Real time observing suspended until September

As a result of the continuing uncertainty over when FT North will again be operational, we have decided to announce the end of normal real-time operations for this academic year.

This has been a tough decision to make, as we know it will disappoint many users over the next 3-4 weeks of the remaining school term, but the serious problems with the CCD camera, the delays in acquiring a replacement camera, and a variety of minor issues with the telescope and enclosure have led to the conclusion that it is better to stop operations now, sort out all of the problems, and then have a fully working instrument in time for September.

One of the key areas of concern is giving both the primary and secondary mirrors on FTN a thorough clean, as they have not been properly re-aluminised since they were installed in late 2003. It is estimated that the accumulated dirt on the mirrors is equivalent to around a magnitude of dimming, so a cleaned, re-aluminised mirror will greatly improve FTN images in future.

Meanwhile, commissioning work on FTS continues, and everything is on schedule for the new telescope to be available in September as well. We are planning to devote most of July and August to using FTS for testing and some scientific research work in support of projects like RoboNet.

So, whilst this decision means no more live observing this school year, it does mean that we should return in September with two fully functioning telescopes.

On behalf of the FT and LCOGT teams, I'd like to thank everyone who has participated in the project so far, and who has put up with a variety of technical and weather problems over the past two and a half years. I'd encourage you all to "watch this space" (pun intended...), as we'll be back in September with a whole new hemisphere to look at!