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LOCAL WEATHER





Local weather forecasts and actuals come down to ST1 from Davis weather center sensors. The weather center is mounted level with the dome horizon to get the most accurate weather right where the astronomy happens. The sensors operate at high precision but forecasting is only as accurate as main-stream sources. All weather hardware is driven off solar cells.
 
There are software controls (and other observatory functions) responsive to the weather data. For example, there is a restriction on shutter operation that prevents it opening when it’s raining…or if the sensors predict rain is imminent. There is also a system to activate dew shields when the temperature of the optics falls below the dew point.
 

 

The current setup measures the following

  1. Ambient Temperature
  2. Barometric Pressure
  3. Humidity
  4. Rain levels
  5. Wind speed and direction

 
Build-outs are currently in the works for a couple more instruments. There are a few Arduino based ‘add-on’ prototypes for:

  1. Light level sensing
  2. Cloud sensing (derived from sky temperature)

 

The weather center feeds the data (using a built-in wireless transmitter) to a local data-logger/receiver. The receiver is connected to a console which is wired to the local observatory server. The feeds are real-time and get published from the local server to weatherunderground.com. You can find a link to our PWS (ID=KPAPENAR3) by clicking the tag here:

 

 
Click this tag for a non-Adobe flash enabled devices (iphones and most other Apple products)
 

Weather Underground PWS KPAPENAR3