Last time Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society About the use of binoculars. Types...

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Last time

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

About the use of binoculars.

Types of mount.

Telescope types.

Finders, eye pieces, etc.

Setting up and using visually.

This week: Observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

About observation

Types of observation

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

So what are going to be seeing when we observe?

Our Solar System

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Our Solar System

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Mercury

Venus

Mars

Saturn

Aldebaran

Jupiter

Martin Crow 2002 April 24

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

2010 April 04

Our Solar System

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Mars 2003 Aug 23

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Jupiter 2011 Nov 19 DMK 41as02, 2.5x powermate on C9.25Processed in AvistaxMartin Crow

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Our Solar System

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

The Magnitude system

The scale of measuring brightness is believed to have originated with Hipparchus (190 BC – 120 BC). It divide up the visible stars into 6 brightness's,1 for the brightest and 6 for the faintest.

In 1856 Norman Pogson formalised this by defining a 1st magnitude star as 100 times brighter than a 6th magnitude star. Therefore the difference between magnitudes is the 5th root of 100 = 2.51.

So: 1st to 2nd magnitude has difference of 2.51 1st to 3rd =2.51 x 2.51 = 6.3 1st to 4th = 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 = 15.8 1st to 5th =2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 = 39.7 1st to 6th = 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 = 100

The star Vega is set at zero magnitude. This is its apparent magnitude.

On this scale Sirius is -1.4, the Moon -12.74 and the Sun -26.74

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Visual observing

The eye is our primary means of exploring the world around us.

Good for exploring the whole sky

Doing meteor watches

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Visual observing

The eye is our primary means of exploring the world around us.

Good for exploring the whole sky

Doing meteor watches

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Nick James

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Visual observing

The eye is our primary means of exploring the world around us.

Good for exploring the whole sky

Doing meteor watches

Observing eclipses of the Sun an Moon

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Visual observing

The eye is our primary means of exploring the world around us.

Good for exploring the whole sky

Doing meteor watches

Observing eclipses of the Sun an Moon

Observing atmospheric phenomena

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Honor Wheeler

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Visually assisted observing

Binoculars

Good for exploring the sky more deeply

Variable stars

Solar observing – not direct

The Classical planets and some of the brighter asteroids

Comets

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Telescopes

Visually assisted observing

Good for fainter objects

Variable stars

Solar observations – not direct

Luna observations

Planetary observations

Double stars

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Imaging

Point and shoot and DSLR cameras on or off a tripod

Good for wide field sky shots – constellations, atmospheric phenomena, meteors and planetary conjunctions.

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical SocietyHonor Wheeler

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Mercury

Venus

Mars

Saturn

Aldebaran

Jupiter

Martin Crow 2002 April 24

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Imaging

Moon images

Point and shoot cameras set up afocally on a telescope

Planets

Maybe some of the brighter deep sky objects

Solar images – not direct

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Exposures of 1/125 sec @ iso 100 will get you started, though experimentation will givethe best results.

Images of the eclipsed Moon require longerExposure times.

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Exposures of between 1/30 to 1/5 sec at iso 100 are to be expected.

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

M42Pleiades

Both images were on a driven mountExposures of 15 sec in both cases.

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Imaging

DSLR on a driven equatorial mounted telescope

Luna images

Solar images

Planets

Comets

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Imaging

DSLR on a polar aligned driven equatorial mounted telescope

Deep sky objects

Photometry of variable star and asteroids

Faint comets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Imaging

Web cam on a driven equatorial mounted telescope

High resolution image of the Moon and planets

High resolution white light images of sunspots

Web cam technology

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Image of Jupiter taken using film (1990).

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

What you need:

A webcam with CCD sensor

Adapter and infrared blocking filter

A laptop and free software from the internet – Registax or Avistack.

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

How does it work?

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

Registax in action – hopefully!

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

Observing the Planets

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Images by Simon Dawes

With a telescope and webcam (Lucky dip imaging)

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Types of observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Data mining

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

Astrogrid

Zooniverse

Local and National societies

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

www.cmhas.wikispaces.com

Local and National societies

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

British Astronomical Association

www.britastro.org

Observing

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Keep an observing log book

Date and time yyyy/mm/dd hr:mm UT

Weather – cloud, haze, temp.

SeeingI – perfect seeing, without a quiverII – slight undulations, with moments of lasting calmIII – moderate seeing, with larger tremorsIV – poor seeing, with constant troublesome undulationsV – very bad seeing, scarcely allowing a rough sketch to be made

Observing targets

Equipment used

Note and comments

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Before you go out

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Plan what you are going to observe

Think about what you hope to see – use reference material.

Think about what you might need:

Red light

Planisphere \ chart book

Warm clothes

Garden recliner?

Hand warmers

Flask of coffee or tea

Note book \ recording sheet and pencil

Any questions

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society