Breaking New Ground with The Paramount GT-1100

‘Amateur’ supernova gumshoe achieves unheard-of productivity
with easy-to-use robotic telescope mount and software from Software Bisque

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Prior to his epic run Schwartz, the director of Oregon-based Tenagra Observatories, had been on "supernova patrol" for three full years without success using a standard mount. Three weeks after installing the Paramount GT-1100 from Software Bisque, Schwartz discovered his first supernova. His record after that first discovery is boggling even for veteran stargazers: He discovered three new supernovas in a two-week period, and eight of his discoveries were made during remote operation using scripting software.

Says Schwartz, "We believe that we now have the very first remotely accessible, automated supernova patrol system whose software and hardware are 100 percent off-the-shelf. Software Bisque has done an incredible job integrating CCD camera control, telescope pointing, and internet software."

According to Schwartz, the three main elements of his work are tracking, pointing, and software that allows unattended remote data acquisition. Adds Schwartz, "In my experience, Software Bisque is the only company who has brought all three to the marketplace and made it work with professional accuracy."

This means good news for those who practice survey astronomy, because the Bisque hardware-software system carries users from telescope and camera control through script-writing and CCD imaging while they "patrol" night skies for supernovas, near-earth asteroids, minor planets, and comets.

Tenagra I is in the foothills of the Cascades in Oregon. The planned purpose of the Tenagra II facility, sited in southern Arizona, is supernova patrol in more distant galaxies and the study of supernova light curves. Using TheSky, CCDSoft, and Orchestrate software by Software Bisque, the Tenagra I system is programmed nightly to automatically slew and image.

The telescope operates unattended, and up to 360 galaxies can be imaged in a single night. Desktop and Remote Operations The Paramount GT-1100 is the only telescope mount designed and developed specifically for CCD imaging, a burgeoning market segment eager for affordable, high-quality hardware. (Conventional mounts on the market are typically geared for visual observation, not CCD imaging.)

The Paramount GT-1100 costs a fraction of comparable mounts while outperforming just about everything on the market. Its pre-programmable operation (scripting) means unparalleled productivity for CCD technology. This means that astronomers can measure their success by a new standard—the sheer volume of imaging productivity.

Thanks to its internet-ready capability, the Paramount GT-1100, a highly refined, computer-based piece of electronic hardware, has given "amateurs" like Schwartz unheard-of access to advanced technology for imaging deep-space objects. With it, Schwartz is staking a claim on the outer reaches of space for himself and other nonprofessionals in the heady world of survey astronomy.

The key feature is "scripting:" Users script, or preprogram, coordinates for making long series of images, up to 200 or more with unattended operation. Users need only plug in the coordinates using Software Br wherever). The bottom line: scripted routines mean a hundred-fold increase in productivity compared to other mounts on the market. More impressive, the Paramount GT-1100 is internet-accessible, thus users around the world with a phone connection can take turns programming a single Paramount-driven Bisque’s TheSky Astronomy Software and go off to bed (or work imaging system. This "triple crown"— scripted routines, unattended operation, and internet accessibility— easily makes the Paramount GT-1100 the single greatest leap in productivity in the last decade.

Golden-based Software Bisque is considered by many in the field to be the leading astronomy software developer in the industry. Its flagship software product, TheSky, has gained a well-earned reputation as the most sophisticated, elegant, yet easy-to-use planetarium and telescope-control program. Software Bisque has developed several extensions for TheSky, including CCDSoft, Orchestrate, and TPoint (bundled as the Professional Astronomy Software Suite, a standard feature with every Paramount GT-1100 ).