Images will go tonight but the visibility will be only fair. Tomorrow appears rained out.
Rigel closed tonight due to wind
From the operators of Winer: There is a front coming in from the east today. The winds are expected to pick up to a steady 25 mph this afternoon and continue on all night long. Gusts will be faster. So no images will be taken.
Transparency poor, Moon bright
Since the skies in Arizona are not overcast, Rigel is operating tonight, but there is a persistent haze overnight bringing down the visibility. This haze is compounded by a full Moon meaning a high level of ambient light in the sky; due to the bright conditions I am only scheduling short exposures of bright objects… (read more)
Winer roof difficulty negates last night, takes out tonight
From the Winer operators: I just now discovered that a limit switch for the roof open/close control is out of order. I can’t get the roof open. So the roof will be closed tonight [April 10, last night]. Very sorry for this development. Mark is on Kitt Peak tonight and tomorrow night. I will talk… (read more)
Winer closed
Stormy weather has moved into the area, shutting down the telescope.
Server error fixed
User requests are being accepted once more.
Server failure locking out users
For all users attempting to request images, the error message is due to a server malfunction on our end. The webpage sends a prompt to the University’s Deimos server to verify the user code before submitting the request, and currently Deimos is rejecting all user codes. We are working on the issue and hope to… (read more)
Clouds moving in but pictures will be taken
Rigel will operate tonight but picture quality may be fair at times due to scattered cloud cover.
Bad weather shuts down Rigel
The next two nights will see Rigel not operate, as a persistent front settles into Arizona, bringing snow and wind to the Sonoita area. Thus, Winer Observatory will not be open. Thursday night still looks questionable.
Rigel Status Updates
Status updates on the operation of the Rigel telescope will appear here.