Panetix observatory
Located at LAT -37.996 LONG +145.489 east of Melbourne Victoria Australia
The CCD camera used for the shots before 2010 is a peltier cooled cb 245 filled with argon. It's mounted onto
an f4.5 x 33cm Newtonian Telescope.
The scope is a variable Altazimuth/Equatorial mount. Presently
it operates as an altazimuth.
Both axes are computer driven using Mel Bartels circuit design
and software.
The images after 2010 are made on a 508mm reflector (mirror figured by Mark Suchting) using an Opticstar DS-145m-ice camera.
The scope is an Altazimuth with zero backlash reduction gears on both drives
and stepper driven.This telescope became operational in early 2011
and is still undergoing some improvements, in particular to the drive electronics. (July 2011)
