rHpiijiRD2UVZh1hTZNjW1uSqWdSLZsRa9IDChg2jD8GztxIp-Mo2dU-iTEd70x8MLMTSn19BJ64gUz7a2io8VrmqwfCcQ5PqzeBOxJ59VNpdI3o5vsIq4EvymZw613irLvpN6A5H/s400/sDSC_2412.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A side-on view of the lens illuminated from the opposite edge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMpoaC3_XiXQjqX_7TwtZnYR70RTaWU9BJ9o4FMVtLC6XqbvfoCF5xURT9oWBp1wMm7wX9wukVrpDMMhxCxUjR-i8SWwGu-76rTFpYJQP7hd1peGbuYujGGK2x3_jaVB4ZtOD6D-ZFZ20/s1600/sDSC_2435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMpoaC3_XiXQjqX_7TwtZnYR70RTaWU9BJ9o4FMVtLC6XqbvfoCF5xURT9oWBp1wMm7wX9wukVrpDMMhxCxUjR-i8SWwGu-76rTFpYJQP7hd1peGbuYujGGK2x3_jaVB4ZtOD6D-ZFZ20/s400/sDSC_2435.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption">This image shows a green laser shone
into the front barrel lens group, striking a piece of lens tissue
positioned behind the back element of the group.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although access to the other damaged lens surfaces is considerably more limited, it might be worth trying to clean them in a similar way before the instrument goes back up to SALT.</div>
Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-35260774861780393612013-03-11T22:30:00.000+02:002013-04-10T12:20:01.170+02:00Further Inspection of the SALTICAM Lenses<div style="text-align: justify;">
A Taylor Hobson alignment telescope was used to further investigate the damage to the anti-reflection coatings on the SALTICAM lenses. By adjusting the alignment telescope focus, one can sequentially isolate individual lens surfaces for inspection. Illumination was usually provided by a single white LED. The straight black lines in the images below are from the cross-hair of the alignment telescope. Clicking on the individual images will display enlarged versions & reveal more detail.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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Here we see a small central section of the first surface of the front barrel lens group. The sharp, irregularly shaped bright flecks mark where the coating has been eroded. The diffuse features are due to the white light source used to illuminate the system glancing off the various other optical surfaces.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvQ8qYEe6Ab_nsLQ64vNuSojaDzrb3FiCwl_SokClQ_nSKjY6a5ymZFeHkRou6_Gc9QgXQe64XMJC6Bg4H0ZvFo61-F2-QBh5rd50F3oMcLXZT49scrZxj113z3Z3ON46Vkscjjn582Dm/s1600/sDSCN1375.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvQ8qYEe6Ab_nsLQ64vNuSojaDzrb3FiCwl_SokClQ_nSKjY6a5ymZFeHkRou6_Gc9QgXQe64XMJC6Bg4H0ZvFo61-F2-QBh5rd50F3oMcLXZT49scrZxj113z3Z3ON46Vkscjjn582Dm/s400/sDSCN1375.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coating damage on the front surface of the front barrel lens group.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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This is the back surface of the front barrel lens group (which endured the worst condensation), seen through the alignment telescope. The blue region is the reflection of the light source off this surface - the array of spots in the foreground indicates the damage to the coating.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4JtN-c-vbYZypomNVXicgx19r5u1IUa9XKFaj84LeujGcDeOuGU4pw8KqVHvii-9bgDgPWpXehI12GkH7IPyb8hvzGA5bBVBvT4lqxG9tEFuq6xseEH5utawpGCBxAG04VtYMLRp47v2/s1600/sDSCN1297.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4JtN-c-vbYZypomNVXicgx19r5u1IUa9XKFaj84LeujGcDeOuGU4pw8KqVHvii-9bgDgPWpXehI12GkH7IPyb8hvzGA5bBVBvT4lqxG9tEFuq6xseEH5utawpGCBxAG04VtYMLRp47v2/s400/sDSCN1297.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extensive coating erosion on the rear surface of the front barrel lens group.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The features seen all over this surface are identical to the worst damage seen on the first surface of the front barrel group (see previous blog post). The flakes show the same irregular shapes & colours due to partial removal of the multi-layer coating.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PIteNr94weYvf4gee4W2JfzfcRExblaAS9vQPFUMuTpkkdrWwLQO2UsBBfoZtRKWM64pz1aackY4hXEg8tHdg8Rx8zfTI2oVR3Je1IOloQWBKUZWJy-CU63BzFQ-_3JpiHGEziyDfI-e/s1600/sDSCN1319.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PIteNr94weYvf4gee4W2JfzfcRExblaAS9vQPFUMuTpkkdrWwLQO2UsBBfoZtRKWM64pz1aackY4hXEg8tHdg8Rx8zfTI2oVR3Je1IOloQWBKUZWJy-CU63BzFQ-_3JpiHGEziyDfI-e/s400/sDSCN1319.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the extensive damage to the back surface of the front barrel lens group.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The back panels of the instrument were removed to permit access to the rear barrel lens group & a piece of paper was again inserted between the front & rear lens barrels. The alignment telescope was moved to the other side of the lenses & focused on the flat final surface of the rear barrel lens group. Coating damage was again evident on this surface - note the various small spots & the large dark patch to the upper right of the green disk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeV8UmjV-jVVPBjwdSI8d_qSYO-mBV_UdskDGf7G6WjF_qAmL8wSaSqmanpECSI94cP0hyphenhyphen6vuzcxqKueP_1g0OCpXuyfJ1DtPW2NlWiw_l_zI_JabFAUXh4QZkD5MPrKe2GORg3tOKB2a/s1600/sDSCN1390.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeV8UmjV-jVVPBjwdSI8d_qSYO-mBV_UdskDGf7G6WjF_qAmL8wSaSqmanpECSI94cP0hyphenhyphen6vuzcxqKueP_1g0OCpXuyfJ1DtPW2NlWiw_l_zI_JabFAUXh4QZkD5MPrKe2GORg3tOKB2a/s400/sDSCN1390.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Confirmation of coating damage on the back surface of the rear barrel lens group.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The alignment telescope was then focused on the front surface of the rear barrel lens group (the surface closest to the shutter) & this too showed the distinctive signs of coating failure. Here we illuminated the lens surface with 2 white LEDs, hence the 2 bright regions. The circular structures in these patches are related to the front element of the alignment telescope. Of relevance are the fine spots that reveal pitting of the coating on this surface.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Vl-u15A7uShd-LQn24Ix4r9ruo4GtFdK6cD9QtULUROo1ajWKt9TCfbYv-m8PMdxECAeofVhJtfDWZ3WmpzqVeyHtcR1RJX7_-3d0efJ7MPeknSXAbyM0LSJRqnMbV5yV2pSPJzSuFMU/s1600/sDSCN1397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Vl-u15A7uShd-LQn24Ix4r9ruo4GtFdK6cD9QtULUROo1ajWKt9TCfbYv-m8PMdxECAeofVhJtfDWZ3WmpzqVeyHtcR1RJX7_-3d0efJ7MPeknSXAbyM0LSJRqnMbV5yV2pSPJzSuFMU/s400/sDSCN1397.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The coating on the front surface of the rear barrel lens group has also been degraded by exposure to moisture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here is a close-up view of the front surface of the rear barrel lens group, displaying the now-characteristic moisture-induced coating damage. The green background is the reflection of the white LED from this surface.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLX1DKMeih-y6aCBGqp7mYTjjbwshZ5Od3dHe2NskaRuf5WREVvmHEyIUAoY_2o-ExlD23LpEIEZRWoyucmImBRd-_dYi1YLkKaQbfV931zfGJwpdwkkA62cg2-e_WPA77ZRHoFzVICLm/s1600/sDSCN1348.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLX1DKMeih-y6aCBGqp7mYTjjbwshZ5Od3dHe2NskaRuf5WREVvmHEyIUAoY_2o-ExlD23LpEIEZRWoyucmImBRd-_dYi1YLkKaQbfV931zfGJwpdwkkA62cg2-e_WPA77ZRHoFzVICLm/s400/sDSCN1348.jpg" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of coating degradation on the front surface of the rear barrel lens group.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The piece of paper between the front & rear barrels was removed & this photograph was taken looking through the rear barrel lenses first. The alignment telescope, aimed at the front barrel lens group, can be seen to the left of centre. As noted previously, the rear surface of the front barrel lens group generates a great deal of scattered light. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaiyMrC6czfhsI9CUpSjmlyM2GHe08C_mkC7CeKyv-TSRDp5ld_7hXDS7FUS0zdPTbBKcNszSPiE_8MSsiBZ2jg3mRDwzKEQrj-qsZCOkix_wyPKOcTPZK01fsLLwilXiEcCBUL7zuRIO/s1600/sDSCN1311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaiyMrC6czfhsI9CUpSjmlyM2GHe08C_mkC7CeKyv-TSRDp5ld_7hXDS7FUS0zdPTbBKcNszSPiE_8MSsiBZ2jg3mRDwzKEQrj-qsZCOkix_wyPKOcTPZK01fsLLwilXiEcCBUL7zuRIO/s400/sDSCN1311.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reverse view through the SALTICAM optics (from the rear barrel side).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although the camera flash & the light source used to illuminate the lenses are both white, we noted an alarming range of colours in the reflections arising from the different optical surfaces.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIgpw2uh1Fwx63bRftZHpR667UmpF7n8Xz5ayX17QmqIPd8fM2w3PfMFVAMbG_ZjfGB8H1OpTwWPhjSzFPpVmHvRyDq5p8B4C96eh1RVMyMFAi8Lb5335ZukgB5A1Ti7kjlLkshutP7Js/s1600/sDSCN1328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIgpw2uh1Fwx63bRftZHpR667UmpF7n8Xz5ayX17QmqIPd8fM2w3PfMFVAMbG_ZjfGB8H1OpTwWPhjSzFPpVmHvRyDq5p8B4C96eh1RVMyMFAi8Lb5335ZukgB5A1Ti7kjlLkshutP7Js/s400/sDSCN1328.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Reflections from the various surfaces do not match the colour of the incident (white) light.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was also noticeable when viewing the various surfaces through the alignment telescope. The effect is easier to see in out of focus images. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqnv4RHp5YK0hxgfoQvOrbq05c-j4_rMpdD7lAsi1jtQN-WgmFkir6w-ykvTieRXW4jVb3-8GBasZiNXRqBgYfz2-kIwC_k5yM2jj-w6E88Hdl_k9LCDlssXHAEtrcmQMeNR_miHkR0K3/s1600/sDSCN1357.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqnv4RHp5YK0hxgfoQvOrbq05c-j4_rMpdD7lAsi1jtQN-WgmFkir6w-ykvTieRXW4jVb3-8GBasZiNXRqBgYfz2-kIwC_k5yM2jj-w6E88Hdl_k9LCDlssXHAEtrcmQMeNR_miHkR0K3/s400/sDSCN1357.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the range of colours in the spots produced by reflections off the lens surfaces.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here we view a flashlight consisting of 4 white LEDs through all the lenses. The back surface of the front barrel lens group produces an array of small spots over the entire field, but the green & yellow patches reveal that the coatings have also de-natured in a more global way.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtYDJtscjsJ1LxQDBjOsuwnMAO9MFoX5yfm2cxZlZsNTMpDZhJ7sj7rsskUn8zXFZAZhPrQTafrO-_C2FDAV0DiAYRUA1JCTTBY6Cx2_pNn_L1j6wYsGVGapEoVB_3K6ugEn-D1R45CYc/s1600/sDSCN1365.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtYDJtscjsJ1LxQDBjOsuwnMAO9MFoX5yfm2cxZlZsNTMpDZhJ7sj7rsskUn8zXFZAZhPrQTafrO-_C2FDAV0DiAYRUA1JCTTBY6Cx2_pNn_L1j6wYsGVGapEoVB_3K6ugEn-D1R45CYc/s400/sDSCN1365.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The optics now have a greenish cast & reflections off the individual surfaces produce a range of colours.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Shining a bright white light through all the lenses demonstrates the impact of the increased scattering, as well as the colour-dependence of the reflections off the various surfaces. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi195DpPYFe9Q9dYIdHb4iNfYvV2601tJB6WNXwyddKi7NYy8eZ8vt2tM9QiAE9nm33aidQaFTtayJK9PyTAlGHS2Zzokr2yVB7KdrJAzHTYtvVjeWKf5AleSUAO9swsMd5ymlN0p9zcOAX/s1600/sDSCN1372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi195DpPYFe9Q9dYIdHb4iNfYvV2601tJB6WNXwyddKi7NYy8eZ8vt2tM9QiAE9nm33aidQaFTtayJK9PyTAlGHS2Zzokr2yVB7KdrJAzHTYtvVjeWKf5AleSUAO9swsMd5ymlN0p9zcOAX/s400/sDSCN1372.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The combined effects of the coating damage on white light passing through the SALTICAM optics.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-16094086222493901262013-03-03T19:01:00.000+02:002015-03-12T22:40:59.218+02:00SALTICAM Coating Damage<div style="text-align: justify;">
SALTICAM has been undergoing testing at low temperatures to verify the performance of the shutter & other mechanisms. This has been done in an environmental test chamber at the SAAO in Cape Town, with the instrument variously orientated to simulate different operational rho angles. The instrument has to be warmed up before each angle change & so a safe warm-up & cool-down sequence is employed. The optics are protected from condensation during this temperature cycling by having the whole instrument enclosed in a plastic bag which is fitted with a dry nitrogen purge.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRmNjfDFIH-0B0i5_cUpP6-stiAu3wXKpIPV-T5GK4nm5cyLTylNA0KUdeCsM4-b9Fk1Mh0RDWIFoZ2DziLsUGrfqb7kxRF9350uMvt2pbT42ab6gRWQ4Q2XJW_PhBhWQVAiGOGLsqUbF/s1600/testing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRmNjfDFIH-0B0i5_cUpP6-stiAu3wXKpIPV-T5GK4nm5cyLTylNA0KUdeCsM4-b9Fk1Mh0RDWIFoZ2DziLsUGrfqb7kxRF9350uMvt2pbT42ab6gRWQ4Q2XJW_PhBhWQVAiGOGLsqUbF/s400/testing.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SALTICAM in the environmental test chamber.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_1581532089"></span><span id="goog_1581532090"></span><span id="goog_1581532091"></span><span id="goog_1581532092"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After lunch on Wednesday 27 February, the instrument was removed from the chamber after it had warmed back up to ambient temperature. The plastic bag was apparently found to have come loose & condensation was seen on the front lens. The lens cover was left off to allow the surface to dry. Late Wednesday afternoon, the instrument was still positioned with the lens pointing downwards so one could not easily see into the barrel. However, a photograph taken of the moisture on the front element revealed a much worse situation further along the optical train. Click on the individual images to view an enlarged version.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBPA4jtf0KWUTmmyPBz7romXAKZmUcV0qSpiOc0W5ZIqXgcQlEMftPqV1f3V1y6RgQRLLHmkq-gcVCPku98mR2wL702uh5ulVnU-q3vWNtx5Ux09LIafKHdjl_5hHhgNFf7-wWWDXVOn1/s1600/sDSCN1167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBPA4jtf0KWUTmmyPBz7romXAKZmUcV0qSpiOc0W5ZIqXgcQlEMftPqV1f3V1y6RgQRLLHmkq-gcVCPku98mR2wL702uh5ulVnU-q3vWNtx5Ux09LIafKHdjl_5hHhgNFf7-wWWDXVOn1/s400/sDSCN1167.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attempting to photograph the condensation on the front element (green haze in the upper right) revealed even worse condensation further down the barrel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The next photograph shows the full extent of the condensation on one of the other optical surfaces, while the remaining mositure on the front element is visible in the upper left corner.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUORtVp6eNpRbKd9Q4SBdPzEB3Ob3njWbRQP6yC-jMLU5_9JqwlidyMravAJ6KXshI7ZzspeEcFctmGeKq98oaj3YU834SsFoM8JfyshPXrBuelE1G2ZweYKUIo99qPckSQp_vNu3dWaOr/s1600/sDSCN1169.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUORtVp6eNpRbKd9Q4SBdPzEB3Ob3njWbRQP6yC-jMLU5_9JqwlidyMravAJ6KXshI7ZzspeEcFctmGeKq98oaj3YU834SsFoM8JfyshPXrBuelE1G2ZweYKUIo99qPckSQp_vNu3dWaOr/s400/sDSCN1169.jpg" height="400" width="341" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massive condensation on one of the other optical surfaces.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The shutter was closed & the controls were not available, but since the cryostat is not in place it was possible to view the lenses of the rear barrel. These did not appear to show any condensation. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvQQVa4YPYOIEKRJKgqpIo_Hl3tTlP5bObV3oCxZKwWCgyAfbjar6AOAqVXEOUe6nGnduqufZ12K1rgBIrkO37s1VnyoQU5i72Qdr1xFPhA8FbkWELLzraqstvsZLG_MeXED33B7Bsm9f/s1600/sDSCN1170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvQQVa4YPYOIEKRJKgqpIo_Hl3tTlP5bObV3oCxZKwWCgyAfbjar6AOAqVXEOUe6nGnduqufZ12K1rgBIrkO37s1VnyoQU5i72Qdr1xFPhA8FbkWELLzraqstvsZLG_MeXED33B7Bsm9f/s400/sDSCN1170.jpg" height="400" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SALTICAM rear barrel lenses showed no condensation. The leaves of the closed shutter can be seen in the centre of the image.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
From this we could infer that the fogged surface pictured above was that of the final element in the front barrel. A schematic of the optical system is shown below, with the lens surfaces we believe to have been affected coloured red. The outer surfaces of the rear barrel lenses are coloured orange since we suspect that condensation would have occurred on these as well, but might have dried earlier in the day due to their smaller size & more exposed position.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Dgw-AIOpxRyodvv5ddsj8ZwyLOTATRsKFn0idp4yKePs3G3Gmqtj4azTDHDUdzocaEpMc9bNJQO58polQ9Ou3x159mpqMdCg_aCzk3V_OxVpB7W__mKd3pOj4TFB0DctUEnQstQ6EmgB/s1600/SCAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Dgw-AIOpxRyodvv5ddsj8ZwyLOTATRsKFn0idp4yKePs3G3Gmqtj4azTDHDUdzocaEpMc9bNJQO58polQ9Ou3x159mpqMdCg_aCzk3V_OxVpB7W__mKd3pOj4TFB0DctUEnQstQ6EmgB/s400/SCAM.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SALTICAM
optical layout. The surfaces known to have suffered condensation are
marked in red while orange indicates those surfaces likely to also have
been exposed to moisture earlier in the day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The next morning it was possible to open the shutter & a preliminary check found all surfaces to be free of moisture, but in need of cleaning due to what looked like dust & water marks.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uTS61cD2-fjFQJqWsWw3odYAaBxhVBTR50Yqu_xkrGtFkMLt0IY8WH73wkycNaeNJtUOmyh4iT_xAC-AgXENtnckCwnMVi3DkHRuOB2tEH1cd3GVMbMpezC9eWfAzaBMKFycSr00_kVD/s1600/sDSCN1179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uTS61cD2-fjFQJqWsWw3odYAaBxhVBTR50Yqu_xkrGtFkMLt0IY8WH73wkycNaeNJtUOmyh4iT_xAC-AgXENtnckCwnMVi3DkHRuOB2tEH1cd3GVMbMpezC9eWfAzaBMKFycSr00_kVD/s400/sDSCN1179.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All lenses were free of moisture on the morning of 28 February, but various surfaces appeared "dirty".</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
However, closer inspection confirmed fears of substantial coating damage. The first surface of the front barrel lens group is the only one that is easily accessible so it was studied carefully. Flash photography focused on this surface produces "globular cluster" like images due to large amounts of scattered light.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH08fIedsymM-rj9R1efrWfbxXAoX_VZkGaFP_xhiW9v3PVnoRN-ePKQEjAD1o9JLkEpAOfXao-FKZfdGWTqscvj5l4XCwuFi4OvOoQ9S8Rpvmh4nZkGcdrGEEH02-_7U7XnIDFnKaPNBU/s1600/sDSCN1194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH08fIedsymM-rj9R1efrWfbxXAoX_VZkGaFP_xhiW9v3PVnoRN-ePKQEjAD1o9JLkEpAOfXao-FKZfdGWTqscvj5l4XCwuFi4OvOoQ9S8Rpvmh4nZkGcdrGEEH02-_7U7XnIDFnKaPNBU/s400/sDSCN1194.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the front element taken with a flash. Note the "globular cluster" above & to the right of centre.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The larger drops of water that were present on the front surface transported dust & have left more pronounced scars (bottom, centre). Note in particular the different colour of the large spot near the bottom of the image.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaHjlYC_s4gEXaZ3C3UU9LOsD6UikCUer7t26eFsNTRavkrr6G0KjODKbnw1hAL3NqMFfTER6hHe7tP1OgdxeUGn6n1mKw_EcodlapHBJiUrQ5cU3JTJmeN3T3onQ6pVmGmtBA2n74sE5/s1600/sDSCN1228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaHjlYC_s4gEXaZ3C3UU9LOsD6UikCUer7t26eFsNTRavkrr6G0KjODKbnw1hAL3NqMFfTER6hHe7tP1OgdxeUGn6n1mKw_EcodlapHBJiUrQ5cU3JTJmeN3T3onQ6pVmGmtBA2n74sE5/s400/sDSCN1228.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the condensation on the front surface was in the form of a fine mist, but some larger drops were present too & these have left more obvious residuals. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Close-up shots reveal structure all over the front surface.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDVhBr6FHnP7JVWz-e7dvorDS2AWPHRw94w2PbNpYnAqSt9BFWp9U96a7rPEyc1s8m9h6mJPNqhUMBTy55tT8RQTK3iNqhU8my4EdRCqcCGayn6GqpI7MN8HT9Q9A5uoX8B8B6I6e49Eg/s1600/sDSCN1235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDVhBr6FHnP7JVWz-e7dvorDS2AWPHRw94w2PbNpYnAqSt9BFWp9U96a7rPEyc1s8m9h6mJPNqhUMBTy55tT8RQTK3iNqhU8my4EdRCqcCGayn6GqpI7MN8HT9Q9A5uoX8B8B6I6e49Eg/s400/sDSCN1235.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artefacts, not consistent with dust, are seen all over the front surface.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The upper left of the front surface suffered the worst condensation & now has a distinctly spotted appearance.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1mWC7R0aCu-Rg_sA3uRH5eHMt2JMQrPEUJwjjOryoRPfCSlt9r6w9_c1TZD8F4dOjKJQWrK9bim9z3zRyRMPXqVB23b7DSOn0zNecUTy0vFbH0fIDLbf0uCH8vN6n-aDfTgwLxSgnOZ7/s1600/sDSCN1245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1mWC7R0aCu-Rg_sA3uRH5eHMt2JMQrPEUJwjjOryoRPfCSlt9r6w9_c1TZD8F4dOjKJQWrK9bim9z3zRyRMPXqVB23b7DSOn0zNecUTy0vFbH0fIDLbf0uCH8vN6n-aDfTgwLxSgnOZ7/s400/sDSCN1245.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The part of the front lens that endured the worst moisture exposure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Closer inspection showed sharply defined edges to these tiny patches that exhibit a range of colours. This confirms that the Spectrum Thin Films multi-layer coating has been eroded - we are actually seeing the different layers of the coating.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUeDEaNFcmPRLuNz7DArL5ub9sQ6e59UcHNlrrUDvoaayGKIYervR43pMrgEqTwg-SOddIky1WbKiOWuUtB9J7gmFvAIVBhCBKQ8tV4VLaC5Bqb3AyMrFTzOoSJzcGlD5FZl0GGFnxz3z/s1600/sDSCN1238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUeDEaNFcmPRLuNz7DArL5ub9sQ6e59UcHNlrrUDvoaayGKIYervR43pMrgEqTwg-SOddIky1WbKiOWuUtB9J7gmFvAIVBhCBKQ8tV4VLaC5Bqb3AyMrFTzOoSJzcGlD5FZl0GGFnxz3z/s400/sDSCN1238.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conclusive proof of coating damage on the front surface.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Photographed through a 4x magnification microscope objective, we see this more clearly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYRCtTRMbCiSpC6U4Pl7j3ufdFb2eHhXR7qMrboi3CcBWkEuzqqhTv8vb1CrAFp_Z0GikxY1M2MvVtfysViupWHOScCqgo7R6x5dQrnt4wlvmPVi8KSfZc3p5C1oxJme7z6JEt3m8v3Ut/s1600/coating1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYRCtTRMbCiSpC6U4Pl7j3ufdFb2eHhXR7qMrboi3CcBWkEuzqqhTv8vb1CrAFp_Z0GikxY1M2MvVtfysViupWHOScCqgo7R6x5dQrnt4wlvmPVi8KSfZc3p5C1oxJme7z6JEt3m8v3Ut/s400/coating1.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viewed through a microscope objective, the full extent of the damage becomes obvious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While only part of the field is illuminated sufficiently in these images to make the effect visible, panning around with the microscope objective confirms that the whole surface is similarly affected.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_h7k3evvdHDsXQV_mMQ4DUtAaYQ9Thp8JLTSPRGLArDd_ZvHuCwo6k-5_AJArQTCsk30PH0Vgb0h2u-dGsO_ZMIf2VWp6mW6wcCqqkpajPu50Bx2qAFsytLjAdFzGkWYLRTWmcxqmJeFm/s1600/coating2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_h7k3evvdHDsXQV_mMQ4DUtAaYQ9Thp8JLTSPRGLArDd_ZvHuCwo6k-5_AJArQTCsk30PH0Vgb0h2u-dGsO_ZMIf2VWp6mW6wcCqqkpajPu50Bx2qAFsytLjAdFzGkWYLRTWmcxqmJeFm/s400/coating2.jpg" height="323" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scanning around viewing the surface with a 4x magnification microscope objective shows the whole surface to be severely damaged (note all the detail in the shadowed region). This is a screen capture from a long video clip taken while exploring the surface. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Attention was then turned to trying to assess the state of the other surfaces. A piece of paper inserted near the position of the open shutter allowed the front & rear barrel lens groups to be viewed separately, but against a light background. The next image was taken looking down the front barrel, with the camera focused on some dirt on the back surface of the front barrel lens group. The reflection from this surface shows the same globular cluster type structure from scattered light that was seen with the front surface, while those from the other (internal) front barrel surfaces (upper right) do not.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVs5aq65zmXXDstQpxwhJFYL7sUj29r3UeuGPQOKKztRQNIOD_gXQcaPzgJ9Lo5t8R1afRlkm2yuDL5A4m3cKngGV4wPH6-N-pTgUKScqyo9QmNRcfATLwoaMiIUDmO3JyjEuLYkFGg1b/s1600/sDSCN1200.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVs5aq65zmXXDstQpxwhJFYL7sUj29r3UeuGPQOKKztRQNIOD_gXQcaPzgJ9Lo5t8R1afRlkm2yuDL5A4m3cKngGV4wPH6-N-pTgUKScqyo9QmNRcfATLwoaMiIUDmO3JyjEuLYkFGg1b/s400/sDSCN1200.jpg" height="377" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rear surface of the front barrel lens group shows the same scattered light features as were seen on the front surface (which has confirmed coating damage).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here is a further demonstration of scattered light arising from coating damage on the rear surface of the front barrel lens group. Note the halo of spots around the top reflection (left of centre).</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfU4oUqJLi3dkw5J-y2zlwyrMvFwCCnqPpZnjkuP7NpK349wI55KOcqvxxGPqKFZ_vMobbLoKDxuIaz-O37sCZSths3CnT0lYIoIR0DHTut6VVqNFPxL8JAPCegmC0goQI5YeqAjFrx-V/s1600/sDSCN1201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfU4oUqJLi3dkw5J-y2zlwyrMvFwCCnqPpZnjkuP7NpK349wI55KOcqvxxGPqKFZ_vMobbLoKDxuIaz-O37sCZSths3CnT0lYIoIR0DHTut6VVqNFPxL8JAPCegmC0goQI5YeqAjFrx-V/s400/sDSCN1201.jpg" height="363" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reflections from the various surfaces in the front barrel lens group. The back surface produces a lot of scattered light, as was seen during inspection of the front element of this group of lenses.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Inspection of the rear barrel lenses is more difficult due to limited access, but we expect that those surfaces were exposed to condensation too & will thus be compromised as well. So far we do not have direct proof of damage to the rear barrel lens group. However, suspicious-looking dark spots & patches near the bottom of the lenses may be an indication of coating failure as the alternative explanation would be a large amount of dirt, which seems unlikely.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7ePDBNXxAIA1d5JotnG1W2C5SL2fvlpU1KJbISp8FCatIpSNPEXNbQtfWrCAs-vzJnF9h-dvM0lpOdO0Ij2Ma9Mkn37dKmB9VPeQd6Upfz2EJXzNO_4bO6TW_CIeE1WpMQPcOAlRKdcQ/s1600/sDSCN1247.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7ePDBNXxAIA1d5JotnG1W2C5SL2fvlpU1KJbISp8FCatIpSNPEXNbQtfWrCAs-vzJnF9h-dvM0lpOdO0Ij2Ma9Mkn37dKmB9VPeQd6Upfz2EJXzNO_4bO6TW_CIeE1WpMQPcOAlRKdcQ/s400/sDSCN1247.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the rear barrel lenses showing some dark spots & patches which may be due to dirt, or coating damage.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This report serves to document the situation as it stands; further discussion will follow regarding how to proceed.</div>
Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-5926273721862836932010-08-29T14:22:00.179+02:002010-08-31T23:15:56.681+02:00A fairytale end to a loooong slog!<div style="text-align: justify;">After quite ordinary weather all of yesterday, things started to improve around sunset - first we were treated to a black eagle flyby & then the sky cleared up :) The seeing was also better than we've had up here in a long time & so it was that IQ's last night turned out to be a particularly memorable one... </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaa0veL9vFlVgMOp9h42Bv9MKqCSVhAWNmg4pgrclPLZuAZI5ZmokjRf2uWp97DgQtyJFSNvpGIvY_4JcAdylhUS08hr2lGphphO5xCjXeAHs_O4VSvkk-gkho-GNvLIeMwtaFOjpEpKv9/s1600/greatnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaa0veL9vFlVgMOp9h42Bv9MKqCSVhAWNmg4pgrclPLZuAZI5ZmokjRf2uWp97DgQtyJFSNvpGIvY_4JcAdylhUS08hr2lGphphO5xCjXeAHs_O4VSvkk-gkho-GNvLIeMwtaFOjpEpKv9/s320/greatnight.jpg" title="A great night to end with!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">It was cool too having Paul learning the ropes - seen here receiving the SALT Astronomer Force from The Master, Petri!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6rKOfJybeIzAJtNfBPkIbwEQpbP4mf4zBIlRO7psvIkK-oUWYfGgdPjLTOUm4Lh8qf0ddZchCmHUFlBRbnU9ZsrpHMrXgAolwEZYvDzKYIlNdiIOuzCRI3jr5241EDhz5pmLNYuKsCQe/s1600/newSA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6rKOfJybeIzAJtNfBPkIbwEQpbP4mf4zBIlRO7psvIkK-oUWYfGgdPjLTOUm4Lh8qf0ddZchCmHUFlBRbnU9ZsrpHMrXgAolwEZYvDzKYIlNdiIOuzCRI3jr5241EDhz5pmLNYuKsCQe/s320/newSA.jpg" title="SALT Astronomer inauguration" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">But the highlight of the night, & indeed the culmination of the enormous IQ effort, was obtaining this magnificent image (with a freshly stacked primary mirror & great seeing) - stars with full width half maxima of 1.1 arcseconds over the entire field of view!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiv8eQyD4B-3V7SdoNe9CRf0iAXhDhuhHSWNOd2TKIewCER5WyVAslH1ppqq0f6-T73DghZxMVs6GD7h-skK5HMxaEzWZdEBHVtNpX2KzjAzptZIkAMM41Y2mgphpx16HmwmTiDi3koJN/s1600/20100828-208-216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiv8eQyD4B-3V7SdoNe9CRf0iAXhDhuhHSWNOd2TKIewCER5WyVAslH1ppqq0f6-T73DghZxMVs6GD7h-skK5HMxaEzWZdEBHVtNpX2KzjAzptZIkAMM41Y2mgphpx16HmwmTiDi3koJN/s320/20100828-208-216.jpg" title="Speechless!!!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">We were ready to celebrate with the images obtained the night before, but it was a great privilege to be able to see what the telescope's capable of in good seeing - truly a fairytale end to the IQ campaign!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNrW5nmdRgoLD0lFGQuDUZHKX7_KMlBF9OPfiOID4VLNL0nTGcqf72Ai4A2b6J53RxxrxO7ZRnraPwKvHgJ-jbyCO6jKjBr7YSoYKEcbJlonCclRUXF4wKm0-uTlupJ_kdhPcnzbvLchA5/s1600/celebration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNrW5nmdRgoLD0lFGQuDUZHKX7_KMlBF9OPfiOID4VLNL0nTGcqf72Ai4A2b6J53RxxrxO7ZRnraPwKvHgJ-jbyCO6jKjBr7YSoYKEcbJlonCclRUXF4wKm0-uTlupJ_kdhPcnzbvLchA5/s320/celebration.jpg" title="1.1 arcsec bubbles :)" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The big bottle has joined the collection that's marked previous milestones in SALT's life & there will no doubt be more to follow as we edge closer to full science operations over the next 6 months :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqeyj9F5BHpiIVz-S49J3DbWJ4gkFLw5uc_K1GINA93n0CZDz45ezUxkURzyh3JDg4J_DBXYmWLnBahTnDoWaoP5BYEz2v1SLDX20XUhKwKgclcX2W99hrhCnSe9j4IcXk4oub9IUEmwS/s1600/bigbottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqeyj9F5BHpiIVz-S49J3DbWJ4gkFLw5uc_K1GINA93n0CZDz45ezUxkURzyh3JDg4J_DBXYmWLnBahTnDoWaoP5BYEz2v1SLDX20XUhKwKgclcX2W99hrhCnSe9j4IcXk4oub9IUEmwS/s320/bigbottle.jpg" title="The new empty up on top of the SALT fridge" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">All packed up & ready to go home, Darragh was readily coerced into leaving a note on the front door for the Tech Ops Team that'll be in first thing tomorrow morning...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcS9DY7-Vz7N1c86zwP6rphAj2vSZui3vOlhqR4s2Dq99YvOgZu3EO0egmk1hPubenCsFuZYTh45PIC7EcbYwsL9JxTD9Yr7-y1a937y4YkNMh5UK93K2sR3GfBPprMCRfeV6dCCQId8CG/s1600/luvfromIQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcS9DY7-Vz7N1c86zwP6rphAj2vSZui3vOlhqR4s2Dq99YvOgZu3EO0egmk1hPubenCsFuZYTh45PIC7EcbYwsL9JxTD9Yr7-y1a937y4YkNMh5UK93K2sR3GfBPprMCRfeV6dCCQId8CG/s320/luvfromIQ.jpg" title="Nail it to the front door!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A picture that's worth a thousand words/hours/days! & for those who want more of the gory details, see Darragh's <a href="http://www.salt.ac.za/fileadmin/files/technical-info/iq/SALT-IQ-Interim-Report-2010Aug28.pdf">latest IQ report</a> to the SALT Board.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsY59DbfbVsUxI_bmyCXI73Z7F9rSkpivax6ZOF6BwTI7lnXDD01hoeb5Va5F2IHqCAPLIk-cdiLcAv4M1BRBp0zM7YwnIOPSsaPpfSToRI_PCFLLB6RkoYKIvHaNcpze_vhv_OYVUvFna/s1600/partingshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsY59DbfbVsUxI_bmyCXI73Z7F9rSkpivax6ZOF6BwTI7lnXDD01hoeb5Va5F2IHqCAPLIk-cdiLcAv4M1BRBp0zM7YwnIOPSsaPpfSToRI_PCFLLB6RkoYKIvHaNcpze_vhv_OYVUvFna/s320/partingshot.jpg" title="IQ's triumphant calling card :)" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">We'll be back in about a month or so to throw the party to end all parties! In the meantime, good luck with the rest of the work guys - it's been an *Absolute Blast* working with you all, it's with heavy hearts that we leave you & this very special place...</div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-20145983356857644732010-08-28T15:55:00.119+02:002011-12-23T23:50:41.423+02:00Before & After!<div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps it's a bit late to be describing what the problem was, but since starting the on-sky testing we've dug out old images & it's worth looking back... The most serious contributor to the SALT IQ nightmare was the focus gradient, which meant that only a small portion of the 8 arcmin field could be kept in good focus at any given time. By adjusting the telescope's focus, different parts of the field could be optimised, but always at the expense of other regions. This in itself was unacceptable, but the focus gradient also exposed a variety of other horrors, including mutilated stars in regions that were out of focus & severe astigmatism. Finally, there was the hideous notion that all of these woes somehow vary unpredictably due to a combination of factors... Below is a typical bad IQ image, obtained with the Apogee camera in late September 2007. Best focus is in the top right corner, the bottom left corner shows the mangled stars & overall the whole lot's just a Mess!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtub2c814SeDdLGUAjF0-EKVmrlm7mHtWk1TFhc7NC0aHqPrtDFwrl2fPQ_PfP3ib9j90G6nNOOBQVT_jufRB7fMMVw-2UsXTO5N-6Yyk1WEf2w0S2QVULaQHifCjHzYDMr4VE1nJbyCc/s1600/20070909-300-308inv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtub2c814SeDdLGUAjF0-EKVmrlm7mHtWk1TFhc7NC0aHqPrtDFwrl2fPQ_PfP3ib9j90G6nNOOBQVT_jufRB7fMMVw-2UsXTO5N-6Yyk1WEf2w0S2QVULaQHifCjHzYDMr4VE1nJbyCc/s320/20070909-300-308inv.jpg" title="Bad IQ: the images we used to be faced with!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Fast forward through years of extensive detective work, the formulation of an extremely thorough repair plan, the 16 months it took to execute the plan & then wait for mediocre observing condtions to get the image below... Uniform IQ over the entire field of view - <b>The Focus Gradient Is Gone!! :) :) :)</b> But the good images aren't stable over time & one can see strange things going on when you take the telescope out of focus - the doubled images that we've dreaded all along!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CkxTawycZhoZg4O7MMfNpjK7hxmjP5Y4qsBN2pe34_9vudwNMkaGGwHeRahSx1gc_JfPsGv32Rh-PoVA59IfG7OqCUxNTi4kkX7jn5Ln7Ur7cKjc458VRMZ5Zi-ciekcUE-t7n4H6rmK/s1600/20100819-19-27inv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CkxTawycZhoZg4O7MMfNpjK7hxmjP5Y4qsBN2pe34_9vudwNMkaGGwHeRahSx1gc_JfPsGv32Rh-PoVA59IfG7OqCUxNTi4kkX7jn5Ln7Ur7cKjc458VRMZ5Zi-ciekcUE-t7n4H6rmK/s320/20100819-19-27inv.jpg" title="Focus gradient gone but an unstable auto-collimator" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">That's where the auto-collimator instability came in & after fixing up the mount & then attaching the whole lot to the steel collar of the SAC, we obtained really beautiful images last night! Still no focus gradient & after optimising the auto-collimator offsets, they didn't need to be tweaked throughout the night - the images weren't doubled or distorted any more :) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVP2i0WkId0qIcRCdXiW2ctPAUKd1YZRfKiZmtmxiCoUslxAEa8dNvJotcbU89XJjMSlYCK2DXpiY66METTWUgfTwlDChUc7UmUv5cLBOrApbSOx5WuKEhUDHrkvKySBCOYV5NeaUGeUzm/s1600/20100827-73-81inv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVP2i0WkId0qIcRCdXiW2ctPAUKd1YZRfKiZmtmxiCoUslxAEa8dNvJotcbU89XJjMSlYCK2DXpiY66METTWUgfTwlDChUc7UmUv5cLBOrApbSOx5WuKEhUDHrkvKySBCOYV5NeaUGeUzm/s320/20100827-73-81inv.jpg" title="Good IQ with a stable auto-collimator & ordinary seeing" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">What remains is a small amount of astigmatism, which we now know has to reside within the primary mirror (since we've fully re-aligned the SAC & tested the surface figures of its mirrors & found them all to be in great shape). So that's the next step, but we're down to the finishing touches now! :)</div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-39362129447414605682010-08-27T19:49:00.031+02:002010-08-31T01:07:51.330+02:00SALT's looking like a telescope again!<div style="text-align: justify;">We opened up the shutter just before sunset & enjoyed the photography-friendly light while the tracker cast shadow-monsters on the inside of the dome...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1O1JJYJgLRutAXjg2RP8gVhEuxtyj_6mSEYqPpPnTqgjj5OqZrZLrxsYCH4RaGRXkBX7Tz0HdzM3yKWWGqTJljN1c3cKubK9I_niBDkMbGx_EjXeYjV6fUyjTsgbi5grPDdmUxfFy_Vy/s1600/shadowmonster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1O1JJYJgLRutAXjg2RP8gVhEuxtyj_6mSEYqPpPnTqgjj5OqZrZLrxsYCH4RaGRXkBX7Tz0HdzM3yKWWGqTJljN1c3cKubK9I_niBDkMbGx_EjXeYjV6fUyjTsgbi5grPDdmUxfFy_Vy/s320/shadowmonster.jpg" title="Tracker shadows on the dome" /></a></div><br />
Yesterday Jonathan put in four more (very clean!) mirror segments near the bottom of the array.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJdFM4RBQ3jOewx43kD6zYAccoOe_PHaDad4WYAvkxTaxXNZtUh8sCaqxy_Pr2Cqxk1bYRr7paCIaFYD-g2w4KBDVSno-RS2RoxThvDhyL4xL4rKP1XNMrKBy8Agpt0a4bHIei6Rw29z-/s1600/primary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJdFM4RBQ3jOewx43kD6zYAccoOe_PHaDad4WYAvkxTaxXNZtUh8sCaqxy_Pr2Cqxk1bYRr7paCIaFYD-g2w4KBDVSno-RS2RoxThvDhyL4xL4rKP1XNMrKBy8Agpt0a4bHIei6Rw29z-/s320/primary.jpg" title="Filling in the gaps!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Eben & Martin installed various dial-gauges (visible just to the left of centre in the image below) to measure the amount of movement between the steel and aluminium collars that attach the SAC to the payload. Happily, these readings were only of the order of a couple of microns.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9l9zYXhHuJUl8kulPfYigV57UhB8CMwVVOqiYdVq3gBQMG69kDbKHM8bDOHwjJVuYQfNgCVfM8qHgwimjuH1DWGz_rz1OUapGKI1fgVZriun_eUz8mj1uvnIru7DlhigvsHFDDLQO-LQq/s1600/twilighttracker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9l9zYXhHuJUl8kulPfYigV57UhB8CMwVVOqiYdVq3gBQMG69kDbKHM8bDOHwjJVuYQfNgCVfM8qHgwimjuH1DWGz_rz1OUapGKI1fgVZriun_eUz8mj1uvnIru7DlhigvsHFDDLQO-LQq/s320/twilighttracker.jpg" title="Copper-tinted tracker" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The major intervention today was to move the auto-collimator, previously mounted on the NRS, to a new attachment point on the bottom of the steel collar that's bolted to the SAC itself. The small silver tube can be seen just above the SAC in the pic below.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Lc6invds2kQ5ODyi6_b4tHbF5KGhvjSZkTF_2PgLT2rRkv1RMBmJF61r_aJ2o4i_4lfNUrdZLwwIwCpI4i9RsEFXIsWsDdkYKmMk_X2hUP-0wCLj2ZJZ4Dvhn_0E7hpDPaTACcZLAVKk/s1600/AConsteel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Lc6invds2kQ5ODyi6_b4tHbF5KGhvjSZkTF_2PgLT2rRkv1RMBmJF61r_aJ2o4i_4lfNUrdZLwwIwCpI4i9RsEFXIsWsDdkYKmMk_X2hUP-0wCLj2ZJZ4Dvhn_0E7hpDPaTACcZLAVKk/s320/AConsteel.jpg" title="Auto-collimator on its new perch" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This ought to improve the stability of the auto-collimator & since the sky looks good, we hope for healthier images later tonight!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96MW42TfSdyQQX1rJnh_Di3whL7BDx9G9NR9PjW6OgOH8cR7wmicq9GbbI35DpACZdS-Z7G9iktU21WlurWvJtrQLOe0wbOWlWw2osR88JuCTIBskUCytgb59NG722sB0a8xFyt2-Ln16/s1600/eveningsky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96MW42TfSdyQQX1rJnh_Di3whL7BDx9G9NR9PjW6OgOH8cR7wmicq9GbbI35DpACZdS-Z7G9iktU21WlurWvJtrQLOe0wbOWlWw2osR88JuCTIBskUCytgb59NG722sB0a8xFyt2-Ln16/s320/eveningsky.jpg" title="Good sky!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-66520231733515468542010-08-25T23:22:00.030+02:002010-08-27T21:33:41.137+02:00Beefing up the auto-collimator mount<div style="text-align: justify;">During the day Eben & co worked on making the auto-collimator mount a lot more stable than it was & conditions at the start of the night looked promising...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NvsH9D4oLDjX06HnpFAG71LjGfvUbcB_sOL7l_DGzqhbr_tFHimJ6hZhaQxsTd0yqRs-P66Od3m1nFtjYZYgAOeSLqKn7iEOIfHmGB1pfZ58L5BlznCzlNK7cIDZx23QAezLfnt1D494/s1600/modACmount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NvsH9D4oLDjX06HnpFAG71LjGfvUbcB_sOL7l_DGzqhbr_tFHimJ6hZhaQxsTd0yqRs-P66Od3m1nFtjYZYgAOeSLqKn7iEOIfHmGB1pfZ58L5BlznCzlNK7cIDZx23QAezLfnt1D494/s320/modACmount.jpg" title="Now That's more like it!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Sadly though, these were the best star images we managed all night, thanks to rapidly deteriorating seeing & then the arrival of a nasty cold front! SIIIIGH :(</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvn3Y47u7-yzNWlXtz_aid6138OyCNU4AIIgJomMkMR7Yz-Oa0WAoadcNH8C7dl0iX5qDGbMPKA65V0gu11OtwBc1vSZN_oH9MhiHds_89-YF89PdBEmlPuqbqeL53TBEp09d6x2h0_Rv3/s1600/goodstars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvn3Y47u7-yzNWlXtz_aid6138OyCNU4AIIgJomMkMR7Yz-Oa0WAoadcNH8C7dl0iX5qDGbMPKA65V0gu11OtwBc1vSZN_oH9MhiHds_89-YF89PdBEmlPuqbqeL53TBEp09d6x2h0_Rv3/s320/goodstars.jpg" title="Good, stable IQ over the entire field ;)" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-56000129565214748302010-08-22T18:57:00.056+02:002010-08-27T21:49:32.564+02:00Farewell to a Cape Town landmark<div style="text-align: justify;">After another frustrating night of hopelessly bad seeing, we packed up & drove back to Cape Town the next morning. Coming in on the N2 we got a last close-up look at the Athlone cooling towers scheduled to be imploded the next day. Thanks Tim for snapping this pic while I was driving!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZejQFgNas-uasMdRpjYeSHRhIFwuOrY6fMMAYJp-yO9JFVpel7zqn7-CagKuied-GGuk5U9QOXPYzuTkUNuk7SVwHNGMq5UYi-VjgLEwGUiIMCMkfUtxYvswrjmNFRW-qpk-MHzMXi92/s1600/lastlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZejQFgNas-uasMdRpjYeSHRhIFwuOrY6fMMAYJp-yO9JFVpel7zqn7-CagKuied-GGuk5U9QOXPYzuTkUNuk7SVwHNGMq5UYi-VjgLEwGUiIMCMkfUtxYvswrjmNFRW-qpk-MHzMXi92/s320/lastlook.jpg" title="Last drive past the towers..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Much of Cape Town turned out to watch, making traffic in the areas with the best views impossible, but a bunch of us watched from the roof of the SAAO. A brief squall distracted everyone & prompted the demolition team to flip the switch about 4 minutes early - we were lucky to catch any of the action at all!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLEkztafSR2C-M_GbULeki0cDMi1M5Y8Ijnq2PWyJtiYPL9IGRrnGDD4sxH0nIPwJrSQ9FrGhXRM9rgVH86VSi-xNqIMDT3plrmnklRRsjlLRu8mef8xefvmjL-MOFcWrFbVwmNsOr00f/s1600/TowerImplosion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLEkztafSR2C-M_GbULeki0cDMi1M5Y8Ijnq2PWyJtiYPL9IGRrnGDD4sxH0nIPwJrSQ9FrGhXRM9rgVH86VSi-xNqIMDT3plrmnklRRsjlLRu8mef8xefvmjL-MOFcWrFbVwmNsOr00f/s640/TowerImplosion.jpg" title="Going, Going, GONE!" width="154" /></a></div><br />
WOW :) Google "Athlone cooling towers" for some great YouTube videos of the event!Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-52429196450922211892010-08-19T23:52:00.020+02:002010-08-27T22:57:00.539+02:00Encouraging, but puzzling too...<div style="text-align: justify;">Despite it still being gloomy & overcast by lunch time, the sky cleared up beautifully through the afternoon & straight after dinner we came up to start aligning the primary mirror.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6ZhuVdxBN4_YP4XLG0GuxicehmfioIjhvgkuYSJHYUgMwbqMpT9DK3sGC1GYLRpv4djKYYmub_F4uGulDa-rV1eirn7ufhLm1xeIgqh4d3MQM0orCv7M-Cw5v7lQDXY1JueOVLkjTLCO/s1600/twilight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6ZhuVdxBN4_YP4XLG0GuxicehmfioIjhvgkuYSJHYUgMwbqMpT9DK3sGC1GYLRpv4djKYYmub_F4uGulDa-rV1eirn7ufhLm1xeIgqh4d3MQM0orCv7M-Cw5v7lQDXY1JueOVLkjTLCO/s320/twilight.jpg" title="A clear sky awaits!" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bizarre weather from yesterday was safely behind us & we settled in for a long night's observing!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNx-dwV_QGFBEr-w_3Hte93TflLKIQqYEDyTuQeoKQS_EgT96uft9MQedkwFeHCWqNHgjtW57y57kEOcDUvf5NEGm362eT0zLP7U3KV46z_1xzmJncuqlACxf7G2aLF5BGkonRus_2AviB/s1600/ELSagain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNx-dwV_QGFBEr-w_3Hte93TflLKIQqYEDyTuQeoKQS_EgT96uft9MQedkwFeHCWqNHgjtW57y57kEOcDUvf5NEGm362eT0zLP7U3KV46z_1xzmJncuqlACxf7G2aLF5BGkonRus_2AviB/s320/ELSagain.jpg" title="Promising weather conditions" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The Apogee camera has to be moved around a 3x3 grid to image the entire focal plane of the telescope - shown below is one of the nine images from such a set. The seeing wasn't ideal for much of the night, but encouraging images were obtained during intervals when the conditions improved. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53XFq541mydjuPco1arSZmM4N_EDZ-SYcgRjSTswdL5WKH9tmb7oVhCs4YaQ9Rg_FIW0BscmnHC489tmGmsRIlrPrfriH38Bg_8v2o1lsoYR60-hMtmeY-JFCBiIFS7TJa-QFfkVa9Wx9/s1600/apogeeframe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53XFq541mydjuPco1arSZmM4N_EDZ-SYcgRjSTswdL5WKH9tmb7oVhCs4YaQ9Rg_FIW0BscmnHC489tmGmsRIlrPrfriH38Bg_8v2o1lsoYR60-hMtmeY-JFCBiIFS7TJa-QFfkVa9Wx9/s320/apogeeframe.jpg" title="Healthy looking stars" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">However, our excitement was tempered by significant IQ variability on a timescale of a couple of seconds which we don't yet understand. The most likely source of this instability is the auto-collimator &/or the interferometer - two instruments mounted adjacent to the SAC on the NRS to control its attitude (tip/tilt) & focus (Z) with respect to the primary mirror. These pieces of equipment will undergo extensive testing over the next few days...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7L5VLIEZzswlQRYBh_LFA38rglg3PBpLspH03-4Ek4r81elbdSR1QNSn_qfKI_S56UBoZn9nb17DmwLXKNn8o5-zIH1uZtTuUm7gGikZohxlRPXOv_-iZKOs5fTEFlP9LnlAl1OlrrqN/s1600/observing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7L5VLIEZzswlQRYBh_LFA38rglg3PBpLspH03-4Ek4r81elbdSR1QNSn_qfKI_S56UBoZn9nb17DmwLXKNn8o5-zIH1uZtTuUm7gGikZohxlRPXOv_-iZKOs5fTEFlP9LnlAl1OlrrqN/s320/observing.jpg" title="Puzzling IQ variability" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-35619497884655422512010-08-18T23:58:00.188+02:002010-08-20T12:09:31.438+02:00Bye Bye Okkie!<div style="text-align: justify;">Although the clean room action's dried up now, there's still plenty going on next door in the spectrometer room where RSS is being put through its paces...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhdvjO6VPkSGL21_VFi2GNrDFyBxTBPJ_vFRqRG1-LaHVyjd4pTT8eOdMyz05pck-aX6LvQ2OBiWZpJoWq5ivR9GvEeJzxJwPls17pzOymIaZbRpsK0boUB4gCMQbxyx0gqUpzZnSyBIP/s1600/RSS43deg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhdvjO6VPkSGL21_VFi2GNrDFyBxTBPJ_vFRqRG1-LaHVyjd4pTT8eOdMyz05pck-aX6LvQ2OBiWZpJoWq5ivR9GvEeJzxJwPls17pzOymIaZbRpsK0boUB4gCMQbxyx0gqUpzZnSyBIP/s320/RSS43deg.jpg" title="RSS tipped over to 43 degrees" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">High hopes for getting more data tonight were dashed when the weather packed up spectacularly, much faster than any of us have ever seen!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKCmxJXpkkIMgdjvU4_R1WJUUtaqcb5Jr97djYAmKoRfBm6E2Jsvkj-S-eoje5CV-9JTLYGo6ld2qarnW4vM9nsOCjdgiwYnteGwB9mmtMiUnNwnJK-BBowcD6CvFM52aCQRcQK4-Kquf/s1600/ELS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKCmxJXpkkIMgdjvU4_R1WJUUtaqcb5Jr97djYAmKoRfBm6E2Jsvkj-S-eoje5CV-9JTLYGo6ld2qarnW4vM9nsOCjdgiwYnteGwB9mmtMiUnNwnJK-BBowcD6CvFM52aCQRcQK4-Kquf/s320/ELS.jpg" title="Volatile Sutherland weather" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">On the up side though, this facilitated an excellent send-off for Ockert who's off to Wisconsin for a few weeks & then when he returns he'll be based at the SAAO in Cape Town.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVR3bV1zWUXDuu6hjVWB-_f8suKOC_u9o4hOgWMSRzZmJZFZ2TXSVxK0hfAUedGnvyRbs6mI7qFMFMf7hXzQVvWPJkxIf4U8x9_rTSAny-4aVOk55cmgu0tSKBDX4EwTvcbotNCW0-_CVr/s1600/doorstop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVR3bV1zWUXDuu6hjVWB-_f8suKOC_u9o4hOgWMSRzZmJZFZ2TXSVxK0hfAUedGnvyRbs6mI7qFMFMf7hXzQVvWPJkxIf4U8x9_rTSAny-4aVOk55cmgu0tSKBDX4EwTvcbotNCW0-_CVr/s320/doorstop.jpg" title="Contemplative" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">In Sutherland, regardless of the temperature, the best conversations tend to happen while standing around outside (preferably close to a fire).</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyd5T9KrqjpkIN8WCPfqjn6mZdzg-D0WYuLTj65yqbIsuYu5YLGRCnpf0O9msvKzeP6o78KheccjDvjhYpDZGmh5-6vNzQVWqRErwlcjujjDV9UV4iv06Ar_FJTCgUYllXljfFL4jdBqvq/s1600/outside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyd5T9KrqjpkIN8WCPfqjn6mZdzg-D0WYuLTj65yqbIsuYu5YLGRCnpf0O9msvKzeP6o78KheccjDvjhYpDZGmh5-6vNzQVWqRErwlcjujjDV9UV4iv06Ar_FJTCgUYllXljfFL4jdBqvq/s320/outside.jpg" title="Feeling colder than we look" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Some kinds of head-gear convey authority & have the potential to inspire respect among colleagues... But those with huge floppy ears don't so much - we really ought to have done more to protect David & Vic from themselves!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOSQPSyUTvF5zB21z7JXgwA57IXYGHHyvJUis0PYdWAxNOY0bcUq19V8fMWqnHbg1C8PJOqsgngAMAFFP89Z_tx48fMXOlkaYkiznDW0axOcEOfU4Y7mQFe35EtbNI5tQJkvuMfcUW0Ov/s1600/bigears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOSQPSyUTvF5zB21z7JXgwA57IXYGHHyvJUis0PYdWAxNOY0bcUq19V8fMWqnHbg1C8PJOqsgngAMAFFP89Z_tx48fMXOlkaYkiznDW0axOcEOfU4Y7mQFe35EtbNI5tQJkvuMfcUW0Ov/s320/bigears.jpg" title="Bassett hound impersonators" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back in the lounge (on the Winnie The Pooh couch), 3 other bears dealt with the paparazzi in different ways.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XVbG6K5wM7mwGakiSPPMssN5UT-NmzmlGyWtdCWDHupEq7AZgpmtcUv11MtI9rJJ4yYmddOAr-Q_bpb0ZJXROxPf4pNlPJ02fJDClVyCxQJzh1cbfqV-qqGUU45CFIjqHP7kcgUgPJeC/s1600/3bears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XVbG6K5wM7mwGakiSPPMssN5UT-NmzmlGyWtdCWDHupEq7AZgpmtcUv11MtI9rJJ4yYmddOAr-Q_bpb0ZJXROxPf4pNlPJ02fJDClVyCxQJzh1cbfqV-qqGUU45CFIjqHP7kcgUgPJeC/s320/3bears.jpg" title="Who could it be behind the wine glass??" /></a></div><br />
& over on the bench - fortunately within reach of a fire extinguisher - these two worked through how to say their painful goodbyes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAixlhyE1VNYjLWyPZwfkkYM0X7sUiWvjLIOZkIoncDaVnRrDOkEbmRnlD1HKLOoJDfXv7fpBkMOkXVOL7AVwiWavqra0D4J3cb89IMrOZuUutU-MsEm46g3oi_p0z2odN7nXrhnxb0v1/s1600/OV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAixlhyE1VNYjLWyPZwfkkYM0X7sUiWvjLIOZkIoncDaVnRrDOkEbmRnlD1HKLOoJDfXv7fpBkMOkXVOL7AVwiWavqra0D4J3cb89IMrOZuUutU-MsEm46g3oi_p0z2odN7nXrhnxb0v1/s320/OV.jpg" title="Missing each other already..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">All too much excitement for our brave host, who's admittedly been running a little low on beauty-sleep lately...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggWC1cJRIwi1Y_z-I8z7tC-IR_PcLoi9Uqswlfan_gvLzK10eTzJiMtSProXNyJnx2qMyRe3S6u_4o38bRUcE8mYI6YfBfnqFr7bJRTVeXxko-aDSqt_VpqECT6qD9BAAtgDJcldp3xMzL/s1600/nitenite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggWC1cJRIwi1Y_z-I8z7tC-IR_PcLoi9Uqswlfan_gvLzK10eTzJiMtSProXNyJnx2qMyRe3S6u_4o38bRUcE8mYI6YfBfnqFr7bJRTVeXxko-aDSqt_VpqECT6qD9BAAtgDJcldp3xMzL/s320/nitenite.jpg" title="ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz....." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With friends that leave your house looking like this at 2am, who could blame Ockert for moving back to Cape Town?!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbFjRoPU2y7DRidwxOiC98EKfabWwNvvYqS8jqOa4nUX1LNggUt9O8BmxK3T3ddm9fSmPSlfZwET81f_thaE9uB1vnv7pZhurS3TJTp0QbLECWKmRSZBAilae3G60FodDazQhDpVKmiyq/s1600/wreckage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbFjRoPU2y7DRidwxOiC98EKfabWwNvvYqS8jqOa4nUX1LNggUt9O8BmxK3T3ddm9fSmPSlfZwET81f_thaE9uB1vnv7pZhurS3TJTp0QbLECWKmRSZBAilae3G60FodDazQhDpVKmiyq/s320/wreckage.jpg" title="This is a good time to leave!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-56328364435788813242010-08-17T23:59:00.218+02:002010-08-18T15:57:28.648+02:00& then there was light!!<div style="text-align: justify;">The first job for the day was to get the Apogee stage assembly installed on top of the tracker...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR_EQBnbim_dPFI2rmUKCo2waHryYSjxWOAEh9g5nEBfYv7F9p9b-b3Tl4LFQzRQHIys7s2WDMaif0RNa-_XsQ-2UKsoBPnWoQTUR4NbScZvQQIkvlHbKh4VUOAKteA8LnlcMzTFFzS7P/s1600/VIlanding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR_EQBnbim_dPFI2rmUKCo2waHryYSjxWOAEh9g5nEBfYv7F9p9b-b3Tl4LFQzRQHIys7s2WDMaif0RNa-_XsQ-2UKsoBPnWoQTUR4NbScZvQQIkvlHbKh4VUOAKteA8LnlcMzTFFzS7P/s320/VIlanding.jpg" title="Hovering like a kestrel" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3ZHWizJi-FZcaXTlGHtW8_vHTtQ3qETNcl3iVuap1gt5MBBPIaZt4y3DPc9eWGkb71s4heQGa0ERRoUBKOPwHwtAu-thGOZ5QJfoV4S0RP9PtBXrDS5qrYjUdCqYsUD_HZNUAuHytjtQ/s1600/VIinst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3ZHWizJi-FZcaXTlGHtW8_vHTtQ3qETNcl3iVuap1gt5MBBPIaZt4y3DPc9eWGkb71s4heQGa0ERRoUBKOPwHwtAu-thGOZ5QJfoV4S0RP9PtBXrDS5qrYjUdCqYsUD_HZNUAuHytjtQ/s320/VIinst.jpg" title="Nailing the camera stage down" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A crisp Karoo sunset viewed from the CCAS tower was followed by the squaring up of the camera stage.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb6OyBMy6oJdDoq5bc7-RrEBMPq9eYRMQjLlroLaToZGnRWHEwijJ7YlMVX9Q24MWGSYW5b52tDH7AH7rV6li3E59d5B0nmnv7vI7tgh0mJkiVoZ4XxGciXvlA6czgD0E1P7p_nHN-w1T/s1600/CCASsunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb6OyBMy6oJdDoq5bc7-RrEBMPq9eYRMQjLlroLaToZGnRWHEwijJ7YlMVX9Q24MWGSYW5b52tDH7AH7rV6li3E59d5B0nmnv7vI7tgh0mJkiVoZ4XxGciXvlA6czgD0E1P7p_nHN-w1T/s320/CCASsunset.jpg" title="About halfway through our day..." width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A small mirror (the one from the old paddle mirror in fact - flash back about a year for that story) was placed on the stage & the alignment telescope's auto-reflection observed. Rotating the Rho stage gave feedback for the "Rho Boys" (Charl & Ockert) to adjust the tip & tilt of the camera stage.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYQyVkLdFoUlT9LfhlCML63RVrJQ_5PU0JVo9wgOd4Y60AWU54p8HMAl34jb8wYW-oYaDID0MIjJzYokPUxDc3uyDkv_fgzztCJycTUQ93biHiI1Ovjt-FTmwFVwm7w1JyttHJAiNGws1/s1600/VIstageon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYQyVkLdFoUlT9LfhlCML63RVrJQ_5PU0JVo9wgOd4Y60AWU54p8HMAl34jb8wYW-oYaDID0MIjJzYokPUxDc3uyDkv_fgzztCJycTUQ93biHiI1Ovjt-FTmwFVwm7w1JyttHJAiNGws1/s320/VIstageon.jpg" title="Squaring up the camera stage" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With the stage appropriately set up, the Apogee camera was put in position & fired up.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AZ4Y_QDeiP2lZRjZTeyYiUrSgOPaSia_KIKNNO6TLWlDIyLm8MKjO-7yT4DlA9-J6Cwcs85IpmSPr_Yqg15W7BRbuOI3pa9XNoubm_abEd6bo1DltUPsqv3c-rAaLoHwxpEJTcHJdxPm/s1600/apogeeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AZ4Y_QDeiP2lZRjZTeyYiUrSgOPaSia_KIKNNO6TLWlDIyLm8MKjO-7yT4DlA9-J6Cwcs85IpmSPr_Yqg15W7BRbuOI3pa9XNoubm_abEd6bo1DltUPsqv3c-rAaLoHwxpEJTcHJdxPm/s320/apogeeon.jpg" title="Apogee camera ready to go!" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After a primary mirror alignment, the anxious team looked on, willing the telescope back to life as it attempted to track stars for the first time in 16 months... </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5e-ISOUY_vDChyphenhyphen8WGQTdL5c7B0_pWzDeCQZDM9Q3ThlMx1jmhoZZ3wiJaxnZXFpEYSVsR5yxhUQwyLKggBx-7UVc5Hj2Ik2UsQd8-KiNzFTnVtPIbTrGXlaCDyYQnaHgie4fvmf2MiLK/s1600/anxious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5e-ISOUY_vDChyphenhyphen8WGQTdL5c7B0_pWzDeCQZDM9Q3ThlMx1jmhoZZ3wiJaxnZXFpEYSVsR5yxhUQwyLKggBx-7UVc5Hj2Ik2UsQd8-KiNzFTnVtPIbTrGXlaCDyYQnaHgie4fvmf2MiLK/s320/anxious.jpg" title="Support Group for SALT junkies" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Nothing's ever simple in this game, but a while later we had <b>stationary</b> (albeit hugely out of focus) stars in the field of view!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIpAC7sX5GGktg3noXrQkqPIlMBeJa_gtr_Tw_S_NJjbL21RBLoE42THyhbS6QNhpS74JVw3Sf1VEjam0H28HlYLTPL8mo81JeCLQ2rSaYH-eMkilL17pxbk9LZH5sELEiSOX0dEnSaEHc/s1600/focusing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIpAC7sX5GGktg3noXrQkqPIlMBeJa_gtr_Tw_S_NJjbL21RBLoE42THyhbS6QNhpS74JVw3Sf1VEjam0H28HlYLTPL8mo81JeCLQ2rSaYH-eMkilL17pxbk9LZH5sELEiSOX0dEnSaEHc/s320/focusing.jpg" title="Tracking!" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The out of focus images were used to tweak the auto-collimator offsets to reduce coma & then adjustment of the tracker in Z sorted out the focus to give reasonable looking stars. Sadly, by that stage the seeing had deteriorated to >2.5 arcsec so we couldn't really assess the Image Quality, but overall it was a Fantastic Night & we're keeping fingers crossed for better conditions tomorrow...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqRbdXVS3YapY9TJdaJHYBgYKcGaejVieGYjrVavFkGIejq0UK5e45w6lN0JFz5jSBAZb-baEXM9w6zJEc-Rv863rnZyw21mQj7VCkuyo7hlDPc9OJqF4X9qnsOx6V4vOgcgtQUef8bva/s1600/stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqRbdXVS3YapY9TJdaJHYBgYKcGaejVieGYjrVavFkGIejq0UK5e45w6lN0JFz5jSBAZb-baEXM9w6zJEc-Rv863rnZyw21mQj7VCkuyo7hlDPc9OJqF4X9qnsOx6V4vOgcgtQUef8bva/s320/stars.jpg" title="We have Stars :)" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A characteristically cautious observation from Darragh was: "Well - we haven't made anything worse!" - which really is quite remarkable when you consider the extent of the SAC interventions & our collective previous experience in this business! </div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-76475737171630848402010-08-16T23:08:00.158+02:002010-08-17T12:26:56.426+02:00No raptors were harmed during this alignment...<div style="text-align: justify;">While we drove home on Friday, the guys up here worked on getting the tracker fully operational. A critical safety mechanism is a set of radial plugs that connect the SAC to the lower frame of the hexapod. These plugs will pull out & freeze the system if for any reason things try to move beyond the safe envelope.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVOSdKs3m3Lu55voLW6RMye5PD5o99uEkxv_t6M0th5-yPAHgDy74o_MWgHsQ8HStdbyrvci0eC5xoHe12n3obSNTuHczVBZGF9Bh5G3fVTl0BJt4ocKlzq4z1WQQy9Y_gCcBBj2f3Hkm/s1600/radialplugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVOSdKs3m3Lu55voLW6RMye5PD5o99uEkxv_t6M0th5-yPAHgDy74o_MWgHsQ8HStdbyrvci0eC5xoHe12n3obSNTuHczVBZGF9Bh5G3fVTl0BJt4ocKlzq4z1WQQy9Y_gCcBBj2f3Hkm/s320/radialplugs.jpg" title="Radial plugs in position" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once the sun sank low enough this afternoon, we opened up & started working on the alignment. This led to a charming, but potentially disasterous, encounter with one of the resident kestrels as it decided that the open CCAS hatch might lead to the ultimate nesting site! With the kestrel hovering just outside the hatch, eagerly peering in, we eye-balled one another from just over a metre apart before the humans in the tower agreed that it was time to close up... Play was suspended until it was dark enough for all the kestrels to be in bed!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUIaOz7ZT4whn_uFvJk4uwRjft_biBKzvZ6cpAYk68-f4Qrc70TfYoz9eXtzXdmKjgFV-3PyH1LmW05jUGNzknxQMnG_NDS4kdCJQ2_WtfSRO5T3NKtWzo5ZEZT8lKeCT4xgIkxIWMBXz/s1600/tweety.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUIaOz7ZT4whn_uFvJk4uwRjft_biBKzvZ6cpAYk68-f4Qrc70TfYoz9eXtzXdmKjgFV-3PyH1LmW05jUGNzknxQMnG_NDS4kdCJQ2_WtfSRO5T3NKtWzo5ZEZT8lKeCT4xgIkxIWMBXz/s200/tweety.jpeg" title="PLEEEEASE can I come in?!?" width="115" /></a></div><br />
Although there's a perspex cover over the hole in the floor of the NRS (large circle in the image below), we still get to see shiny M5 (smaller circle) below the triangle holding the alignment target!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjGXMg5wE3RLyE1iKeELtRfpQepRWDGzpa0MGxQJgW1q_VK6UxCmQItpfdT1Lmfod6ouK5eveDz4qmRAQfha4qJ278HR4HAEr1pphWDPaQ2M-requWbd8HaCtwxFjDaycX6TKTPlnNKT8/s1600/M5fromCCAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjGXMg5wE3RLyE1iKeELtRfpQepRWDGzpa0MGxQJgW1q_VK6UxCmQItpfdT1Lmfod6ouK5eveDz4qmRAQfha4qJ278HR4HAEr1pphWDPaQ2M-requWbd8HaCtwxFjDaycX6TKTPlnNKT8/s320/M5fromCCAS.jpg" title="There really is a SAC attached to the tracker now!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After we'd finished getting the target co-planar with the Rho stage, using the alignment telescope up in the CCAS tower, the target could be removed.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcmnxBM0OMREA9Qg1qpVRmKqlHm29-xAcClPtmIwZX18QL29oaUsjCqwTI2AsUX2E98r_sKM-t3wW2cj0C8Tamw0f1_ViTMsbYpwmWukj-4rHx3Y8_9d2Sd6DEkh7XvjXzbdOugj96QcG/s1600/junkontop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcmnxBM0OMREA9Qg1qpVRmKqlHm29-xAcClPtmIwZX18QL29oaUsjCqwTI2AsUX2E98r_sKM-t3wW2cj0C8Tamw0f1_ViTMsbYpwmWukj-4rHx3Y8_9d2Sd6DEkh7XvjXzbdOugj96QcG/s320/junkontop.jpg" title="The scrapyard on top of the Rho stage" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The cover over the SAC was removed too & the SAC reference mirror bolted on to the back of M4.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDNgfdKj8yIMmlexSMwfLJTNDjpzxbbyqklvIqRWGfSD1QEr5tXur2CiAuQ8esGfxG59Zg2N4p-VMhe1n85kR2FOPNFGyC8cZOnhXpCfN8LqP4Dg0uHKadeKUOjkQsz2ztqyXH4c3oOuQ/s1600/SRMin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDNgfdKj8yIMmlexSMwfLJTNDjpzxbbyqklvIqRWGfSD1QEr5tXur2CiAuQ8esGfxG59Zg2N4p-VMhe1n85kR2FOPNFGyC8cZOnhXpCfN8LqP4Dg0uHKadeKUOjkQsz2ztqyXH4c3oOuQ/s320/SRMin.jpg" title="SAC reference mirror mounted on the back of M4" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The reference mirror could then be viewed with the alignment telescope & the bolts holding the NRS to the Rho stage adjusted to set the tip & tilt of the SAC.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSvZ35Aa7v4BEmBdgu5rA4-VlC7JsR9F6wsCPr3z5DmCtgXB5xkNLmsUeC6EXUrJaKLR54Do4AGdJnmaRhWMXblVVXVhBubDzRGyxAh4z1nJDZ7muaBFiXtEzhyphenhyphendKuzpRwbresEk_iFMS/s1600/SRMfromCCAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSvZ35Aa7v4BEmBdgu5rA4-VlC7JsR9F6wsCPr3z5DmCtgXB5xkNLmsUeC6EXUrJaKLR54Do4AGdJnmaRhWMXblVVXVhBubDzRGyxAh4z1nJDZ7muaBFiXtEzhyphenhyphendKuzpRwbresEk_iFMS/s320/SRMfromCCAS.jpg" title="SAC reference mirror seen from CCAS" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This all went remarkably well so tomorrow we'll be able to hoist the camera stage assembly onto the tracker & get that set up!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjor6orimW3IxJpa5IZbzkIzM2eyjxNnS7pARSeKcdXq4xBPl-MgSRPf7j6Gyx_EAZUjNhf5V79BI_DWb5B-aC2PPrV6igCGVCuEq3Rqz3ogoxqUXkkssWIOkwHQfRlt0-7GuguHHNwkoeM/s1600/VIwaiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjor6orimW3IxJpa5IZbzkIzM2eyjxNnS7pARSeKcdXq4xBPl-MgSRPf7j6Gyx_EAZUjNhf5V79BI_DWb5B-aC2PPrV6igCGVCuEq3Rqz3ogoxqUXkkssWIOkwHQfRlt0-7GuguHHNwkoeM/s320/VIwaiting.jpg" title="Ready for blast-off!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-56986024144466433462010-08-12T22:52:00.033+02:002010-08-13T21:27:31.094+02:00Never a dull moment!<div style="text-align: justify;">Francois & James have been grafting away to get the stage for the Apogee camera all squared up & ready to go. It'll be put on the tracker as soon as we're finished with the various alignment processes being conducted from up in the CCAS tower.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWDH8I-SSi9x2voB3RsB8dTKuA30Vz3DpPvqbZKBBWkH2LIEgEaYtiAw8JgzBl7l_tJxZqyc1ivqZf8nVYKYs6KtrGUio9OHfntO6c4MINTaHR7M4OMFWgiI1RRksjmtV6yQAlB0DsBnx/s1600/VIstageReady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWDH8I-SSi9x2voB3RsB8dTKuA30Vz3DpPvqbZKBBWkH2LIEgEaYtiAw8JgzBl7l_tJxZqyc1ivqZf8nVYKYs6KtrGUio9OHfntO6c4MINTaHR7M4OMFWgiI1RRksjmtV6yQAlB0DsBnx/s320/VIstageReady.jpg" title="Nearly ready for a trip on the dome crane..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">All the hardware from the SAC work's seriously cluttering up the place so the gang tried to persuade the tank-like installation platform to follow the NRS smiluator (which fortunately travels on wheels) to leave the loading bay.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFGPWsTHaWTvq-vfax8yGwRsQiiiYzqWJjBU59L6wq-IcGlwEZghSyJH7iNAxTBqVKI3glAr9fsq7EiEZqswYAcbfATNP1vxE-lIlESi2uccF3M6GLWmdHOKGpBZVo3COAyq83OITvQG8/s1600/tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFGPWsTHaWTvq-vfax8yGwRsQiiiYzqWJjBU59L6wq-IcGlwEZghSyJH7iNAxTBqVKI3glAr9fsq7EiEZqswYAcbfATNP1vxE-lIlESi2uccF3M6GLWmdHOKGpBZVo3COAyq83OITvQG8/s320/tank.jpg" title="Chaarrrrrge!!!" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was nothing too elegant about the process until Sir Eben rode in on his trusty forklift & rescued the hardware in distress...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcEoABl-NbTtwsHhJmuBaeyBniIeIeT32Wae6p4W65oQ5kW5yWaJPw19UkFpR07_YonhmA_Uwn4Yx3ZGOtEly-eyoREJegM7-i74crcQLsDGw6AzW62JZ3nuE5cXApHVNcKM2Jg9K0ci0/s1600/forklift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcEoABl-NbTtwsHhJmuBaeyBniIeIeT32Wae6p4W65oQ5kW5yWaJPw19UkFpR07_YonhmA_Uwn4Yx3ZGOtEly-eyoREJegM7-i74crcQLsDGw6AzW62JZ3nuE5cXApHVNcKM2Jg9K0ci0/s320/forklift.jpg" title="Riding off into the sunset" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After lunch, software engineer Deon - eager to enroll in the local radio-control flying club - was presented with his first plane. Although lacking some of the characteristic features of an aircraft, the attendant 1.4 kW prop-swinging device promises to compensate for most things...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIr4ZsTxgkk_zptdxi6eNBspMoEp33ribb5MFCDHS8PXI-A-smwTpvJk0mDItlnl_Parb4oQyDLso0L7nVjN8VUH0dqp43Ke9u1bi94zkTeKuxOsHyUljpddtVdk_nWHyUZ0tW7hfLSPS2/s1600/newtoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIr4ZsTxgkk_zptdxi6eNBspMoEp33ribb5MFCDHS8PXI-A-smwTpvJk0mDItlnl_Parb4oQyDLso0L7nVjN8VUH0dqp43Ke9u1bi94zkTeKuxOsHyUljpddtVdk_nWHyUZ0tW7hfLSPS2/s320/newtoy.jpg" title="It's just so Beautiful, I don't know what to say!" /></a></div><br />
Preliminary bench tests conducted in the kitchen indicate significant hair-drying potential at the very least!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSk8tz1UZXxPiZ4oysQ4TDRT_udThZROV4_8sTZ7M1IcS4ZrbUV8LqpfV8fttOfjRQGRZX99JPaCgnTy6dtWvzY13E1LACpwo0JHlenHf_3T2spdosT3Ck6jVlujtQo4gNaD4wu-fb4td/s1600/whoooa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSk8tz1UZXxPiZ4oysQ4TDRT_udThZROV4_8sTZ7M1IcS4ZrbUV8LqpfV8fttOfjRQGRZX99JPaCgnTy6dtWvzY13E1LACpwo0JHlenHf_3T2spdosT3Ck6jVlujtQo4gNaD4wu-fb4td/s320/whoooa.jpg" title="You feeling OK there, boet?" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Next, it was time to take down the primary mirror cover so that we could get back to our alignment work in the evening.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhy-BynNBpUE6UrlL25Qck94V5tLRqFxuCUcwozel5v-oOdu8gWcMVgtNRVqE0X5P0tpCiBo6gNVi6CRJtGjwmT897jfDxikE55ow37XbATj6z4g8Hk0Xq_ayQzD-6zki_thiwjmtjKSy/s1600/tent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhy-BynNBpUE6UrlL25Qck94V5tLRqFxuCUcwozel5v-oOdu8gWcMVgtNRVqE0X5P0tpCiBo6gNVi6CRJtGjwmT897jfDxikE55ow37XbATj6z4g8Hk0Xq_ayQzD-6zki_thiwjmtjKSy/s320/tent.jpg" title="Fluffing up the duvet" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nice to see that all the mirrors are still there!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhXBGrJGZhzzoLIn5o3wATvmhzIJ55xVBHpoaxnzgxaNAoHyrgxJU8O1EGB8LxRiMMPcxGdJPtP-l_mD7bzSlRkFqNjZOLOsrqOWNbBAT0IdkhxO28X_bOIE2Had6EJjicRobZUrscGeM/s1600/packingup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhXBGrJGZhzzoLIn5o3wATvmhzIJ55xVBHpoaxnzgxaNAoHyrgxJU8O1EGB8LxRiMMPcxGdJPtP-l_mD7bzSlRkFqNjZOLOsrqOWNbBAT0IdkhxO28X_bOIE2Had6EJjicRobZUrscGeM/s320/packingup.jpg" title="Packing it all away" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The team made remarkably short work of the procedure. Perhaps it should become part of the daily routine for the SALT Astronomer & SALT Operator on duty to remove & deploy the cover - the way observers on the small telescopes need to open & close their mirror covers every night? ;)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCqAULFPfDK9EPg2zCTkXePyjEaaH2yWBxAxONo0miqYJU8q3YBbDHhFLKJdUc4315NLNVXaB1ad3e1jnHWbZ2Vo2OXnrn0_KjQ7_HPoqbwgPgiTSR__CiaHxrh-zSF6H0i4jfL37bFJn/s1600/coverdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCqAULFPfDK9EPg2zCTkXePyjEaaH2yWBxAxONo0miqYJU8q3YBbDHhFLKJdUc4315NLNVXaB1ad3e1jnHWbZ2Vo2OXnrn0_KjQ7_HPoqbwgPgiTSR__CiaHxrh-zSF6H0i4jfL37bFJn/s320/coverdown.jpg" title="Tying up loose ends" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With the primary mirror available to us again, we lugged the alignment telescope & various other bits & pieces back up the CCAS tower & set about getting everything lined up. Weather permitting, we hope to go on-sky sometime next week!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_BHtMUnojcdMo3edopdSMkIKd7lM-38JWHs7WsQ5XXsYAEA3km5KRRvKwZXCgCFyGQIG6u0dUd4OHQbYmU0vqu3m8c3E25oMvDC3JRms1ZooUnWZ55TTB8kzhYIgGcxBZtaqW_d78kEN/s1600/fromCCAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_BHtMUnojcdMo3edopdSMkIKd7lM-38JWHs7WsQ5XXsYAEA3km5KRRvKwZXCgCFyGQIG6u0dUd4OHQbYmU0vqu3m8c3E25oMvDC3JRms1ZooUnWZ55TTB8kzhYIgGcxBZtaqW_d78kEN/s320/fromCCAS.jpg" title="SALT's starting to look like a telescope again!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-45887429705357825332010-08-11T20:31:00.075+02:002010-08-12T12:07:40.073+02:00Removing the SAC installation platform<div style="text-align: justify;">The next phase in this whole process is to get the telescope sky-worthy as soon as possible so that we can proceed with testing the performance of the re-aligned SAC. The first of these jobs was to take down the SAC installation platform.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfWYG0m1C97uAzZLBbdl0-Yuxa9KPXrG9DgnQFpfj1NPSwm5C_Th9BKhn-V50ajhBpCNKPzjtd7T5Pt2JRYz1-lRgsd8Atj_-OsUTdveVqpkNKx2WJECtjdZZodqVuoHT6D69FNp22tNL/s1600/platform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfWYG0m1C97uAzZLBbdl0-Yuxa9KPXrG9DgnQFpfj1NPSwm5C_Th9BKhn-V50ajhBpCNKPzjtd7T5Pt2JRYz1-lRgsd8Atj_-OsUTdveVqpkNKx2WJECtjdZZodqVuoHT6D69FNp22tNL/s320/platform.jpg" title="The tracker diving board" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Appropriate rigging was attached to the carriage part & hooked up to the dome crane.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zqXLRK2QuLrjWRRV-oj42m5QEA6kvBq2IUjsn-qDj6fYOhVAyFiubHR7N5XZHtlB4mYDQ1B6mwFh6L73BUt0r9JjCY36bZBQ3YCcKgPs33j8U-DbLcyi8oMU9iZbGYNA0bcjd0Izv-TZ/s1600/rigging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zqXLRK2QuLrjWRRV-oj42m5QEA6kvBq2IUjsn-qDj6fYOhVAyFiubHR7N5XZHtlB4mYDQ1B6mwFh6L73BUt0r9JjCY36bZBQ3YCcKgPs33j8U-DbLcyi8oMU9iZbGYNA0bcjd0Izv-TZ/s320/rigging.jpg" title="Banana slings in action again" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Then the threaded rods holding up the far end of the "diving board" were undone & the bolts on the near side removed. No - Eben's head wasn't really holding the platform up at that point!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4L9Yje6GRnyfKtTP4RtjCUcTr-CDR2O23fA9I8NYyeCszCd5pHTw1XFK28TVGof7Dfvuy5veGnP0LH0dcA4TNp9XzOQBejSIwXx3eXV4Htn4zXIllWE9JsMz0qEjE8VzhI1YPMIGnxWrX/s1600/undoing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4L9Yje6GRnyfKtTP4RtjCUcTr-CDR2O23fA9I8NYyeCszCd5pHTw1XFK28TVGof7Dfvuy5veGnP0LH0dcA4TNp9XzOQBejSIwXx3eXV4Htn4zXIllWE9JsMz0qEjE8VzhI1YPMIGnxWrX/s320/undoing.jpg" title="Eben's new hat" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This allowed the whole platform to be slid outwards & lowered with the dome crane.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aD4nAFFk5cT0J-UCQSfUPvhJoscZZcsDtmJvbEZK9n55C0lmlKGx59Z8angq8Es9wUfPEcK1qp1l8WC0aqK3wZPi9e-9WdxgKyMe-FEH2E8ctQbTtZrw_L9xCrfZPRoj4GscPOoOE5Cm/s1600/lowering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aD4nAFFk5cT0J-UCQSfUPvhJoscZZcsDtmJvbEZK9n55C0lmlKGx59Z8angq8Es9wUfPEcK1qp1l8WC0aqK3wZPi9e-9WdxgKyMe-FEH2E8ctQbTtZrw_L9xCrfZPRoj4GscPOoOE5Cm/s320/lowering.jpg" title="Doooown it goooes!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The >650 kg monstrosity, nearly 3 times the weight of the SAC, could then be lowered safely. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TsgxohrbodAe6tSY1fw5d-tUWKkQLUeaknRIjkdgIJMA5iTPNvgvboKlshLCZC1pjU7hNsbRPCCBvsImF27c7Mfv4Vj4JpQDGLlzVc1SjfWXIR96YPauHH08fazRWbDczkwRfcR9dTjs/s1600/UFO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TsgxohrbodAe6tSY1fw5d-tUWKkQLUeaknRIjkdgIJMA5iTPNvgvboKlshLCZC1pjU7hNsbRPCCBvsImF27c7Mfv4Vj4JpQDGLlzVc1SjfWXIR96YPauHH08fazRWbDczkwRfcR9dTjs/s320/UFO.jpg" title="Unidentified floating object" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Guide ropes were used to steer it down for a graceful landing :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QrLSuJrGi8iczUkSqDhYit91enQXQV8mypxa_IeHI87bUiKF6bf6_K4booiS_5qO0eEh8UNnWg7QZCfpACmFJuMgo59zx_ZSMFf-E36faYzIHeXysbYmvxbHuU8UlLzwc6XLr3B5V3n3/s1600/down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QrLSuJrGi8iczUkSqDhYit91enQXQV8mypxa_IeHI87bUiKF6bf6_K4booiS_5qO0eEh8UNnWg7QZCfpACmFJuMgo59zx_ZSMFf-E36faYzIHeXysbYmvxbHuU8UlLzwc6XLr3B5V3n3/s320/down.jpg" title="Coming in for a soft landing" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Tomorrow the guys will remove the primary mirror cover!</div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-67225520488702258682010-08-10T22:49:00.165+02:002010-08-11T21:02:06.947+02:00The SAC is BACK!!<div style="text-align: justify;">Late last week the IQ Team bade farewell to their clean room captor/patient...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTcN9gxCInUFj-cSjHy5OpCnD-KLw-PrB-ab_AoHPGDc7facSvLRVH6Fxh8tw5iYlfNGoLFy-_5ChbgX0lxRHAtOFjmTL87oh3ZC2aC366ODSEV3lvzs9huUJWjLUN8ro3f94ROTbfA8u/s1600/byebye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTcN9gxCInUFj-cSjHy5OpCnD-KLw-PrB-ab_AoHPGDc7facSvLRVH6Fxh8tw5iYlfNGoLFy-_5ChbgX0lxRHAtOFjmTL87oh3ZC2aC366ODSEV3lvzs9huUJWjLUN8ro3f94ROTbfA8u/s320/byebye.jpg" title="The IQ Team says Goodbye!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Then this morning it was wheeled out into the loading bay.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorSBaCTRxpD3rtHgLr2uy_k7I44jCxKsnDLDfIoMng2C3oQVxLi3THthRydpuJngNOXUjfQsIGJBCdagaU4Lwx6s5I-w0MT_87akSavjfJ9TW3zkOYqqIQ9_cZI_yP5OLg5VlNxFlaCLp/s1600/wheelout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorSBaCTRxpD3rtHgLr2uy_k7I44jCxKsnDLDfIoMng2C3oQVxLi3THthRydpuJngNOXUjfQsIGJBCdagaU4Lwx6s5I-w0MT_87akSavjfJ9TW3zkOYqqIQ9_cZI_yP5OLg5VlNxFlaCLp/s320/wheelout.jpg" title="Walkies time..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">It was securely rigged up with the necessary slings & counterweights.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFD4L8ZoNQZ61MR6uf0uGyVAFLQQALbw8fbidk1LHwkvpsF6AyU6_UB_M3IaHFhkISLTQ55R1De62CnRSf77mBnJbq4uUsLI9JOhLHbwZjSSsufE9uQUvCWausTzqxbPuTeao9qNiUxk9/s1600/riggingup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFD4L8ZoNQZ61MR6uf0uGyVAFLQQALbw8fbidk1LHwkvpsF6AyU6_UB_M3IaHFhkISLTQ55R1De62CnRSf77mBnJbq4uUsLI9JOhLHbwZjSSsufE9uQUvCWausTzqxbPuTeao9qNiUxk9/s320/riggingup.jpg" title="Slings attached" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Then slowly lifted up on the dome crane.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXN1j48jpeJSe3Y3UWS46NbId_I4vPoAREgXf9CDpsVYvsj7urA9zNzhobwliZGxBsFSeAaCURa1556bSDhVuljvsXWFQWHw4W3OPA99xDFzWvoo4377o9ZTTo9mmF9BK4DRXcYavaU0ie/s1600/up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXN1j48jpeJSe3Y3UWS46NbId_I4vPoAREgXf9CDpsVYvsj7urA9zNzhobwliZGxBsFSeAaCURa1556bSDhVuljvsXWFQWHw4W3OPA99xDFzWvoo4377o9ZTTo9mmF9BK4DRXcYavaU0ie/s320/up.jpg" title="We have lift-off!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">& steered up through the hatch into the telescope enclosure...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6B26EF3IKGK7y9FA2KxZYsN77QPhUmKHRQdJyw_pmSJ9BYOsnjgHLy1477mq214KlIm-_jqRCBI09KwCQtjjWdOqcWSdcrhzGzlvEHdtyGSkTqdFjGuWtRIly6sckDfDJS23oAA35L05/s1600/thruhatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6B26EF3IKGK7y9FA2KxZYsN77QPhUmKHRQdJyw_pmSJ9BYOsnjgHLy1477mq214KlIm-_jqRCBI09KwCQtjjWdOqcWSdcrhzGzlvEHdtyGSkTqdFjGuWtRIly6sckDfDJS23oAA35L05/s320/thruhatch.jpg" title="Up through the hatch!" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Terrestrial Receiver stayed behind, wondering what all the fuss had been about.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUi85fKqXGgi_qznFVzX5aBCCN4-PNeOdzksKA2EOlQ6_vK83gjMM3lzKtu5SiXl8QBJqQuDOnaM1I8vKFpPnIXsapVy4vS1jvhLpYdl9olEL1GJLlBTV1HCFFIDuIkzaGrrTdsOm5Micn/s1600/gone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUi85fKqXGgi_qznFVzX5aBCCN4-PNeOdzksKA2EOlQ6_vK83gjMM3lzKtu5SiXl8QBJqQuDOnaM1I8vKFpPnIXsapVy4vS1jvhLpYdl9olEL1GJLlBTV1HCFFIDuIkzaGrrTdsOm5Micn/s320/gone.jpg" title="Empty nest syndrome" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The SAC hung menacingly for a while before continuing its journey trackerward.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXif6RbXXS4GcPl84heouxRASOlm3gXo5aQjZpGCiGIBqkaaPYuHfXJ4ekQHiszYm09-4KI6Zxbd-CBX4xrNvRr08foXirKx4PLyT2C-G4oBs6DPmX_z45RLzVOwmzGlWKHxev38K5kW6U/s1600/hanging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXif6RbXXS4GcPl84heouxRASOlm3gXo5aQjZpGCiGIBqkaaPYuHfXJ4ekQHiszYm09-4KI6Zxbd-CBX4xrNvRr08foXirKx4PLyT2C-G4oBs6DPmX_z45RLzVOwmzGlWKHxev38K5kW6U/s320/hanging.jpg" title="Just hangin' around" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCr8TrwcGrfcSLR6E7shr259tOSNQO7js7Q5zTbQejjpqiFMFcOOzuG1BIpy3Ba-_ykbN7t473xf5jyX5-MNoU6WlbVVkW73SyY5f0Lmsynm6WLmfYF3_PN8qM_3VhqDDWaxCKut3Wbiwx/s1600/underside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCr8TrwcGrfcSLR6E7shr259tOSNQO7js7Q5zTbQejjpqiFMFcOOzuG1BIpy3Ba-_ykbN7t473xf5jyX5-MNoU6WlbVVkW73SyY5f0Lmsynm6WLmfYF3_PN8qM_3VhqDDWaxCKut3Wbiwx/s320/underside.jpg" title="To the tracker - & Beyond!!" /></a></div><br />
Darragh looked on pensively from the catwalk!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTgMJtD1NMTXyB4b5uVktoYTWxaIL2XupBu9T54MV9_sp_VHqG3_5UP6vc1xRMrR6XeKNhIHhmzHr8AvCD6cKcDqD1ioTUA0pDFbZJjBuQw4SqknWCmppnyOjo-WkjsERWu9wKtQfZa5U/s1600/lookingsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTgMJtD1NMTXyB4b5uVktoYTWxaIL2XupBu9T54MV9_sp_VHqG3_5UP6vc1xRMrR6XeKNhIHhmzHr8AvCD6cKcDqD1ioTUA0pDFbZJjBuQw4SqknWCmppnyOjo-WkjsERWu9wKtQfZa5U/s320/lookingsmall.jpg" title="It doesn't look like much from this angle?" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbIPLRKy-W1eqHb02fm5kc44lU8In6mItY8-cZrLP7p7NU_D5SYcV79fVfPxaYvuABn-s48KL-iw1J2Qu2veKynlH-eA3Z2StenXNIesgnTbUYPJozWBdoCcz-piBQiTlEQgW7ojmyIhS/s1600/goingup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbIPLRKy-W1eqHb02fm5kc44lU8In6mItY8-cZrLP7p7NU_D5SYcV79fVfPxaYvuABn-s48KL-iw1J2Qu2veKynlH-eA3Z2StenXNIesgnTbUYPJozWBdoCcz-piBQiTlEQgW7ojmyIhS/s320/goingup.jpg" title="Up we go..." /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDff8une1mwLZ6fhd31lK-LHvXT2PUtUD6f57O692sD_ORBa5Ykseug6SW1gLTI77mRY7oY4uuLA9fDjt-5zQ00naSmifsmiz5N9QDP0Wo46Pzcuo1C7Heolp6fgv5RYK4hJPb2PT9ArH/s1600/nearlyhome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDff8une1mwLZ6fhd31lK-LHvXT2PUtUD6f57O692sD_ORBa5Ykseug6SW1gLTI77mRY7oY4uuLA9fDjt-5zQ00naSmifsmiz5N9QDP0Wo46Pzcuo1C7Heolp6fgv5RYK4hJPb2PT9ArH/s320/nearlyhome.jpg" title="Coming in to land..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Up top it was met by Charl, Eben, Ockert & Jonathan who secured the installation ring, holding the SAC to the carriage, on the platform.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeQyL9n139rEI6egFZbShPP-HLp6nCbbd7wsu6Sj9stST9icaMbDsgxLOrhbaUx4xodFaIpQhvWI_vlnv1RXcBwmbnGrJaw6tv9FKcTbSdHxeXoBuyVCrX9NshtMUzEpgSU1fUKFvTySR/s1600/strikeapose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeQyL9n139rEI6egFZbShPP-HLp6nCbbd7wsu6Sj9stST9icaMbDsgxLOrhbaUx4xodFaIpQhvWI_vlnv1RXcBwmbnGrJaw6tv9FKcTbSdHxeXoBuyVCrX9NshtMUzEpgSU1fUKFvTySR/s320/strikeapose.jpg" title="The Welcoming Committee" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Next the SAC was tilted to 37 degrees, the yoke of the carriage installed & the whole assembly Very slowly & carefully raised until the SAC entered the hole in the NRS.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRsg9q1lOSpGSJRpPr1TsGPbFutyzb1xGk4ItB8iCHwR68mMIGA8LpkDRBYgsoDTp-rAAR-wBfEi9mZfT5oxyx8qRRLEHcIEIWOFb2XPKKAqJYXMrhVpNT419JJ7_w6AMq_4qRdkDjkgG/s1600/tiltedover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRsg9q1lOSpGSJRpPr1TsGPbFutyzb1xGk4ItB8iCHwR68mMIGA8LpkDRBYgsoDTp-rAAR-wBfEi9mZfT5oxyx8qRRLEHcIEIWOFb2XPKKAqJYXMrhVpNT419JJ7_w6AMq_4qRdkDjkgG/s320/tiltedover.jpg" title="Don't forget to take the cover off!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Great care + much tweaking & nudging was needed to negotiate the minimal clearaces involved to prevent the collars getting wedged against each other.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6ZKkzQapCM4JTzCT65uRvYFVzkUbBvupnR5kCCLx0J77NNwHSgmcNKxIGBMEKXOGcCz1HNCr8ZURLHIS22rY_YLO3YJu-GoAmQ25kTiInampcikBDdP93fFQPw74MkXHWlJiyu04_Z4M/s1600/getcomfy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6ZKkzQapCM4JTzCT65uRvYFVzkUbBvupnR5kCCLx0J77NNwHSgmcNKxIGBMEKXOGcCz1HNCr8ZURLHIS22rY_YLO3YJu-GoAmQ25kTiInampcikBDdP93fFQPw74MkXHWlJiyu04_Z4M/s320/getcomfy.jpg" title="Tracker yoga" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHa-cNqQBqlZ-IfwJMWd2SKELkwVqaa776Gyk65OoxKvDHghGaNh94ZZc3q98ojpZclLIm29GeZHGVbvob-tMYd0eWfW_W7uvxnxEyKbhUdCA2xLsd8X62A0enFUsDz8mU6MmlJlPWtplv/s1600/comingdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHa-cNqQBqlZ-IfwJMWd2SKELkwVqaa776Gyk65OoxKvDHghGaNh94ZZc3q98ojpZclLIm29GeZHGVbvob-tMYd0eWfW_W7uvxnxEyKbhUdCA2xLsd8X62A0enFUsDz8mU6MmlJlPWtplv/s320/comingdown.jpg" title="Beep while reversing" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Once the steel collar was lined up with the aluminium collar, the bearing assemblies could be installed. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKqvXDKdM1BDa3iuHcYhB-edAJz04Mt20GprXLiALd3gv_4i2mBMoPXuTvGlU_zaWtuQD62dS0AaWyqQa5FGRqFr0CNAWNqTKfVe2VP5mbGXh4m88EQjh-KmYl1wqDJhf4ifA20d-xzMV/s1600/bearingsin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKqvXDKdM1BDa3iuHcYhB-edAJz04Mt20GprXLiALd3gv_4i2mBMoPXuTvGlU_zaWtuQD62dS0AaWyqQa5FGRqFr0CNAWNqTKfVe2VP5mbGXh4m88EQjh-KmYl1wqDJhf4ifA20d-xzMV/s320/bearingsin.jpg" title="Fastening the 3 sets of bearings between the 2 collars" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Some adjustments had to be made the the NRS as well to get the whole lot squared up.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTOYs8IH3G362fxpReYxq-fqSqziAbUh5nACf_F4ihk13TaXbVxkgdEi5S62yNklE8InAimhxcg6Iq8bpvWdUVInPoC7nm-KK3pXyUsdvWNxCunMv8_W-2kG5HSQJicorYW-KGkfIaY4v/s1600/NRSbolts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTOYs8IH3G362fxpReYxq-fqSqziAbUh5nACf_F4ihk13TaXbVxkgdEi5S62yNklE8InAimhxcg6Iq8bpvWdUVInPoC7nm-KK3pXyUsdvWNxCunMv8_W-2kG5HSQJicorYW-KGkfIaY4v/s320/NRSbolts.jpg" title="Let's not drop the whole NRS now, ok?!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With the SAC in position, there isn't much room left on the installation platform for taking photographs, but you get the idea :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW4vHFAAx-oF9T1HMTdijiDMXXVOmumoHyZKEdfLpfA5aM2BkLl5VfzZkDMaD9S2eUbVZcKvS_4gAvysPg2SyKjz0_M5aw1Y3ql_LS_h2TCf3zne83QXB-YweT6lbUXHv7ie2SlDsLJ6B/s1600/inplace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW4vHFAAx-oF9T1HMTdijiDMXXVOmumoHyZKEdfLpfA5aM2BkLl5VfzZkDMaD9S2eUbVZcKvS_4gAvysPg2SyKjz0_M5aw1Y3ql_LS_h2TCf3zne83QXB-YweT6lbUXHv7ie2SlDsLJ6B/s320/inplace.jpg" title="Snugly attached :)" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A long, hard & hugely successful day - Fantastic job everybody! Let's hope there's much more champagne consumption to be done once we go on-sky...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAvrN9gPZmZsUCQyDmHJt1ZfdbBrkwqYNEAIohu35tr1hhFFtA02EYinQANJXZIku6ZWTH1J6Ain115TcaQjp1JOGcxujkiFZHtFfq22wFlika6He4oHgYiifmP4-KX-Vnvq81cMR9W-En/s1600/afterwards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAvrN9gPZmZsUCQyDmHJt1ZfdbBrkwqYNEAIohu35tr1hhFFtA02EYinQANJXZIku6ZWTH1J6Ain115TcaQjp1JOGcxujkiFZHtFfq22wFlika6He4oHgYiifmP4-KX-Vnvq81cMR9W-En/s320/afterwards.jpg" title="Much to celebrate!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-14342559028502997382010-08-05T21:34:00.109+02:002010-08-06T22:43:24.305+02:00Almost, but not quite!<div style="text-align: justify;">After undergoing the necessary mods, the stiffening ring for the on-telescope-test (OTT) was installed beneath the floor of the non-rotating structure (NRS).</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbo8tp0lKcjW0OlwEj1h_d5UkOvR4gidptiyV41_sBp-zs0KXnmcHi1ZVMkBo5GaJlcCE5Ba34iPSAXTU8h8UmHOt_endrUngb2lq2agecqWhuZnUQcKO82BrzTNNSptgHslrlOqqTo3-I/s1600/OTTringin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbo8tp0lKcjW0OlwEj1h_d5UkOvR4gidptiyV41_sBp-zs0KXnmcHi1ZVMkBo5GaJlcCE5Ba34iPSAXTU8h8UmHOt_endrUngb2lq2agecqWhuZnUQcKO82BrzTNNSptgHslrlOqqTo3-I/s320/OTTringin.jpg" title="Where's Jono?!" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monday's Faro measurements made on the tracker led to a set of spacers of specific thicknesses that will square up the SAC's aluminium collar against the NRS. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1z1h9aTXo2gRtULVJdXzNHLpz8_8F9I1VgG9qTtvFQwMNyAmeBJfrDr_fF3xw_cCIUT31xJMHIKSsq1jkRtSu9fS2CaOMStCjPnIJRGNIcdrvHNvtvc-ZSFCYJpnPDHf6J9nhIXvvjIid/s1600/spacers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1z1h9aTXo2gRtULVJdXzNHLpz8_8F9I1VgG9qTtvFQwMNyAmeBJfrDr_fF3xw_cCIUT31xJMHIKSsq1jkRtSu9fS2CaOMStCjPnIJRGNIcdrvHNvtvc-ZSFCYJpnPDHf6J9nhIXvvjIid/s320/spacers.jpg" title="Craig's precision spacers" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The spacers were bonded to the collar - being sure to place them in the right order!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMfqo2Ou1IUIiOlr3KpDvb5snFGCsVTkLHlkLZhiH_Z1sFswv3j5r_rUe0Aop4z0dbHweQB3I2Q7R20x00qRzvVmfVFUtQrlQFc1xpN0WF0RRyheUvIrFa6tv4bE9Mw3HqrTonr59FE5l/s1600/spacerson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMfqo2Ou1IUIiOlr3KpDvb5snFGCsVTkLHlkLZhiH_Z1sFswv3j5r_rUe0Aop4z0dbHweQB3I2Q7R20x00qRzvVmfVFUtQrlQFc1xpN0WF0RRyheUvIrFa6tv4bE9Mw3HqrTonr59FE5l/s320/spacerson.jpg" title="Are these numbered clockwise, or anti-clockwise?!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The collar could then be taken up to the tracker platform & installed...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTALaBG8qWxAh_c63QS2gixIvS9kwKyt4SEVwhFVvvcpQ9k94GltXpk1mkz4P0gcewUpjSftZ3VhQUNxcG56JOwImu8o7VYviumjQX-GVppu8S8xR6YhfN5JluuvjLSJJSry4fApjsmrf/s1600/collarlift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTALaBG8qWxAh_c63QS2gixIvS9kwKyt4SEVwhFVvvcpQ9k94GltXpk1mkz4P0gcewUpjSftZ3VhQUNxcG56JOwImu8o7VYviumjQX-GVppu8S8xR6YhfN5JluuvjLSJJSry4fApjsmrf/s320/collarlift.jpg" title="Posting the collar through the tracker to the installation platform" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The image below can be compared with a similar one in the Monday (2 August) post to see all the new hardware in place: the ring for the OTT (the black wall inside the old aluminium interface ring), the aluminium collar (black ring outside the old interface ring) & the auto-collimator assembly (instrument at the 12 o'clock position outside the collar).</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPwrFtwfVhi0hgVEqzgnej1aJ-X9LUxbTFdjQSrwB0iKraHMXfD86IW2SvvVF6LxQmr95QywKgPWfvoN7gfiBKyUDRzzkok5-VPf-i54P5-BTpvj3BzxSpk6PQaK178vqQQwe_QfZmIxn/s1600/alcollaron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPwrFtwfVhi0hgVEqzgnej1aJ-X9LUxbTFdjQSrwB0iKraHMXfD86IW2SvvVF6LxQmr95QywKgPWfvoN7gfiBKyUDRzzkok5-VPf-i54P5-BTpvj3BzxSpk6PQaK178vqQQwe_QfZmIxn/s320/alcollaron.jpg" title="All ready for the star of the show!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">At this stage, we believed it was time to lift the SAC & so it was wheeled out of the clean room & attached to the dome crane. However, a likely source of mechanical interference between the SAC & the OTT gear was identified so the lift was halted & the problem confirmed. Modifications will be made & the lift ought to proceed next week... </div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-16232350081695748262010-08-04T23:20:00.093+02:002010-08-05T09:25:57.098+02:00The Day Before Tomorrow<div style="text-align: justify;">Loads of jobs are still going on in parallel, including more work being done up in the CCAS tower.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7ojR-c06qSKPzaaCZu309Zp4F2q-remkexBc0Yp_UKWbiJwRYAOfVVbb90OUMFZcXAh0cuRsRHWnEF5nTcZLvR_OGk_P8V3ckLh3pvxOW1HjQYXaPPL4XyxziBFUuSYaxz13s_qNI8ll/s1600/CCASladder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7ojR-c06qSKPzaaCZu309Zp4F2q-remkexBc0Yp_UKWbiJwRYAOfVVbb90OUMFZcXAh0cuRsRHWnEF5nTcZLvR_OGk_P8V3ckLh3pvxOW1HjQYXaPPL4XyxziBFUuSYaxz13s_qNI8ll/s320/CCASladder.jpg" title="Peering down the CCAS hatch" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A pair of microscope objectives has been added to a barrel in front of the alignment telescope's camera to magnify the image we get back.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5d0D5bPgCAGZlj030WvX4vEK3NB_GZ6iIgnMc0yBn8wfft9NqYdlofomF1RYRuDOYTIx6mMVSjLmszNcfuUQ8dbK4xV0V50LYiqZngPmpLfMSBcnGG6UAi4eWkFPp4Fj95bNy6VBqvHP/s1600/extendedcam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5d0D5bPgCAGZlj030WvX4vEK3NB_GZ6iIgnMc0yBn8wfft9NqYdlofomF1RYRuDOYTIx6mMVSjLmszNcfuUQ8dbK4xV0V50LYiqZngPmpLfMSBcnGG6UAi4eWkFPp4Fj95bNy6VBqvHP/s320/extendedcam.jpg" title="Pimped alignment telescope" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">& a wobble in the Rho stage was investigated with a flat mirror fitted to a plate on the floor of the non-rotating structure. These data are to be compared with similar measurements made with the target attached to the Rho ring.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQSFjww5dI9IlqWzXb0G7gaDVnuJvbebGIkTjDpAWAeLvp-QXCr9DGE7o5YeepP4iCStM_hYv9uRjktDNLAyabWmDRsAQtU4_xGPX0dJsPfE7vCkGin2zdHJ3p3q-cjNbgJHcWQNjyM9K/s1600/NRSfloor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQSFjww5dI9IlqWzXb0G7gaDVnuJvbebGIkTjDpAWAeLvp-QXCr9DGE7o5YeepP4iCStM_hYv9uRjktDNLAyabWmDRsAQtU4_xGPX0dJsPfE7vCkGin2zdHJ3p3q-cjNbgJHcWQNjyM9K/s320/NRSfloor.jpg" title="Plate with a flat mirror on the floor of the NRS" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A set of dial gauges was also set up between the fixed and moving parts of the Rho stage to characterise their relative movement.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zQEBJUNas3bXHzI7k0FXv577Gd0UdA2i2KI3EehTSZfDS8JwXhjjpCBMwcR3gUKRFCZ4CGfC241SurfFzYaT_0PGJ5A1uOzRvwtgueIwaA0m8HO2sigMjOkK1U_dMEJonx_FqNca5HYw/s1600/rhogauges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span id="goog_253990351"></span><span id="goog_253990352"></span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zQEBJUNas3bXHzI7k0FXv577Gd0UdA2i2KI3EehTSZfDS8JwXhjjpCBMwcR3gUKRFCZ4CGfC241SurfFzYaT_0PGJ5A1uOzRvwtgueIwaA0m8HO2sigMjOkK1U_dMEJonx_FqNca5HYw/s320/rhogauges.jpg" title="Measuring Rho stage wozzles" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The tracker's Y-axis cable wrap had to be moved out of the way to make space for some of the gear associated with the SAC lift - which is now on for <b>Tomorrow</b>!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEWSveyh99kNTzHQ1ey5ThaDbHnnvfXXbYwuNc8BrIv65WTiZbbdLu_XG6uyv51qn1nIKPxVZFnKliFhnIu-jQDTZt5FF_HlIr4uNWj9u8iSPnlRMgH96QxQvnkd-I9satNTUVuKbbCpv/s1600/ycablewrap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEWSveyh99kNTzHQ1ey5ThaDbHnnvfXXbYwuNc8BrIv65WTiZbbdLu_XG6uyv51qn1nIKPxVZFnKliFhnIu-jQDTZt5FF_HlIr4uNWj9u8iSPnlRMgH96QxQvnkd-I9satNTUVuKbbCpv/s320/ycablewrap.jpg" title="Wrestling the Y-wrap out of the way" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-58414362646516700422010-08-02T23:18:00.121+02:002010-08-05T00:29:00.540+02:00Extreme Faro'ing<div style="text-align: justify;">After all the re-organising of the clean room, The Boss found himself a cozy new office - conveniently close to the emergency exit...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEutOJ_5SHjGNk59Y2WKnPnh2Bj3DM4uBxFThmUcvAmz9z3sPK20WThvXX-4xS3LAT5XeiTYB5Yj7Gn7QqQ0MaVAshkVw3K_uOkgCgtX9xFhF5gkdb6-haFX4ZQ1Kck9Ff1rReM0dV9CR/s1600/cubicled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEutOJ_5SHjGNk59Y2WKnPnh2Bj3DM4uBxFThmUcvAmz9z3sPK20WThvXX-4xS3LAT5XeiTYB5Yj7Gn7QqQ0MaVAshkVw3K_uOkgCgtX9xFhF5gkdb6-haFX4ZQ1Kck9Ff1rReM0dV9CR/s320/cubicled.jpg" title="Cubicled" /></a></div><br />
The Strumpfer clan's returned to Sutherland - welcome back guys! - just in time to celebrate the Papa Bear's birthday :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsxbBdh1yJgCk-MOg0fz5Mx-i_nhnyd_bd7_WL2rfKLdBFmYLlLubGeyJo9WOoVB70wMCqRER8pt81mBrpamwZ622xEaFe7svTy3VbLzsJqr9nIzRBmH5n2rJsQNCVfGzEQcmRZWt2ga1/s1600/party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsxbBdh1yJgCk-MOg0fz5Mx-i_nhnyd_bd7_WL2rfKLdBFmYLlLubGeyJo9WOoVB70wMCqRER8pt81mBrpamwZ622xEaFe7svTy3VbLzsJqr9nIzRBmH5n2rJsQNCVfGzEQcmRZWt2ga1/s320/party.jpg" title="HB2F - HB2F - HBDF - HB2222F!!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After pigging out on Francois' birthday munchies, we returned to the tracker for a close-up look at where the SAC attaches. The old (problematic) interface is the central aluminium ring in the image below, while the 9 disks just outside that ring mark the new attachment points for the SAC's aluminium collar.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Ez7Budy1APn71Zt9TJaeZke14esKPU2nwOnqD0VdhOJFiWNIncqrXmqGjggpvKr8_Yj1trj57IBlffzrgUGs5nkxuHADNRxtpcGka6szUoHbANSfnuC8CgEVowqtG6pkZhhboKaFDPK/s1600/interfacering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Ez7Budy1APn71Zt9TJaeZke14esKPU2nwOnqD0VdhOJFiWNIncqrXmqGjggpvKr8_Yj1trj57IBlffzrgUGs5nkxuHADNRxtpcGka6szUoHbANSfnuC8CgEVowqtG6pkZhhboKaFDPK/s320/interfacering.jpg" title="Where the SAC's supposed to live" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">These 9 points needed to be measured with the Faro Arm, which was hoisted up to the SAC installation platform on the dome crane.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLhIYNNlJfhr-koze0UDajwYQQHVL7BdeWXp_-K-tjd-VNXldybM0TAyP4_-einGCY2hwbYM71HeQcg1zllDDgyq0DoOcOA3h2IUr0pFIr7CALCOJ5E0HoC2eF3iHhGaR78OTlhaYwrVJ/s1600/flyingFaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLhIYNNlJfhr-koze0UDajwYQQHVL7BdeWXp_-K-tjd-VNXldybM0TAyP4_-einGCY2hwbYM71HeQcg1zllDDgyq0DoOcOA3h2IUr0pFIr7CALCOJ5E0HoC2eF3iHhGaR78OTlhaYwrVJ/s320/flyingFaro.jpg" title="Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it's the Faro on a dome crane!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The SAC installation platform's not the most accessible place in the world if you aren't travelling by dome crane... From the tracker access platform, one has to clamber down onto the bottom of the tracker bridge before making your way back up to the ledge that projects horizontally from the bridge.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0S2d_kn3VWJgjkydi_T-XUtYIp-YW0vvbd-gnm1FyS4O1gPBkAbLAvQIwubNDhprsHZJE8yq4m9_m96UL6U-tFR_uXO1D__aPp0Dv7JhAV3WGOvxXd4LeIuCNCPjUmoJoNKRODjHWtXQ/s1600/climbingunder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0S2d_kn3VWJgjkydi_T-XUtYIp-YW0vvbd-gnm1FyS4O1gPBkAbLAvQIwubNDhprsHZJE8yq4m9_m96UL6U-tFR_uXO1D__aPp0Dv7JhAV3WGOvxXd4LeIuCNCPjUmoJoNKRODjHWtXQ/s320/climbingunder.jpg" title="Afternoon workout on the tracker jungle gym" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A temporary Faro mounting base was bolted to the tracker bridge.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6E84bMqxIJzaOunFe5_Egf5ePaSy-1et_-p9YkISVgiuGskMOuTAJfgLT8L4YSLZzmQz-8qTcBpex_vnmU3gsa91lSzyrkI2t15bIdfEtJslH6B8bQWMDAZ06l_wIqUd5foA4wuVtzzn7/s1600/veryhighbase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6E84bMqxIJzaOunFe5_Egf5ePaSy-1et_-p9YkISVgiuGskMOuTAJfgLT8L4YSLZzmQz-8qTcBpex_vnmU3gsa91lSzyrkI2t15bIdfEtJslH6B8bQWMDAZ06l_wIqUd5foA4wuVtzzn7/s320/veryhighbase.jpg" title="The Ultra High Faro base" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">& the Arm securely attached.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePjXwiddSGbohq_uqJ_EWtHYgxI6SwyO9fnWJ55Mn3KuXMhLkKOlhBMzM4tM3Ge7T0vS2t7S66TvERkemWb9wkKoGX-k-7G4uY1D6hncRgZWfRFh18mzNHhzNGq60QAWKfwVgUvQR245_/s1600/Farohigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePjXwiddSGbohq_uqJ_EWtHYgxI6SwyO9fnWJ55Mn3KuXMhLkKOlhBMzM4tM3Ge7T0vS2t7S66TvERkemWb9wkKoGX-k-7G4uY1D6hncRgZWfRFh18mzNHhzNGq60QAWKfwVgUvQR245_/s320/Farohigh.jpg" title="Playing Pass The Faro" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With that, the Birthday Boy was put to work setting up a coordinate system based on the old interface ring & then measuring the Z values of the new attachment points. Looking quite relaxed for someone making Faro measurements while perched >11m above the telescope floor... :}</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUp2dkDIgeA9Ea28JPYkZgkIRgo5SSrUCm73Ml79ALAldi4rn6qDMaY-LnbXynW4H2kKR_VkRW3UtqdryianjaC1fzrv-suLoDtm6QzWeo0GyN8HHheBJ4woSW4aACCqXHAlqlFSn_VrMD/s1600/BDB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUp2dkDIgeA9Ea28JPYkZgkIRgo5SSrUCm73Ml79ALAldi4rn6qDMaY-LnbXynW4H2kKR_VkRW3UtqdryianjaC1fzrv-suLoDtm6QzWeo0GyN8HHheBJ4woSW4aACCqXHAlqlFSn_VrMD/s320/BDB.jpg" title="Acrophobia-free Faro'ing" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-65807473571278771162010-08-01T22:41:00.110+02:002010-08-04T00:19:27.040+02:00A Sunday in Sutherland<div style="text-align: justify;">Custodians of the Sutherland Social Scene, Vic & Annie have moved into a Fantastic new place just outside of town. Formerly known as Ouplaas, Valhala hosted its first braai this afternoon - thanks guys, we'll all be back - often :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WSdGG96YLcrKckPwyRpOOtIczpAdzhk8h6Oz6C4A_RBbw2RYFxSD8YlfJhZy4lF3MiT0Mu3Q49zyGTYkCDiI7eHgtdZGEK6S57ZzLsHLKY_Wd5AHDEX0sPBuXj2p9CWQ9L5cXU4RQ3Q6/s1600/VicAnnie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WSdGG96YLcrKckPwyRpOOtIczpAdzhk8h6Oz6C4A_RBbw2RYFxSD8YlfJhZy4lF3MiT0Mu3Q49zyGTYkCDiI7eHgtdZGEK6S57ZzLsHLKY_Wd5AHDEX0sPBuXj2p9CWQ9L5cXU4RQ3Q6/s320/VicAnnie.jpg" title="The V&A" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The coolest thing about the place is what can only be described as a little forest - an unfathomable concept in the middle of the Karoo! & once all the green goo's been disposed of & the temperature goes up, the spring-fed pool's sure to become a major attraction as well...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUYkRQn7haT0-3ae0a7y_oVSBeoNA6jGB6i2RUd2GRzWyO177EtolBNkn0yAUJz1OQ2i1Oqe21Ws-II1baFEmKhsj44sTlqVhQUbX5Knx3drBLbcHqv9k823mmCr2u4zqWaZveOHKdGZB/s1600/SuthForest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUYkRQn7haT0-3ae0a7y_oVSBeoNA6jGB6i2RUd2GRzWyO177EtolBNkn0yAUJz1OQ2i1Oqe21Ws-II1baFEmKhsj44sTlqVhQUbX5Knx3drBLbcHqv9k823mmCr2u4zqWaZveOHKdGZB/s320/SuthForest.jpg" title="Treeeeees!!!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Before the sun set - in fear of turning into IQ geeks in front of normal people, we rushed back up to SALT, hauled our gear up the CCAS tower & installed the laser in the alignment telescope mount.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyTGgb4cYhQINnDldwwulgTDf4fgAwsB_IpjapLaDbnCS-nIf7bJkcoX-Q_pA23IdYvO25-mZusF6vMb85aVVRmSoRJzC00Z0dRRC0OzSDb1oJrzP7FmOk9LHYEklKjXtqLeLWgZ8Ad3t/s1600/laserup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyTGgb4cYhQINnDldwwulgTDf4fgAwsB_IpjapLaDbnCS-nIf7bJkcoX-Q_pA23IdYvO25-mZusF6vMb85aVVRmSoRJzC00Z0dRRC0OzSDb1oJrzP7FmOk9LHYEklKjXtqLeLWgZ8Ad3t/s320/laserup.jpg" title="Ready... Aim..." /></a></div><br />
The target was adjusted until we could get the return to come back on the front face of the laser.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3Y17so5P0Mg4_qDCeaRKhk1TmQCY6iwQ6M3DLZHbSrHx4GQ5aCKfsA2J_tAJqWChaiHUClNWsB6HqGpHPWevvkkPvMAN7ldFyk1rvmAxxL6gn8xBjaVW6Rwn48CbbybkEYf_02xV73hn/s1600/laserontarget.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3Y17so5P0Mg4_qDCeaRKhk1TmQCY6iwQ6M3DLZHbSrHx4GQ5aCKfsA2J_tAJqWChaiHUClNWsB6HqGpHPWevvkkPvMAN7ldFyk1rvmAxxL6gn8xBjaVW6Rwn48CbbybkEYf_02xV73hn/s320/laserontarget.jpg" title="Laser on target" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Actuator adjustments were made via the PC in the tower, which talks to the former clean room computer that now lives up on the tracker.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5l7qGa6XqjhT12ypPzm9v9vB1yPjxOqLkNAAhH-zXF_yiiMkriOcG4Hfx7a7pZr7ZSHOUHId_8vx83srkKUZn3NDs6jxYh-ncDmmqAbdaxLM_jG6FCMCJYX4b4mwvT5uUzxTypcKxxQoV/s1600/CCASPC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5l7qGa6XqjhT12ypPzm9v9vB1yPjxOqLkNAAhH-zXF_yiiMkriOcG4Hfx7a7pZr7ZSHOUHId_8vx83srkKUZn3NDs6jxYh-ncDmmqAbdaxLM_jG6FCMCJYX4b4mwvT5uUzxTypcKxxQoV/s320/CCASPC.jpg" title="Actuation at a distance" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After all the excitement we could stand up there, we climbed back down to the top of the elevator shaft & hailed our ride. Very sci-fi to watch it zoom up towards us & then pop the hatch!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiFXFW873E45V1MvWXLzM8W7B1dKfJ08zUN_GTD1B8nS_E7ookXdOJVn7WRi_auiJS8jEZkppJ1Ctn99IVkZlIfw6S8S2jbXUmiqRkDKPnQpxYD2ro2BVFmtnDCFlGRhqCQXeP1aVRAR_/s1600/downtower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiFXFW873E45V1MvWXLzM8W7B1dKfJ08zUN_GTD1B8nS_E7ookXdOJVn7WRi_auiJS8jEZkppJ1Ctn99IVkZlIfw6S8S2jbXUmiqRkDKPnQpxYD2ro2BVFmtnDCFlGRhqCQXeP1aVRAR_/s320/downtower.jpg" title="Scott me up, Beamie!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">On our way out we checked on Okkie who was working on the new hardware for the on-telescope CGH test. We really hope this won't have to be used, as we plan to go on-sky asap & will only do the CGH test if we're unhappy with the results - but the test equipment needs to be in place before the SAC can go up.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGci_Jbid1fnTppRRZrA1uBDyNdiY0uOP5ivUw4bToO_Y88Np7Yf-FvFdY3gh8hTKnwWdVySDhON4FESQtVIEhNx54Fpt8yiyK9_8ofEivH1SedIWp_bf9Kg6Ni5apcHcgqJGOn90W1O3i/s1600/sanding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGci_Jbid1fnTppRRZrA1uBDyNdiY0uOP5ivUw4bToO_Y88Np7Yf-FvFdY3gh8hTKnwWdVySDhON4FESQtVIEhNx54Fpt8yiyK9_8ofEivH1SedIWp_bf9Kg6Ni5apcHcgqJGOn90W1O3i/s320/sanding.jpg" title="Our captain checking up on the troops" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-66698757971990979632010-07-30T16:45:00.114+02:002010-08-02T12:57:35.839+02:00Deploying the primary mirror cover<div style="text-align: justify;">This afternoon the guys put up the new primary mirror cover. This version's much lighter than the one used when the SAC was taken down as it's made of parachute material, rather than thick canvas. The cover was lifted with the dome crane, then attached to the top beam of the structure by Charl & Nicolaas in the cherry-picker.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz9KPzlennG9juOOBfdwuftIZO1ZSxA2-xaiCDz4i5X0_q48UZ-FCCDBBUmH7ioSKT7YhOyOT_Y31DYwGwxZOqz5iUBI_-8Mshyphenhyphenk8txFpDmPuWETfHO3uiJCXLD7ET_BenwQ9nvcMxHN0/s1600/cherrypickers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz9KPzlennG9juOOBfdwuftIZO1ZSxA2-xaiCDz4i5X0_q48UZ-FCCDBBUmH7ioSKT7YhOyOT_Y31DYwGwxZOqz5iUBI_-8Mshyphenhyphenk8txFpDmPuWETfHO3uiJCXLD7ET_BenwQ9nvcMxHN0/s320/cherrypickers.jpg" title="Driving over to fetch the cover from the dome crane" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">They then expertly navigated around to collect the 6 ropes that had been strung up around the structure & tied those to the appropriate attachment points on the mirror sail.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jNgGetUJrit9fCJMNcVOmG3esAM1XTnBR4svQ6OxKMZlVL-DBSj-ltc9WBWln88XfPqmyIzWnH_06YxfvMKa37iuZC8xOfk0P2dmJB0MUA4EaMer-95MVYXOx2xM17vWHtW7Y2o4SjTP/s1600/attachingropes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jNgGetUJrit9fCJMNcVOmG3esAM1XTnBR4svQ6OxKMZlVL-DBSj-ltc9WBWln88XfPqmyIzWnH_06YxfvMKa37iuZC8xOfk0P2dmJB0MUA4EaMer-95MVYXOx2xM17vWHtW7Y2o4SjTP/s320/attachingropes.jpg" title="Attaching the 6 ropes" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Guys standing on the pier then pulled the respective ropes to unfurl the cover, first the bottom 3 positions (at 4, 6 & 8 o'clock) around the mirror.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8kzSpIhygMdhvcl0v3O8CmeOUYY9r8_ghjoBFPHa5oLWANKaNO_bQclP40-R5ZIHpx_OSn1oqK9p6W3mAagNbwhh0TlLuaPadMFVubmceYSkMQ9_yTY-ARc6DMil_7dPC0LFr4bBaQ4z/s1600/first3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8kzSpIhygMdhvcl0v3O8CmeOUYY9r8_ghjoBFPHa5oLWANKaNO_bQclP40-R5ZIHpx_OSn1oqK9p6W3mAagNbwhh0TlLuaPadMFVubmceYSkMQ9_yTY-ARc6DMil_7dPC0LFr4bBaQ4z/s320/first3.jpg" title="Opening up the lower section" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then the top 3 at 10, 12 & 2 o'clock.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHkAuW9vnaUMcRtkHsvlmZhDSwofy22lpnU2xZ4pbsMAzqd8jRDPMU4_FRoDUktHfYQPys6jBBmXJeKlfeohTDAZpCzb2Ol7EG2uLhDMem5ioRgcnJAwGs3bSH609pzFtY8Kzpedj7tQX/s1600/last3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHkAuW9vnaUMcRtkHsvlmZhDSwofy22lpnU2xZ4pbsMAzqd8jRDPMU4_FRoDUktHfYQPys6jBBmXJeKlfeohTDAZpCzb2Ol7EG2uLhDMem5ioRgcnJAwGs3bSH609pzFtY8Kzpedj7tQX/s320/last3.jpg" title="Unfurling the top section" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The tent-like cover slowly took shape & all the ropes were securely fastened. The blue section's seen from the high side of the mirror while the rest of the cover's black.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2mEfk6tpeJ6oU2lgY5NBUGP9cgu_LuHQNBipyacnB8_zeskU3JwtQ0uDlEHp07gccMPTUK5ZsSuBSjHsLKNvPPxWHYzGJXm_Uf5JepAUl_KyYpyBGLnLcYtuWCdq1JbrvD2uHUNdpKIq/s1600/blueside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2mEfk6tpeJ6oU2lgY5NBUGP9cgu_LuHQNBipyacnB8_zeskU3JwtQ0uDlEHp07gccMPTUK5ZsSuBSjHsLKNvPPxWHYzGJXm_Uf5JepAUl_KyYpyBGLnLcYtuWCdq1JbrvD2uHUNdpKIq/s320/blueside.jpg" title="View from behind the primary" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Excellent job everyone - a great way to end a busy week :) Now we get to take some very deep breaths this weekend, before all the really scary fun starts on Monday...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCsi-XE1636UffrG-7VDAKQCh13hGXVcX_UqMh7QQbq9f-K3FkSPNnvkiWqcfaWV-fV1QIJ47dp_A_lX38qmZEd3qMTpcohuxZdVEondLCo47xBpQw9lAHICc6N8mMWpWnvhTQMXy0AU6/s1600/mirrorcoverers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCsi-XE1636UffrG-7VDAKQCh13hGXVcX_UqMh7QQbq9f-K3FkSPNnvkiWqcfaWV-fV1QIJ47dp_A_lX38qmZEd3qMTpcohuxZdVEondLCo47xBpQw9lAHICc6N8mMWpWnvhTQMXy0AU6/s320/mirrorcoverers.jpg" title="The mirror coverers!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-18373872510585054392010-07-29T23:43:00.160+02:002010-07-31T15:36:24.674+02:00A target for squaring up the Rho ring<div style="text-align: justify;">The alignment telescope & a large optical flat borrowed from Sunspace were used to check the performance of the stage assembly that will move the Apogee camera around the telescope's focal plane. Some shimming & adjustment will be needed, but otherwise it all looks good.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCT5zbr4QXYYqzpJCGFk_p4vv9kgUNMSdPchgXFUi-6aSvZ8wkc-CQSiz3ML4YqphmaanJO8VcURIcIKDZL-_7ive0jx_DNUbXgyDAg7sa3HtMD3f-uy_Smn8vi99T1EzyDXwgcAb2VSf/s1600/VIcharact.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCT5zbr4QXYYqzpJCGFk_p4vv9kgUNMSdPchgXFUi-6aSvZ8wkc-CQSiz3ML4YqphmaanJO8VcURIcIKDZL-_7ive0jx_DNUbXgyDAg7sa3HtMD3f-uy_Smn8vi99T1EzyDXwgcAb2VSf/s320/VIcharact.jpg" title="Mapping the bumps & wiggles in the XY stage" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Next, an alignment target needed to be placed on the tracker to allow us to get the Rho ring (to which the non-rotating structure, that will hold the SAC, is attached) squared up with the telescope's optical axis. The CGH mount + tip/tilt & decentre actuator assembly was recycled for this purpose.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh0ydJDy5f3sCZ2oEe6q3uWNfsy9vNI2gufkuHOs0mLi1cVgUaeLGu057dW1PJkmNKyVikHYkYOH3Qg1ae2s_cYGOoyTzMtXiNPQ2YOPpcSzNn73JV8xZxdIzOz0owyojNC0JxNBMVSDf/s1600/targetstar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh0ydJDy5f3sCZ2oEe6q3uWNfsy9vNI2gufkuHOs0mLi1cVgUaeLGu057dW1PJkmNKyVikHYkYOH3Qg1ae2s_cYGOoyTzMtXiNPQ2YOPpcSzNn73JV8xZxdIzOz0owyojNC0JxNBMVSDf/s320/targetstar.jpg" title="An alignment target holder replaces the CGH" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The mount + target was bolted onto the top of the payload.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hiWnCh2VvRQW9oWzRDjPJkPlGr3E8bLQAR_Bfvaap8hiKQ1e-ln3LCYYbjgJXgm2HsgE8sTAiT67pQfDTNPdVWol3hOU5BFPmccOyKTAYqqSUG7AsphchK6GCSmQ_kYGBvrM3ic1ouID/s1600/targetin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hiWnCh2VvRQW9oWzRDjPJkPlGr3E8bLQAR_Bfvaap8hiKQ1e-ln3LCYYbjgJXgm2HsgE8sTAiT67pQfDTNPdVWol3hOU5BFPmccOyKTAYqqSUG7AsphchK6GCSmQ_kYGBvrM3ic1ouID/s320/targetin.jpg" title="Installing an alignment target on the tracker" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">In this CCAS tower view we see Charl sitting inside the non-rotating structure, ~13 m below us with the primary mirror a further 13 m below the tracker. The mirror segments at the bottom of the array have been removed as a safety precaution in preparation for the SAC lift next week.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX8tOzWVHNBtGb2hkVO_ECh89R3ZaVpWeqYQcWyG-isdlry-WTzUzpmYQMRsrtiY2_7LNga72eKqosXvpddJKN_3mdElkOS-1gkUoYKcDp0NbSh5cHEVkxM3z42-S-KN26LHhFWddcJe4/s1600/daytime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX8tOzWVHNBtGb2hkVO_ECh89R3ZaVpWeqYQcWyG-isdlry-WTzUzpmYQMRsrtiY2_7LNga72eKqosXvpddJKN_3mdElkOS-1gkUoYKcDp0NbSh5cHEVkxM3z42-S-KN26LHhFWddcJe4/s320/daytime.jpg" title="A rare daytime view of SALT from the CCAS tower" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The alignment telescope in the CCAS tower had been set up on the central segment of the primary mirror so then the tracker was moved to its central position. The Rho stage was rotated & with feedback from Darragh at the alignment telescope, Charl could mechanically adjust the target carrier. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0EkZZUiBbij1S_EherONrR4WRalK6iHl4tm-DJUh8xUPmTglVnuXUP0vWPCWhHBgc5jR4lPIChFP0q1rQ2ohbaLWAqkCo1SChyBumgqemCEu6eqRqmUryLBwt2-i1AWa4SoON9ZkOd2M/s1600/targetadjustment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0EkZZUiBbij1S_EherONrR4WRalK6iHl4tm-DJUh8xUPmTglVnuXUP0vWPCWhHBgc5jR4lPIChFP0q1rQ2ohbaLWAqkCo1SChyBumgqemCEu6eqRqmUryLBwt2-i1AWa4SoON9ZkOd2M/s320/targetadjustment.jpg" title="Charl mechanically adjusting the target holder from within the payload" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The target only had to be aligned with the telescope's cross hair to within the capture range of the target's actuator assembly - the fine adjustment will be done later with the precision stages.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKR00_NrrzjOsOnI_USct0U6knhFO3nHQrK4YAZBh_Wn1fdfnRJqFWXUcTapSpPUMPdipkboW4X-70uo4ZIcym7J01U3Jpzz1-hb6yZnsh-3m1SU5v4_EOq9ol82d3vUJA-Ufe7NCRyzc3/s1600/targetview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKR00_NrrzjOsOnI_USct0U6knhFO3nHQrK4YAZBh_Wn1fdfnRJqFWXUcTapSpPUMPdipkboW4X-70uo4ZIcym7J01U3Jpzz1-hb6yZnsh-3m1SU5v4_EOq9ol82d3vUJA-Ufe7NCRyzc3/s320/targetview.jpg" title="Target roughly centred on the alignment telescope cross hair" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-23918514908809077822010-07-28T23:04:00.133+02:002010-07-31T18:06:27.873+02:00The SAC collar shuffle<div style="text-align: justify;">The dome crane had to be inspected & load-tested before being used to lift anything too interesting...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi59fpGRU1UL7n2lBDan2EwNQuWkbnxSPd4HrhpWWc6Hr-Q9mwnC8pmctEZAFRpQUFZBxTrPpidT2GdpIf7q8tjwJF_sihNwaBSKm2X4T3kzAhiO8Pl_dpQubuWkw-5opsqiNG60uMRzjM6/s1600/loadtesting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi59fpGRU1UL7n2lBDan2EwNQuWkbnxSPd4HrhpWWc6Hr-Q9mwnC8pmctEZAFRpQUFZBxTrPpidT2GdpIf7q8tjwJF_sihNwaBSKm2X4T3kzAhiO8Pl_dpQubuWkw-5opsqiNG60uMRzjM6/s320/loadtesting.jpg" title="The dome crane that could" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Then the SAC was carefully wheeled out of the clean room & parked in the loading bay. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXZs9OR3qAXKB-vVFPTOjco9dKDPL2exVMhaJYg2cp0DBdyYcN-uLw6hf1Vx5YWqs8vixc0Zf_1bmAbWf6wk-iuvz3j-SKhCKRV2MFXCLEwHAGKzHYXxtoQ8eSUAiPU-j7t_rmQ4n2tes/s1600/wheelingout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXZs9OR3qAXKB-vVFPTOjco9dKDPL2exVMhaJYg2cp0DBdyYcN-uLw6hf1Vx5YWqs8vixc0Zf_1bmAbWf6wk-iuvz3j-SKhCKRV2MFXCLEwHAGKzHYXxtoQ8eSUAiPU-j7t_rmQ4n2tes/s320/wheelingout.jpg" title="Daaa Dah Da Daaaaaa..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">There it could be reached with the dome crane, which was attached to the aluminium ring of the NRS simulator.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsANSnBQ3VfOGs8GT0jXDuDMJpjblGZ7VlouYrBH9EFF8TCL2XIGyT7Q2oTyc_4Tt6vY6EJLhM6BtfkA0HS6YbVRf2MpIbwkXQzgzOBwZgM6oE-u2hkzkaprmQggqZ9RVylNHgRRYpDcgK/s1600/hookedup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsANSnBQ3VfOGs8GT0jXDuDMJpjblGZ7VlouYrBH9EFF8TCL2XIGyT7Q2oTyc_4Tt6vY6EJLhM6BtfkA0HS6YbVRf2MpIbwkXQzgzOBwZgM6oE-u2hkzkaprmQggqZ9RVylNHgRRYpDcgK/s320/hookedup.jpg" title="Wearing fetching purple slings for the big occasion" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The ring was detached from the simulator & the SAC lifted out.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIui4LmiW_K43wfH2aj7yTjzEc0bRPwIlQ1kur3VYesb5rqXYSaSaKoWX7A6cjWdr3uLUSTFkNZ4XDk146IrFRRmaS6tkPX8kTUi3bEWtTDxCmdmZFjFHooWV3WQf-n4ZyQ8PJlODgqjT/s1600/outofNRSS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIui4LmiW_K43wfH2aj7yTjzEc0bRPwIlQ1kur3VYesb5rqXYSaSaKoWX7A6cjWdr3uLUSTFkNZ4XDk146IrFRRmaS6tkPX8kTUi3bEWtTDxCmdmZFjFHooWV3WQf-n4ZyQ8PJlODgqjT/s320/outofNRSS.jpg" title="Leaving the NRS simulator" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This offered a great opportunity to take a good look inside & some people who've been missing from the real world for a long time slipped out through the hole in M3...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCmkD8yxkBphCkJTxEXwPgZtPm_msxaUDy3_Vu1TM9RryZLBEJSVslg9VeCUFAVjz0Pux5wuC2AETr5A0Cq-vHdWOOknGr6J3MXjQI_s2NJ0sQ3EEroqFpC-doEMJ7XykaZcT_fzTM4uV/s1600/itsgothim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCmkD8yxkBphCkJTxEXwPgZtPm_msxaUDy3_Vu1TM9RryZLBEJSVslg9VeCUFAVjz0Pux5wuC2AETr5A0Cq-vHdWOOknGr6J3MXjQI_s2NJ0sQ3EEroqFpC-doEMJ7XykaZcT_fzTM4uV/s320/itsgothim.jpg" title="Quick - grab his legs before he disappears in there again!!" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Ah Yes - SAC Man, one of the lesser-known superheroes of our time!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQBXS1MQXxwNkU4Rrs5KOdowRwILo2OrF1Edg_bZLde9Y8YfsyTSzGimxVOPrddxHmUvrwsFGT9EXmOTcgwqvdHy4GvfYm7AbQKuJMlXvpcgwZSW4P00QAcHGZAmEpDQ2AXRhfu0cdQGi/s1600/MrSACMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQBXS1MQXxwNkU4Rrs5KOdowRwILo2OrF1Edg_bZLde9Y8YfsyTSzGimxVOPrddxHmUvrwsFGT9EXmOTcgwqvdHy4GvfYm7AbQKuJMlXvpcgwZSW4P00QAcHGZAmEpDQ2AXRhfu0cdQGi/s320/MrSACMan.jpg" title="Too much Zemax will do that to a guy..." /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The terrestrial receiver was wheeled into position after plates had been bolted on underneath the steel collar. The SAC was then lowered into the receiver & the plates bolted to the SAC installation ring.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8xY4fyU818RzfZPTK5cbfbHJcT1GMvofgNcVAuDS6G_cEkWbDnvao5vMakRacq6r6w-nG4IJ6lP_wEta3rn7LA_aa3PqLPxpcXfNJwsNNnY2Jt1JiNh-5WnWrU60j9GQK5bpJZoxfP_B/s1600/intoTR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8xY4fyU818RzfZPTK5cbfbHJcT1GMvofgNcVAuDS6G_cEkWbDnvao5vMakRacq6r6w-nG4IJ6lP_wEta3rn7LA_aa3PqLPxpcXfNJwsNNnY2Jt1JiNh-5WnWrU60j9GQK5bpJZoxfP_B/s320/intoTR.jpg" title="New temporary home" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">At this stage the SAC was being supported by its steel collar so then the bearings between the steel & aluminium collars could be removed. This allowed the aluminium collar (still attached to the aluminium ring of the NRS simulator) to be lifted off & prepared for its new home up on the payload.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MZMVE5SsfQT2yXvE1ger8kdtJN2XV2x6exF0MMcWBpK3n5u22DV4m8PXhDAdDSb7CxdW84Awxq7ptlMhL_a0lfAvC2k7PAfr6LU_Gba2o05ybVBP5dmQAcOUXWB3TgwLlEWGShyCku71/s1600/alringoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MZMVE5SsfQT2yXvE1ger8kdtJN2XV2x6exF0MMcWBpK3n5u22DV4m8PXhDAdDSb7CxdW84Awxq7ptlMhL_a0lfAvC2k7PAfr6LU_Gba2o05ybVBP5dmQAcOUXWB3TgwLlEWGShyCku71/s320/alringoff.jpg" title="Halo or noose?" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Securely mounted in the terrestrial receiver, the SAC was wheeled back into the clean room where it was left to contemplate its future while the team set off in search of celebratory beverages...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw6Aqy8iGL00tk_wTfZhcFrC7LkGomVp9TElUuujVfxv7q1hmHnVB4U6ONoQPPtSVZmcyDZ9vis5Kf-xGhR1SNbTiq1wkf-zKP_5UbdsWsbQ6kjyPvT3UhdyGrM7tZlpl5p0GfX4v-cox/s1600/backagain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw6Aqy8iGL00tk_wTfZhcFrC7LkGomVp9TElUuujVfxv7q1hmHnVB4U6ONoQPPtSVZmcyDZ9vis5Kf-xGhR1SNbTiq1wkf-zKP_5UbdsWsbQ6kjyPvT3UhdyGrM7tZlpl5p0GfX4v-cox/s320/backagain.jpg" title="Safely back in the clean room" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-18853094742352267492010-07-27T23:41:00.134+02:002010-07-30T23:23:18.599+02:00Out of uniform at last!<div style="text-align: justify;">With the SAC all sealed up, the clean room's become a civilian zone: no more silly blue outfits!! There are a number of jobs going on in parallel now, including attempts to characterise the tilt of the chip in the Apogee camera (to be used in the on-sky testing) with respect to the camera's mounting flange.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-cyqj5WatLWBKKmWf0TWR3vCbhG9n2eFHXvmi8_rEdyl17Id6Ci4HyhU5NXmnXYWOeX7q_u-b9sqBOKIpYrCm9KLy4cFDRvyZ2I9DrvPd0CvZhXJ7wThaLBuo5UFlHhl5Dn31HJVjJe0/s1600/ApogeeTesting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img !="" aaarh="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-cyqj5WatLWBKKmWf0TWR3vCbhG9n2eFHXvmi8_rEdyl17Id6Ci4HyhU5NXmnXYWOeX7q_u-b9sqBOKIpYrCm9KLy4cFDRvyZ2I9DrvPd0CvZhXJ7wThaLBuo5UFlHhl5Dn31HJVjJe0/s320/ApogeeTesting.jpg" title="Open wide & say 'aaaarh'" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The Apogee's relatively small detector will need to be moved to 9 positions in order to image the telescope's full field of view, but the advantage is that it contains no optics & thus can't introduce any new aberrations when we test the SAC's on-sky performance. The electronics guys in Cape Town finished getting the the Apogee's translation stage assembly ready so that came up on the transport today. Now we can characterise its behaviour & set it up for use on the telescope.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_u4jopTtn-59PM8icGzOSLwC1B7qUGQZaSY98hgsK8IdKNpsuZmZbfSn9Pap_aHAjFPx2MyA7_j33xZ9sje3245B18LjVDt9ru7VSbz_0Mr0YjjnamTTZcKLsGyhc66z7EtPP8QVI0Hj9/s1600/VIstage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_u4jopTtn-59PM8icGzOSLwC1B7qUGQZaSY98hgsK8IdKNpsuZmZbfSn9Pap_aHAjFPx2MyA7_j33xZ9sje3245B18LjVDt9ru7VSbz_0Mr0YjjnamTTZcKLsGyhc66z7EtPP8QVI0Hj9/s320/VIstage.jpg" title="XY stage for the Apogee camera" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Up on the tracker, the Tech Ops guys installed & checked various bits of the equipment to be used in the SAC re-installation, which now looks like happening early next week...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFjEQKpQpDaqBaZ9mhKjSCB9Z4ZJsE4Cs4NnqrOYA-_xpWC0L55sljr-iaCKO6KEColTw3fH90PNwGyFeD5M8-qMVBhqKd6ANGqXWdTBQearHnGYeb63hMeQg8JCDvSWQldTKkgDI-3Sj/s1600/floatingring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFjEQKpQpDaqBaZ9mhKjSCB9Z4ZJsE4Cs4NnqrOYA-_xpWC0L55sljr-iaCKO6KEColTw3fH90PNwGyFeD5M8-qMVBhqKd6ANGqXWdTBQearHnGYeb63hMeQg8JCDvSWQldTKkgDI-3Sj/s320/floatingring.jpg" title="De-orbiting the SAC installation ring" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The necessary mods were made to the SAC installation ring while it was up on the tracker, then it could be re-attached to the terrestrial receiver, in preparation for the SAC collar-shuffling procedure that's planned for tomorrow.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWDQnmoYGFWCM3gDDXIYoqUkhj21NTnHGL8V0V9YxrPgy5IuboGLsMWziOdLaVemrLwHSPfXR1pQQ0myyEKFQJS5RCTtXQBzOfgKuThUKA_7soWBQ6CROxWEPh7XnkkpW9_9nUn46kAoD/s1600/SIRdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWDQnmoYGFWCM3gDDXIYoqUkhj21NTnHGL8V0V9YxrPgy5IuboGLsMWziOdLaVemrLwHSPfXR1pQQ0myyEKFQJS5RCTtXQBzOfgKuThUKA_7soWBQ6CROxWEPh7XnkkpW9_9nUn46kAoD/s320/SIRdown.jpg" title="Gotcha!" /></a></div><br />
& up in the CCAS tower, we got the alignment telescope set up so that it can be used to align the SAC once its up on the tracker.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLorbdESMe9iGy2rH0e3qHiUxQmVQlECidy7U7FpVS0NB-LlVW_LiCkpqAe9a7epRX7-FCF3Te2MRG9oivTKklxzJti2msRw6aFhSDi-VKqQaasQx_jOovh87Ce04VONMprnZfIhyphenhyphenxA93/s1600/CCASplaying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLorbdESMe9iGy2rH0e3qHiUxQmVQlECidy7U7FpVS0NB-LlVW_LiCkpqAe9a7epRX7-FCF3Te2MRG9oivTKklxzJti2msRw6aFhSDi-VKqQaasQx_jOovh87Ce04VONMprnZfIhyphenhyphenxA93/s320/CCASplaying.jpg" title="I spy..." /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020641028007258901.post-59516635628038865152010-07-26T22:30:00.044+02:002010-07-30T23:22:12.314+02:00Stripping down all the test gear<div style="text-align: justify;">We've now checked off all the items on the SAC-in-the-clean-room-to-do list!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmH_QG894flFhyrDXe2kuNiKSFE3IP2lMEM8iSeZb8oqIimp6mrEfnI61hWO53UjdwrDt5esy2OOVE9Dr_3UnTPKMF2hEC5efoKByxHCAJlJt4z0d6m64QyD-_dov4vGbeLvHgr8gZPex/s1600/alldone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmH_QG894flFhyrDXe2kuNiKSFE3IP2lMEM8iSeZb8oqIimp6mrEfnI61hWO53UjdwrDt5esy2OOVE9Dr_3UnTPKMF2hEC5efoKByxHCAJlJt4z0d6m64QyD-_dov4vGbeLvHgr8gZPex/s320/alldone.jpg" title="Done DOne DONe DONE" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a last look at the whole production before we hauled off all the decorations: the interferometer, the alignment telescope, the Faro, the NRS super-structure, the braai gear & the SAC's various other life-support systems...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXgUXS1xuaGrTJZhMY3wMiH0q7IVOOal3mpl-bniS8UWhU2DjSjXfCm4SbRcDq1XtWHzOPf4ZeIGNc44Oy_fzIsZp5qD2CynDWhswWln4BeN8pQKyohlJswUzm5PBa7MG6TTGXaIFtHrL/s1600/lastlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXgUXS1xuaGrTJZhMY3wMiH0q7IVOOal3mpl-bniS8UWhU2DjSjXfCm4SbRcDq1XtWHzOPf4ZeIGNc44Oy_fzIsZp5qD2CynDWhswWln4BeN8pQKyohlJswUzm5PBa7MG6TTGXaIFtHrL/s320/lastlook.jpg" title="Before being raided for spare parts" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Then a lid was bolted on to the top of the SAC & it now sits waiting, patiently, while we get the clean room cleared out & the rest of the hardware ready for the lift. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZh4VRs0vGiIqpWiCxu8kjq27sOglt6Ys9IO0HQvhf6lQIzmwVhzW87vLnRiVbXg1F0DNmpUUpckyqGFXmIReA1ujtS5U2MXh7qLI7R9U7EEIm-1UrC7aWh-MmhgQPFD3vIPUMUJ6YEO_K/s1600/stripped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZh4VRs0vGiIqpWiCxu8kjq27sOglt6Ys9IO0HQvhf6lQIzmwVhzW87vLnRiVbXg1F0DNmpUUpckyqGFXmIReA1ujtS5U2MXh7qLI7R9U7EEIm-1UrC7aWh-MmhgQPFD3vIPUMUJ6YEO_K/s320/stripped.jpg" title="Back to basics!" /></a></div>Lisa Crausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315289236343490255noreply@blogger.com0