The Mini-Robotic (Ralph?) Observatory (MRO) is a developmental small and inexpensive social media controlled robotic telescope that has many of the same capabilities as the Burke-Gaffney Observatory. It is completely self contained - all that is needed is wifi, a power outlet, and a clear sky!
It is presently available to use by invitation only!
Technical Specifications
| Telescope | TeleVue Genesis 100-mm refracting telescope (500mm f5 optics) |
| Mount | Celestron AVX german equatorial mount |
| Camera | ZWO ASI1600MM Pro CMOS (2328 x 1760 pixels - 2 x 2 binned, 2.5 e-/ADU) |
| Filter Wheel | ZWO EFW (8 position, 31mm filters) |
| Filters | LUM, RED, GRN, BLU, B, V, R, I |
| Focuser | Pegasus Astro FocusCube2 |
| Power Control | Pegasus Astro Pocket PowerBox |
| USB Control | Pegasus Astro USB Control Hub |
| Dew Control | Kendrick FireFly heater |
| Flat Field | Gerd Neumann 220mm Panel |
| Weather Enclosure | Dog house style flip open roof (custom designed) |
| Cloud Sensor | AAG Cloudwatcher |
| Computer | Zotac ZBOX MiniPC - Celeron N4100 1.1GHz, 8G RAM, 120G solid-state drive |
Location
Located at 
Abbey Ridge Observatory
Latitude: 44N 41.3' (44.6883)
Longitude: 63W 49.5' (-63.825)
Elevation: 100-metres
Time Zone: AST/ADT (UT-3 or 4 hours)
Optical Specs
| Pixel Size | 3.1 arc-seconds (2x2 binned) |
| Field of View (full size) | 2.0 x 1.52 degrees |
| Field of View (normal size) | 1.3 x 1.3 degrees |
Principal Differences between the BGO and the MRO
- The telescope, camera, and available filters are different - see the tech specs above. Note how wide the field of view is.
- MRO supports communicating by Twitter and email (not Facebook or SMS Text) - see the addresses below - and using the Communicator app.
- The site is about 25km west of the BGO, but much darker.
- The horizons are more obstructed - by trees, the adjacent ARO dome, and the owner's house. Do not expect to observe objects lower than about 30 degrees generally, or 45 degrees in the east and southeast (the BGO, by comparison, is uniformly ok to 20 degrees altitude).
- There are some differences in default settings (exposure times, etc.)
- Important Note: The MRO is a developmental observatory - most of the software development for new robotic telescope features for BGO and ARO are written and debugged using MRO, so it may be less reliable as a result.
Social Media Addresses
| Twitter Handle | @obsmini |
| Email Address | mrorobot at ap.smu.ca |
| Facebook Page | not available |
| Text Number | not available |
| Communicator App | V0.98+ |