Field notes from the dome.

The full archive of build logs, equipment changes, observatory software, observing sessions and the practical work behind an astrophotograph.

In the news

01 November 2022 · Observatory

Pinnacle Hill Observatory features in a story about life and change at Auckland’s southern edge.

03 December 2021 · Gear

An Orion ED80T CF triplet refractor adds a crisp 480 mm, f/5.6 option for larger deep-sky targets.

12 August 2020 · Control room

The applications behind planning, guiding, sequencing, plate solving and processing a night’s data.

12 July 2020 · Observatory

One workstation replaces two computers and centralises control from both levels of the observatory.

07 June 2020 · Workshop

A purpose-built machine brings acquisition, telescope control and image processing under one roof.

15 November 2019 · Observing log

A night at the telescope with Sequence Generator Pro trained on the Trifid Nebula.