• Operator Instructions - Detailed instruction for startup, shutdown, and operation of GORT
• Scheduling calendar - Calendar used to schedule GORT's observing schedule
• GORT Weather - Satellite imagery and weather forecast for GORT.
• Retrieving Data from GORT - How to get your data after collection.
• Technical Parameters for GORT - Specifications for the site, telescope and camera.

Not sure what exposure time to use for your observations? Use the form below to help you decide. Our exposure calculator suggests exposure times based on V magnitudes. For I filter observations decrease the suggested value by 25%. For B filter observations increase by 50%. The returned values are suggestions only. Sky conditions and the type of object will both influence exposure times. When imaging faint objects (V mag > 10) expose using 120s exposures for V, R, and I. Expose for 240s in B. The suggested exposure time is designed to return an ADU count of 45,000 for the entered magnitude.

Sky Conditions

This link to the Clear Sky Clock for Hume Observatory will provide predictions for observing conditions for the next three nights. Predicted conditions include cloud cover, transparency, and seeing. (Times are also shown for daylight, twilight, and darkness.) These predictions are based on atmospheric models for the north-eastern Pacific Ocean and the North American content.

Once your data has been collected by GORT you can retrieve if using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). To learn about FTP please visit University College Cork Computer Centre FTP Info page. To retrieve your data FTP to gtn.sonoma.edu using the username and password supplied by the observatory engineer. Here you will be able to download your data. If your not sure when your data was taken you can search for it online at http://gtn.sonoma.edu/data_archive.php. Please note that if your data was taken using an ACP Plan you may search for the object name. If your data was taken manually through a MaxIm sequence then you can search by coordinates.