Observatory Equipment

Metacom Observatory is a fully-flexible traveling Observatory allowing the Observatory Outreach Programs to reach the largest numbers of children. The main telescopic equipment consists of two fully-mobile telescopes, a 4.5" dobsonian mount telescope perfectly sized for small children and an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain.

The Meade LX 90 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT) is the state of the art in its diffraction-limited Ultra-High-Transmission-Coated (UHTC) optics and fully computerized robotic operation. Its computer has 30,223 database objects, including:

13,235 deep-sky objects sorted by named objects; galaxies; diffuse nebulae; planetary nebulae; star clusters; including the complete Messier, Caldwell, IC, and NGC catalogs;

16,800 stars sorted by name, SAO catalog numbers, double and variable stars; the centroids of the 88 constellations; plus 200 memory locations for user-defined objects.

50 objects in the solar system: 8 major planets from Mercury to Pluto; the Moon; 26 asteroids; 15 comets;

50 Earth satellites, including the International Space Station and Hubble telescope;

The Meade LX 90 also boasts a wide range of eyepieces (lenses) in the Observatory's collection that allow magnifications from 50X to 500X, this telescope's optical top limit of magnification with allowable atmospheric conditions and usable image resolution.

The pictures on this page depict some of the Observatory's equipment being used by Observatory Assistant, Mike H. Mike often guides other children through their observing sessions and parents are impressed with his demeanor and knowledge.

Image 1(top of page) Mike adjusts the alignment of the Meade LX 90 50mm 80X finder. This picture shows the LX 90's large "corrector plate" which focuses light onto the 3 inch spherical mirror at the back of the telescope which folds the light path by reflecting the light onto the "secondary mirror" (the black circle in the center of the corrector plate is the back of the secondary mirror) which, in turn, folds the light path again, allowing the light to travel to the back of the telescope and to the eyepiece. This "folded light path" system allows this telescope to act as a much longer scope would, giving greater magnifications and greater intensity of light, which dictates how the images form on the human retina.
Image 2. Mike chooses between the 40mm Eyepiece and the 32mm eyepiece. The Observatory has a complete set of eyepieces, filters and a 2X Magnification Barlow lens.
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Image 3. The Observatory Accessory Kit. This case holds accessories that: power the telescope or connect other accessories to power, dew heaters, a dew gun, used if dew has formed, Lens cleaning brushes, torpedo levels, spare optical diagonals, spare finder, Computer Hand Box and a spare Computer Hand Box, LED Tripod markers that blink in the dark, computer connecting cables to connect the telescope to a laptop computer, and many other pieces of useful field equipment.
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Image 4. The Observatory's now famous "Little Red Wagon," showing the LX 90 in Case, the Eyepiece Case, field battery, tripod and stepladder.
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Image 5. Mike adjusts the LX-90's collimation, a necessary Maintenance procedure to keep its optics aligned to give the best focus and sharpest images.
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Image 6. The field battery. This device can power all of the Observatory's needs for a full night of observing.
Image 7. Mike tightens the Eyepiece Thumbscrews for a night of observing, so optics don't fall out while a child or her Mom looks at Mars.
Image 8. The Meade Eyepiece Kit in its case. Flashy! Kids Love it!