Meet the Newest Member of the Team!

After three jam-packed weekends, the observatory work is finally wrapping up, and I’m thrilled to welcome a new member to our little team of imagers: Franck Jobard! Many of you might already know Franck, especially for his urban astrophotography. Franck reached out to me earlier this month with an exciting proposition: installing his gear in the observatory! We’re talking about a beautiful 318mm f/9 Ritchey-Chrétien on a Gemini Mountegra mount! How could I possibly say no? Franck’s main motivation for moving his equipment is to escape the light pollution challenges he faces in Montpellier. The idea behind our collaboration is simple: share access to the instruments and the images we produce. So now, there are three of us on this adventure: Mikel, Franck, and myself! The initial remote tests are looking good. It seems this beast is ready to be tamed… Before we could set everything up in the observatory, we had to dismantle it all at Franck’s place – and that was no small feat! A huge thanks to Kilian for your help: The mount is now on its new pier – and man, this beast is heavy! A few spot welds to make sure it doesn’t end up on the floor: Telescope in place: One happy astronomer: A few overall views: A PEMPro-assisted polar alignment session: Some cable management to keep things tidy: Enjoying the February sun: A bit of carpentry to dress up the pier: And some electrical work to complete the setup: A few finishing touches: New supports for the flat panel: New pusher for the roof: And that’s it! Installing the corner trim marks the end of the work. 😉