Woody Schlom’s “SKY TREK” Mobile Observatory

Woody Schlom’s “SKY TREK” Mobile Observatory

Once upon a time in 2007, SDAA member and family friend Corey Breininger took my wife and me out to TDS for a public night and introduced me to his telescope and star-gazing. To be truthful, I was less than overwhelmed at seeing “gray fuzzies.” But I saw the potential, and figured that with my professional experience in broadcast TV production, I could do better, and show the public astronomical objects in full color and in greater detail using semi-live video technology.

And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I started modestly with an old 12” TV on the tailgate of my pickup with a MallinCam Xtreme color astro video camera. I kept adding better equipment and capabilities and eventually became part of JSF by annually projecting my semi-live color video images in the tent the club provided.

But as the years went by and my equipment multiplied and my setups got more involved, and the equipment got heavier, and my body started showing its age – I needed a better, simpler, faster, and less physically demanding way of doing video public outreach.

When my Aunt Florence and Uncle Donald Ball died, they left me enough money to buy and configure the mobile public outreach observatory of my dreams. My goal was to tow it to a location and be displaying images within 20 minutes of arriving – and when finished for the day/evening, be packed up and ready to leave within 15 minutes. I call it SKY TREK. It’s a 7.5 ft. x 10 ft. roll-off-roof observatory permanently attached to a trailer.

It’s self-contained and self-powered and the system is about 95% pre-wired and ready to go. The video monitors are permanently attached and pre-cabled to the observatory’s back door. I open the door and the monitors are facing the audience and ready to go. I press buttons to stabilize and level the telescoping pier, I twist a knob to roll the roof back, and I’m just about ready to go.

The main scope and mount is a Celestron C1100 Deluxe Edge HD with HyperStar. That’s an 11” SCT on an Alt/Az GOTO mount. Normally that scope is f/10 with a focal-length of 2,800mm. With the HyperStar lens it’s f/2 at 560mm. I currently use a MallinCam Xterminator-II color video camera.  Exposures run between 1 second and 15 seconds. I rarely go beyond 20 seconds with this setup. For
those of you who’ve never heard of MallinCam astro cameras, they’re hand-made in Ottawa, Canada by a guy named Rock Mallin.

Mount alignment is automatic (to save setup time) using Celestron’s StarSense system. I remotely focus the scope with my Android phone using Optec’s WiFi FocusLynx system.

Piggy-backed on top of the C11 is a double-stacked Lunt LS80/Ha/PT solar scope and MallinCam Jr. PRO monochrome video camera. Because the Ha scope uses two pressure-tuners, I also have two remote PT pumps so I can remotely tune the two etalons from my control table. Remote focusing is again using my Android phone and FocusLynx.

I’ve used SKY TREK at the last JSF, Ocotillo Wells SVRA’s “Hot Stars & Heavenly Bodies” annual event, and at Anza Borrego Desert State Park’s monthly ranger-led star-parties – both at the Visitor’s Center and Palm Canyon Campground Amphitheater where I also project onto their screen. As I work out the logistics of parking the thing at my storage unit after-hours (they lock up at 8:00pm), I intend to participate in more and more of SDAA’s public outreach events. Look out Dave Decker and San Diego – ready or not, here I come!


San Diego Astronomy Association