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  Sunday, 05 December 2021
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There are a number of remote observatory companies in Spain apart from Roboscopes and overall we are very similar in how and what we do, one small difference between us however is when humidity is very high we do not close the roof. We still gather data rather than simply close the roof. The man reason for this as UK astronomers is dew and humidity is something we deal with 12 months a year and in the UK and if we closed the roof for humidity we would never open the roof a single night in all 365 of them. So we firmly believe that some data is far better than no data. Others amongst you may disagree with this philosophy and that's the point of this post

This approach mind does come benefits and issues

Let’s start with issues
  • Not all subs are good[/*]
  • The user has more work to sorting through and removing below par subs[/*]
  • Overall the data is not as good as it is the rest of the year due to atmospherics[/*]
  • You get all the data warts and all so yes some manual labour is 100% required[/*]
Benefits
  • The roof is open so you get data you would never receive with a closed roof[/*]

For the staff at Roboscopes the wet seasons are far more intensive for us work wise because we have to keep on top of High humidity, dew, high haze, not to mention sub standard data where we simply have to just resubmit it for the group as a whole.
Every data set get checked with blink and we monitor the weather very closely this time of year because high haze has a tendency of slipping past the IR based weather systems because it may only alter the sky temperature but 1º above clear and for the most part we leave a 3º differential so the roof is not bouncing open/closed all night like a yoyo.

Roboscopes staff will always do our best to keep on top of things and let you know when we have foibles etc however you must also take into account remote diagnosis of issues takes time unlike popping out into your backgarden/yard with mark1 eyeball.

So at present we are in a quandary, do we mirror all the other remote observatory operators we know and close the roof when the humidity is high or do we leave it open and keep collecting data ?

Obviously for us closing the roof is by far the easier option but in the very beginning Roboscopes chose not to do this as in our opinion even with the extra work involved for us and you the members, you can still get some good data/images during the wet season.

I know some of you are long standing members and will remember last season was very extending rain wise and the roof remained firmly shut for long periods. This season seams to be high haze and humidity instead so far.

However we feel the time has come to draw a line under it being our decision to make alone and as the members we want your opinion.

So a vote from each member would be fantastic please

High humidity times

1 - Roof open and keep imaging despite it being extra work for all concerned etc etc?

Or

2 - Close the roof until the nudity and other atmospherics get to a lower level

Whichever option gets the most votes on each pier we will simply go with what you ask

Ray, Mike and other dual subscribers may we be so bold as to presume that your vote would count on any pier you are a subscriber ?


Foot note:

I will say that this year has been the worst of 5 years I have been in Spain, Pier 3 as well as some others we have never had to even turn the due control on in previous years so its been a little bit of an eye opener, Not to mention the complexities of getting extra items stuck in Spanish customs in this wonderful post Brexit world we now live in  :(

Extra dew control was posted out weeks ago and fingers crossed it should land very soon.

However if we don’t get it right or we mess up then you have our apologies but believe me it’s not for the want of hard work at our end but we are only human as dedicated as we are :)

Steve and the team

Please ignore my dylexia wherever possible, just be thankful I can control my Tourettes ;)

Things to do, so little time!

Steve
Roboscopes Tea Boy


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