A Flexible Python Observatory Automation Framework for the George Mason University Campus Telescope

We present a unique implementation of python coding in an asynchronous object-oriented framework to fully automate the process of collecting data with the George Mason University Observatory’s 0.8-meter telescope. The goal of this project is to streamline the process of collecting research data and monitoring weather, most often for follow-up observations for the TESS mission. We have automated slews and dome movements, CCD exposures, saving FITS images, focusing and guiding on the target, and taking calibration images (darks and flats). We also have automated periodically checking weather conditions to automate the decision-making involved in whether a shutdown is necessary. We are now able to input the specifications of the desired target in a user-friendly GUI that generates an input configuration file and launches the command-line code at the beginning of the night. The code, in its current state, has been tested and used for observations without error on at least 110 nights.