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Robotic Capability

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Submitted by Michael J. Cook on Fri, 2010-09-10 21:26

The main telescope at Newcastle Observatory now has robotic capability with the addition of ACP and ACP Scheduler.  The telescope, dome, imaging and guiding cameras, and focuser are controlled by scripted software so that astrometry and photometry can be performed unattended (i.e. without human intervention).  This automation includes shutting down all equipment and closing the dome shutter at the end of an observing run.

Future capability will monitor local weather to determine if it is "safe" to open the shutter (clear sky / no high wind).