Available Equipment:

• SkyShed POD MAX Dome

• Software Bisque Paramount ME

• AstroTech 16” Ritchey-Chretien

• QHY 16200A Monochrome Camera

• Chroma Filters (LRGB, Ha, Oiii, Sii)

• Coming Soon: FLI KL4040 Cooled Scientific CMOS Camera

• Coming Soon: Full scientific instrumentation suite pre-loaded for spectroscopic, photometric, and astrometric research applications.

GRAND MESA OBSERVATORY EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS:

• Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, CO)

• Mesa County Valley School District 51 (Mesa County, CO)

• United States Air Force Academy (El Paso County, CO)

• LaGuardia Community College (Long Island City, NY)

• Regis University (Denver, CO)

Grand Mesa Observatory PODMAX:
Scheduled Observations

Interested in joining the team?
Do you have questions about our facilities?

CONTACT US now for more information!

Grand Mesa Observatory Academic Facilities:
Administrative Protocols

Communications:

1. All impromptu communications should be sent to kim@grandmeaobservatory.com and tom@grandmesaobservatory.com.

2. Responses will take no more than 24-48hr 

   1. *Unless the administrator is on a pre-scheduled leave of absence. In which case the director will handle scheduling during that time.

3. Phone meetings may be requested at any time via email with a minimum of 24-48hr of notice.

4. Emergency contact number(s) will be left with team leaders and academic supervisors

5. All communications will be treated as confidential unless permission is granted otherwise.

6. System control protocol:

   1. The Science Dome is controlled through a AnyDesk connection and the systems inside the roll-off roof observatory use a program call UltraViewer.

   2. Only one person can connect to any machine at any one time. Other individuals who want to observe will need to coordinate how to share screens with that person’s computer

   3. Screen sharing information can be obtained from observatory staff

Scheduling:

1. All team members will be given access to a password-protected page on our website with a scheduling calendar, contact form, and brief questionnaire.

   1. https://grandmesaobservatory.com/podmax-user-login 

2. Reservations for general-use time can be made at least 48 hours beforehand, and up to 3 months in advance.

3. All cancellations are expected to be submitted at least 24hr ahead of time. This will allow us to alert any other interested teams to the availability.

4. Target-of-opportunity observations can be made/confirmed directly with observatory staff.

5. Projects that require more than 7 consecutive nights will require a short proposal.

6. If two or more research teams request time for the same night, priority will be given in the order of the requests received. 

   1. Please contact observatory staff if there is an urgent need, target, or opportunity.

7. If two or more research teams request time for the same night, then teams will be asked to split time evenly. If that is not agreeable then Grand Mesa Observatory staff who will determine the priority. 

Services provided by GMO staff:

1. All equipment, software, and file sharing will be arranged by GMO staff.

2. All setup, maintenance, cleaning, and care of the telescopes will be done by GMO staff.

3. All software and hardware updates will be handled on site by GMO staff and volunteers.

4. All data will be available as web-accessible files that GMO will share with each of the specific research teams. Data will be accessible from GMO systems for 2 weeks.

5. Operations manual will be available to everyone through the Academic Login page

6. Supervising academic staff can/will be trained by GMO staff. This will include dome operation, image sequencing, calibration frames (as needed), and data export.

   1. Training for academic team members must be provided by supervising staff

Expectations of participating researchers and collaborators:

1. Academic supervisors and team leaders will be responsible for approving their personnel to remotely control/operate the equipment.

2. Communications, scheduling, and cancellation protocols must be followed to keep everything running smoothly. Failure to do so will result in consequences determined by the GMO board.

3. Acknowledgement of facilities on academic work produced. - “This work uses data provided by Grand Mesa Observatory.”

4. Any funding or fundraising assistance that can be provided to Grand Mesa Observatory will be greatly appreciated. As would any findings/results that can be publicly used by GMO for fundraising, promotional, and grant-writing purposes.