Nikola Antonov - Backyard Astronomy
Welcome to the Meshtitsa Observatory Website!
Observatory "Meshtitsa" is a "roll-off-roof" astronomical observatory in the village of Meshtitsa, Pernik, Bulgaria, owned by Nikola Antonov. It is fully remotely controlled. The sky quality is categorized as Bortle 4. The building is not intended for a person to stand inside during observations. It accommodates a telescope and a mount with associated equipment. The observatory is operated with INDIGO under Debian GNU/Linux.
The equipment was purchased with the help of Scorpion Shipping Ltd., and the Institute for Advanced Physical Studies.
The observatory is mainly used for variable star photometry, exoplanet transits, and astrophotography when it is not busy with scientific tasks. Most science tasks are related to providing data for the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) observing campaigns.
The observatory also supports the research tasks of other professional and citizen scientists.
Donations for completion, maintenance, and improvements can be made at PayPal.
Observatory Equipment:
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Explorer PDS, 0.25-m F/4.8 Newtonian, 1 200 mm focal
Mount: EQ6-R Pro; Camera: ASI533MM Pro CMOS; Pixel size: 3.76 µm
Guiding: TS Optics Guidescope AC 80/600; Camera: ASI290MC
Filters: Baader Bessel BVR Photometric; Astronomik Ha, OIII, SII (12 nm)
FOV: 32' x 32'; Resolution: 0.64 - 1.3 arcsec/px
Limiting Altitude: Variable between 28° - 35° (no N/W view)
Software: INDIGO
Location: Meshtitsa, Pernik, Bulgaria (42.67, 23.00; Elevation: 690 m)
The observatory is often visited by children participating in various events to promote astronomy
Internal camera view during remote-controlled observations
