by David Skitt, Observatory Co-Chair

John Church, Gene Ramsey and David Skitt install Hastings-Byrne on Paramount ME. Credit: Jen Skitt

The Hasting-Byrne refractor has been successfully mounted to the “new” Paramount ME mount and the existing cast iron pier! The roll-off roof clears the mount with just over an inch to spare. Keyholders, please be aware the roof flap must be pulled up as high as it can go to safely clear the scope.

After a few adjustments and balancing, we could successfully slew the telescope to the mounts’ ‘home’ position. John Church, Gene Ramsey and I are still working on determining what the optimal ‘park” position should be so, as of this writing, the scope is not quite ready for prime time use. More to come in the upcoming weeks.

John Church and Gene Ramsey point the way. Credit: Jen Skitt