Alovera Observatory

Alovera 1 - A & B

Alovera-1 is based on 10Micron GM2000 HPS mount on a Triple90-I column. The optical tubes set on it are Takahashi TOA 150B (Alovera 1A) and William Optics GT71 (Alovera B). Set up characteristics are the following:

				Alovera-1A
				- 10Micron GM2000 HPS, on Columna “Triple90-I”.
				- Takahashi TOA 150B Triplet Ortho Apo (1100mm/f7.3) with Pegasus Cube focusser.
				- Camera Moravian C3-61000 with Moravian Filter Wheel (2" x 7 slots) and manual filter slider.
				- Guidance Baader Planetarium Vario-Finder 61x250 f4.3 with camera ZWO ASI290MM Mini.
				- Communications Pegasus Ultimate Powerbox 2.

				Alovera-1B (*)
				- 10Micron GM2000 HPS, on Column “Triple90-I”.
				- William Optics GT71 f/5.9 FPL-53 Triplet APO, with WO Flat6AIII Field Corrector. Manual focus.
				- Camera EOS 1 D Mark III not customized.
				- Guidance Baader Planetarium Vario-Finder 61x250 f4.3 with camera ZWO ASI290MM Mini.
				- Communications Pegasus Ultimate Powerbox 2.
				* This telescope is piggybacked on the Takahashi, so it shares mount and guidance.

Alovera 2

Alovera-2 is based on iOptron GEM45 mount and hence it can only tackle with lighter tubes.

				Alovera-2
				- iOptron GEM45G, on Column “Triple90-II”.
				- Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED Super APO Triplet (550mm/f5.5) with Sky-Watcher 100 Field Corrector, and Pegasus Cube focuser.
				- Camera ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro with ZWO Filter Wheel (2" x 5 slots).
				- Guidance Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50ED (50/242mm) with camera QHY 5III 290.
				- Communications Pegasus Ultimate Powerbox 2.

Orientation

The windows face South-East, 145^o direction. Due to window size, we can scan only a limited region of the sky, and certain objects are beyond the scope. The good news is that many interesting objects pass right in front, so all that we have to do is to patiently wait for the adequate time.

Atmospheric concerns

As for atmospheric conditions and light pollution are concerned, Alovera is located in a small light pollution gap between Guadalajara (north-est from here) and Madrid (South-west). It is Bortle 6 at the zenith, as indicated by Light Pollution Map, but at slightly lower angles towards South-East (windows view direction) we estimate that it is a very honorable Bortle 4. This direction is precisely pointing to the darkest part of the aforementioned light pollution gap.

Because of the size of the village, which is a rather small town of around 12,500 inhabitants, local light pollution is not a big concern. Alovera sits at one side of the corridor between Alcalá de Henares and Guadalajara, with the A2 motorway running along that corridor. The low altitude local winds also follow that corridor direction, so that smoke pollution from the (not very abundant factories) in the surroundings goes in the same direction. Since that direction is perpendicular to our view and well bellow 15 degrees in altitude, normally the factory smoke does not affect observation. On the other hand, global high altitude wind goes in the same observation direction, so that in general it is easy to determine by single eye when a night is going to be a good night or not.