Variable star light curve activity for MaxIM v6spirit.icrar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/VS_Maxv6.pdfMaxIM DL includes a number of tools well suited for scientific analysis of astronomical

Variablestarlightcurveactivity

©2013.Allrightsreserved.SPIRITisbasedatTheUniversityofWesternAustralia.

©2017.Allrightsreserved.SPIRITisbasedatTheUniversityofWesternAustralia 2


TableofContents

1 Introductionandpackagecontents...................................................................................5

1.1 Requirements....................................................................................................................................5

1.1.1 Processingsoftware............................................................................................................5

1.2 Workflow:...........................................................................................................................................5

2 Targetingandimagingvariablestars.................................................................................6

2.1 Targetingtips.....................................................................................................................................6

2.2 Targetmagnitudeandexposure.................................................................................................9

2.3 Automationanddataacquisitiontips.......................................................................................9

3 Activity:UsingMaxIMDLtoanalysestellarprofiles..........................................................9

3.1 Dataacquisition.............................................................................................................................10

3.2 Imageinspectionandtargetverification..............................................................................10

3.2.1 Findingyourvariablestar.................................................................................................10

3.3 AnalysisusingMaxIMDL:The‘ImageInformation’tool.................................................12

3.3.1 Saturationandsignal.......................................................................................................14

4 Activity:LightcurveanalysisofRRLyraevariablestars...................................................16

4.1 Prerequisites...................................................................................................................................16

4.2 Workflow..........................................................................................................................................16

4.3 PhotometryandlightcurvecreationusingMaxIMDL....................................................16

4.3.1 PreparingyourfilesandstartingthePhotometrytoolinMaxIMDL................16

4.3.2 Creatingalightcurve.........................................................................................................20

AppendixA:UsingAladintoverifyatargetvariablestar.......................................................25

AppendixB:ACPPlantemplates............................................................................................31

AppendixC:ListofsouthernRRLyraetargetsforusewithSPIRIT........................................34

AppendixD:Contributingandsharingphotometricdata......................................................36



1 IntroductionandpackagecontentsThisdocumentpackagecomprisesinformationandactivitiesthatprovideexperiencedusersof SPIRIT the means to create photometric light curves of variable stars. The packagecontains4keyitems:

1. BackgroundinformationontargetingandimagingvariablestarswithSPIRIT.2. Animageanalysisactivitythatfamiliarisesparticipantswithsoftwaretoolsused inthe

photometricanalysisofstarsandgenerationoflightcurves.3. Anactivitythatusesdataobtainedbyparticipantstocreatelightcurvesofshortperiod

variablestarsofthetypeRRLyrae.4. Appendicesandsupportinginformation.

1.1 Requirements

ThisactivityassumesbasicastronomicalknowledgeandexperienceusingSPIRITtoacquireimages.Additionalprerequisitesinclude:

• Basicknowledgeofvariablestarsandtheimportanceoftheirstudy.• Familiarity with planetarium software such as Stellarium for planning and visualising

targets.• FamiliaritywithSPIRIT’sadvanced imagingoptions.Theuseof ‘plans’ toautomatethe

acquisitionofdatawillbeusedinlateractivities.• Abasicunderstandingoftimeseriesgraphinterpretation.• Access to, and experience in the use ofMicrosoft Excel for data presentation and

graphing(optional).

1.1.1 Processingsoftware

The data analysis component of this activity uses the image processing and analysissoftwareMaxIMDL. Trial download and purchasing details are available fromDiffractionLimited1.ExperienceintheuseofMaxIMDLisnotrequired.

1.2 Workflow:

Thebasicsequenceofactivitiesisasfollows:

1. SelectingandimaginganumberoftargetsatdifferentexposuresfromaprovidedlistofsouthernRRLyraevariablestars.

2. PreliminaryuseofMaxIMDL togainexperience inanalysisof imagesanduseofbasicphotometry tools. Concepts such as ‘saturation’ and ‘signal to noise’ are examined.Images of RR Lyrae stars acquired in step 1 are analysed in order to determine theexposurerequirementsforcollectinglightcurvedata.

3. Collectingdataforextendedlightcurveanalysisoveroneormorenights.

1http://www.cyanogen.com


4. PerformingphotometryinMaxIMDLandcreatingabasiclightcurve.

2 TargetingandimagingvariablestarsA light curve is a time-series plot displaying the magnitude (brightness) variation of anobjectovertime.Lightcurvesareusedbyastronomerstostudythephysicalpropertiesoftransientastronomicalobjectssuchasasteroids,variablestarsandsupernovae.

Figure1:Observationsofanastronomicalobjectoverseveralhoursshowitbrightening

anddimmingoversuccessiveperiods

Manyimages(oftendozens)ofaspecifictargetareacquiredoveroneormorenightsandareusedcollectivelytocreatealightcurve.Inthecaseofshortperiod2variablestarssuchasRRLyraestars,theimagesrequiredtocreateacompletelightcurvecanbeacquiredinlessthanoneortwonights.

2.1 Targetingtips

Tomaximise the number of images that can be acquired in a given night, always selecttargetsthatareeastofthemeridianatnightfall.Atargetthatisvisibleatnightfall4hourseastof themeridiancanbeobserved forat least8hours. In thecaseofSPIRIT, selectingtargets in the southern sky will also increase the available observation time. The listprovidedinAppendixChasbeencustomisedforusewithSPIRIT.

2“ShortPeriod”referstoalightcurveforwhichtheintervalbetweensuccessiveoccurrencesofthesamepointiscomparativelyshort.InAstronomythisistypicallyhoursordays,versusweeks,monthsorevenyears.

Time

Brightness


Figure2-2:Thenightsky‘rotates’fromeasttowest.Choosetargetsintheeastatnightfalltomaximisethenumberofindividualobservationsthatcanbeundertakenoverthecourseofthenight.

hour 1

hour 2

hour 3

start


MultipletargetlistsshouldbeorderedbyRA,sothattargetsthatare‘higher’intheskyareimagedfirst.

Figure2-3:Targetsthatarehigherintheskyshouldbeimagedfirst.

Very crowded fields can prove challenging when it comes time to perform photometry.Choosing a target that is easily distinguished in a field of viewwillmake analysis easier.Planetariumsoftwarecanhelpvisualisethefieldbeforeimaging.

Figure2-4:Crowdedfieldscanbemorechallengingwhenitcomestimetoperformphotometry.Ifpossible,choosetargetsthatareeasilyidentified.

1

2

3

4

5

6

16h

17h

18h

19h


2.2 Targetmagnitudeandexposure

Choosing bright variable stars will allow shorter exposure times. This means that moretargets can be scheduled over a given time period. However, accurate photometry issensitive to exposure, andvery bright variable starsplacemoredemandsondeterminingthe optimum exposure. As a general rule, choose stars that produce unsaturated datawithina10to60secondexposurethroughtheVfilter3.Testimagesshouldbeacquiredonaprecedingnighttohelpcharacterisetheimagingsystembeforeadedicatedlightcurvedataacquisitionrun(seesection3).

2.3 Automationanddataacquisitiontips

Collecting data over an entire night or more requires use of SPIRIT’s advanced imagingoptions.ACPPlannercanbeused,orthetemplatesprovidedinAppendixBcanbemodifiedtosuit.PaycarefulattentiontothetotalacquisitiontimeofanACPPlanandbooksufficienttelescopetimeaccordingly.

Always take at least two images of a target in succession to help mitigate the risk ofartefacts,suchassatellitesorclouds,affectingasingleimage4.

A typical list may contain five or more targets. Two images of each target are takensequentially for all targets in the set, and repeatedover the courseof thenightusinganappropriate time interval between sets. If you are imaging only one or two targets, thisintervalmay be 15minutes ormore. A variable star’smagnitudemay show little changewithina short time frame,andanunnecessarily largenumberof imageswill increase theamountoftimeittakestodownload,processandanalysedata.Agoodstartingpointistoallow15minutesbetweenimagesofasingletarget.Largelistsofadozenorsotargetsmayrequireno intervalbetweensets (bythetimethe last target is imagedsufficienttimewillhavepassedtoallowthefirsttargettobeimagedagain).

Target listsshouldbeorderedbyRAsothatobjectsthatarehigher intheskyare imagedfirst.

Finally,avoid target imagingbelow30° inaltitude.Theatmosphereat these lowaltitudeswilladverselyaffecttheaccuracyofyourphotometry.

3 Activity:UsingMaxIMDLtoanalysestellarprofilesMaxIM DL includes a number of tools well suited for scientific analysis of astronomicalimages.Thisactivitywillfamiliariseyouwiththosetoolsaswellasverifythesuitabilityandexposuredetailsofyourproposedtargets.

3The standardphotometricV filter is preferred forphotometric observations as it provides a baselinefromwhichdatacanbetransformedforscientificuse.4Inaddition,imageprocessingsoftwarecanbeusedlatertocombinepairsofshort-exposureimagesbyaveragingtoreducenoiseandimproveimagequality.


3.1 Dataacquisition

ChooseasmallnumberofRRLyraevariablestarsaccordingtotheselectioncriteriaoutlinedinsection2.1.ObtainexposuresofyourproposedtargetstarsthroughtheVfilter.

Takeatleasttwoimagesateachofthefollowingexposures:

10,15,20,30,45,60seconds.

Timeyourimageacquisitiontocorrespondwiththefavourableviewingofeachtarget(e.g.highintheskyonaclear,preferablymoonlessnight).

3.2 Imageinspectionandtargetverification

DownloadthecalibratedFITSimages.

StartMaxIMDLandopenoneofthe30secondexposurestakenthroughtheVfilter.

3.2.1 Findingyourvariablestar

Your first task is toverifywhichof themanystars inyour field is the targetvariablestar.SPIRIT’saccuratetargetingmeansthatthereisaverygoodchanceitiscentredintheframe.

RightclickanywhereontheimagethenselectCrosshairs/Visibletoprovideaguidetothecentreoftheimage.


Zoominonthecentreoftheimageusingthemousewheelor‘Zoom’tool.

DespiteSPIRIT’saccuratetargeting,thereisstillnowayofknowingwhichofthestarsnearcentreisthevariablestar.Thereareanumberofwaystoverifythetarget.

1. Planetariumprograms.Basic planetariumapplications such asStellarium areof limiteduse, unless the targetstarexists in the softwaredatabase. In addition, thedefault stellardatabases inbasicplanetarium software may not include sufficient stars to perform a comparison withyourimage.

2. Imagelinkinginadvancedplanetariumprograms.Some advanced planetarium applications5include image linking features that allow aFITSimagetobeinsertedandalignedontothescreen.However,suchapplicationsareusuallyexpensive.

3. FinderchartsavailableonlinefromtheAmericanAssociationofVariableStarObservers(AAVSO). The AAVSO includes a number of resources that allow visitors to downloadfinderchartsandcomparisonimagesviatheVSXservice6.

4. On-linesurveyimagesandinteractiveskyatlasessuchasAladin.

Refer to Appendix A for a detailed description of how to use Aladin to verify a targetvariablestarinaFITSimage.

5Eg,TheSkyXPro,availablefromhttp://www.bisque.com6http://www.aavso.org/vsx/


Once you have confirmedwithout doubt the target variable star in your image, you arereadytoperformsomeanalysis.

3.3 AnalysisusingMaxIMDL:The‘ImageInformation’tool

Theimageinformationtoolprovidesasetofusefulfeaturesforanalysingstellarprofilesandperformingbasicphotometry.Itcanbeusedtogainanunderstandingofthe‘quality’ofthedata,andprovideaguide forsettingcorrectexposurewhen itcomestimetocollect lightcurvedata.

Open the InformationWindowavailable underView / Informationwindowor by usingthekeyboardcommandCtrl+I.

EnsuretheModeselectedis‘Aperture’.

Asyoumovearoundtheimagewithyourmouse,youwillseevariouspixelvalueschangeontheInformationscreen.Positionthemousetargetoverthetargetvariablestar.Thetargetstarcanbe‘snapped’inplacebydoubleclickingit.


Itisimportanttoensurethatthetargetstariscompletelycontainedwithintheinnermostcircle(theaperture).

Toadjustthesizeoftheaperture,rightclickanywhereonthescreenandselectSetApertureRadius.


Figure3-1:Rightclickontheimagetosettheapertureradius

3.3.1 Saturationandsignal

Themaximumpixelvalueoftheselectedstarshouldnotexceed55,000.Ifyourtargetstarhas a maximum pixel value approaching 65,535 the star profile will be over exposed orsaturated,andproduceunreliablephotometricdata. Ifyour targetstar is saturated,closetheimageandopenonewithashorterexposure,e.g.15seconds.

Figure3-2:Saturatedtargetstarresultingfromanexposurethatistoolong

✗


Butwhatifthestaristoodim?Ifyourtargetstarhasaverylowmaximumpixelvalue(lessthan5000)thenthephotometricdatamaybeunreliableduetoexcessivenoise.CheckthevalueforSNR(signaltonoise).ForSPIRITavaluelowerthan30shouldbeavoided.Ifthisisthecase,closeyourimageandopenonewithalongerexposure,e.g.45seconds.

Figure3-3:Lowsignaltonoiseratioresultingfromanexposurethatistooshort

Hint:Aim foramaximumpixel valueof between20,000and40,000anda SNRgreaterthan100.

Havingtakenavarietyoftestimagesatdifferentexposures,youwillbeabletodeterminethebestexposureforyourtargetwhenitcomestimetocollectlightcurvedatawithSPIRIT.

Figure3-4:Unsaturatedstarshowinggoodsignal

Makeanoteofthe‘best’exposureforeachofthetargetsimagedforuseinfuturedataacquisition.

✗

✓ ✓


4 Activity:LightcurveanalysisofRRLyraevariablestarsIn thisactivityoneormoreRRLyraestarswillbe imagedover thecourseofmanyhours.Theacquireddatawillbeusedtocreatelightcurvesfortheobservedtargets.

4.1 Prerequisites

ThisactivityassumesfamiliarisationwiththeimageprocessingandanalysissoftwareMaxIMDLasused in theSPIRITactivityUsingMaxIMDLtoanalysestellarprofiles.Knowledgeofadvanced image acquisition techniques for time series work covered in section 2 is alsoassumed.

4.2 Workflow

1. Createalistoftargetsforwhichpositionandexposuredetailshavebeenpredeterminedintheactivityoutlinedinsection3.3.

2. Create an ACP plan that allows the list of targets to be imaged repeatedly over thecourseofoneormorenights.

3. Acquiredataonanightofgoodseeing.4. DownloadandorganisethecalibratedFITSfilesbytargetname.5. UndertakephotometryusingMaxIMDLoneachofthetargetsandcreatelightcurves.6. OutputthedataforfurtheranalysisandpresentationinMicrosoftExcel(optional).

4.3 PhotometryandlightcurvecreationusingMaxIMDL.

MaxIM DL version 6 includes an updated photometry analysis tool that streamlinesprocessinglargenumbersofimagesofatarget.7Itcanbeusedeffectivelytogenerateandview the light curve of a variable star fromdozens of images and includes themeans toexportrawdataforuseinothersoftware.

4.3.1 PreparingyourfilesandstartingthePhotometrytoolinMaxIMDL.

YourimagesshouldbeinFITSformat,andstoredinadedicatedfolderforeachtarget.

StartMaxIMDLandSelectPhotometryfromtheAnalyzemenu

7RefertothealternativeversionofthisguideifusingusingMaxIMDLversion5.


TheImageInformationandPhotometrytoolswillappearonthescreen.

SelectAddFilesfromthedropdownboxandnavigatetoyourfolderofimages.


Selectallofyourtargetimagesandselectopen.

ThefileswillappearasanorderedlistinthePhotometrywindow.


SwitchtotheMatchtab,andensurethatAuto–starmatchingisselected.Thisisveryimportantasitensuresthatallofyourimageswillbecorrectlyalignedaspartoftheautomatedphotometryprocess.

Youcanalsoscrollthroughyourimagesand“un-check”anyinthelistthatarepoorqualityandunsuitableforinclusion—suchasthosethatarecloudaffected.


4.3.2 Creatingalightcurve

Thecreationofabasiclightcurveinvolves4steps.

1. Identifyanddefinethetargetvariablestar.

Zoom in andexamineoneof theopen images.Use an appropriatemethod to accuratelyverifythetargetvariablestar(seesection3.2.1fordetailedinformation).Besurethatthephotometryaperturecompletelyencompassesthetarget,adjustingitssizeifnecessary(seeFigure3-1).

SwitchtotheIdentifytabandSelectNewObjectfromtheTagmodedropdowndialog.


Carefullypositiontheaperturecursoroverthetargetvariablestarontheimageandselectit.The target star will appear in the object list, and also on the image labelled in green as“Obj1”.

MaxIMDL’sphotometry routinewill thenprocessall files in the list,automatically findingthesamestarineachimage.Itwillhandleimagesthatarenotaligned,orthatarerotatedwithrespecttooneanother.8Thiscanbeverifiedbyscrollingthroughotherimagesinthelist once the process is complete. If the target object is not correctly identified in otherimages,checktomakesurethatAuto–starmatchingisselectedundertheMatchtab.

2. EnsurethatNewReferenceStarisselectedfromthetargetmodedropdownlist.

Positiontheaperturecursoroverastarsimilarinbrightnesstothetargetvariablestarandpreferably in thesameregion.Thestar shouldnotbesaturated,andhavegoodSNR (seesection3.3.1).Onceselected,MaxIMDLwillautomaticallyidentifythesamereferencestarinallimages.

8This assumes that the images have been ‘plate solved’ which is always the casewith SPIRIT images.Underrarecircumstancesitmaybenecessarytorotatesomeimagesmanuallyifthephotometryroutinefails.


RepeattheprocessthistimeselectingNewCheckStarasthetagtype.Checkstarsareusedbythesoftwaretoensurethatthereferencestaritselfisnotvariable.


At the end of step 3, you should have defined and selected your variable star (Obj1) areferencestar(Ref1)andacheckstar(Chk1).It’snowtimetocreatethelightcurve.

3. Select the Graph tab. This will produce a time-series plot of the three objects. Thevariablestar’slightcurveshouldbeveryobvious.Ifitisn’tyoumayneedtocheckthatyouchosethecorrecttarget.Selectingadifferentreferencestarmayalsobenecessaryifthereferenceandcheckstarsdeviatefromthehorizontalinanextremeway.

Figure4-1:LightcurveofvariablestarBHPav

Thegraphaboveshowsthemagnitudes9(verticalaxis)ofall threeobjects;Obj1,Ref1andChk1over thedurationof imaging– in this case some10hours (thehorizontalaxis).Thereferenceandcheckstarsshowconstantmagnitudesoverthistimeframe.Bycomparison,the variable star shows a sudden rise in magnitude, followed by a gradual decrease inmagnitude.Anotherinterestingfeatureisthe‘shockbump’nearminimum–acharacteristicof this type of RR Lyrae star. This pattern will repeat with a constant ‘period’ ofapproximately11hours.

Congratulations!Youhavejustcreatedyourfirstlightcurve.Theappearanceoftheplotcanbeadjustedby‘rightclicking’onvariouschartelements.Optionsforsavingandprintingthedatacanbeaccessedbyselectingthe‘arrow’atthebottomofthewindow.9The magnitude value is arbitrary in differential photometry and does not represent the actual or‘absolute’magnitude of the star. A description of the transformations required to place themagnitudemeasurementsonastandardscaleisbeyondthescopeofthisactivity.



AppendixA:UsingAladintoverifyatargetvariablestarAladin10is a free interactive sky atlas that uses professional on-line astronomical datasources.Itcanbeusedtoquicklyverifythetargetstarinyourfield.

StartAladin,andselectFile/Open.

SelecttheFiletab,navigatetoyourFITSimageandthenselectSUBMIT.

10Availablefordownloadfromhttp://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/


Takeamomenttoinspectyourimage.Thezoomtoolcanbeusedtozoominonthecentreoftheimage.


Select File / Open again. This time, choose the SIMBAD tab from the options availablebelow‘catalogservers’.Typethenameofyourtargetandaradiusthatcorrespondsroughlytothefieldofviewofyourimage.SelectSUBMIT.


Aladin will display an overlay of objects that will allow you to determine with certaintywhichofthestarsnearcentreisthetargetvariablestar.


Zoominandverifythetargetbyselectingit.ThenreferbacktoyouropenimageinMaxIMDLandcheckthatyoucanidentifythesamestar.


The orientation of your imagewith that of a finder chart or reference imagemay differ.MaxIMDLincludestoolsavailableundertheEditmenuthatallowyourimagetoberotated,oryoucanrotatethefinderchartorimageinAladintomatchtheviewinMaxIMDL.


AppendixB:ACPPlantemplatesThetemplatesonthefollowingpagesprovideexamplesofACPplansthatcanbemodifiedtoautomatetheacquisitionofdataforvariablestarlightcurvework.

Specificationsforexposureandfilterarethesameforeachplan.

Thetimingandrepeatdirectivesdiffer,providingsomeoptionsforthefrequencyofimageacquisition,andthedurationoftherun.

The listof targets isspecified last inallcases,andcanbeexchangedforadifferent listoftargetstosuit.

RR Lyrae variable stars cannot be specified by name using the SPIRIT interface. Celestialcoordinates foreachstarmustbemanually specified in theplanusing tabdelimited fieldspacing following the convention object <tab> RA <tab> Dec. The name can be anythinguseful,andcanincludespaces.CoordinatesshouldbeJ2000.

NewplansshouldbecheckedusingSPIRIT’splanchecker,andmonitoredortestedbeforearunisleftunattended.


PlanTemplate1:Repeatingtargets.

Thisbasicplanwilltaketwoimagesofeachtargetinsuccessionandthenrepeat25times.Itis important to calculate the approximate time that each set will take, so that you canmaximisetheamountofdataacquiredduringyourbooking.Assuch,thisplandoesnotsuitlistsoftwoorthreetargets,wherethetimebetweensetsmaynotbesufficienttoshowameasurablechangeinmagnitude.

Theplanbelowcontains7targetsthatareimagedtwiceperset,using60secondexposures.Thisaddsupto14minutesofimagingtime,butifweallowforimagedownloadandforthetelescopetoslewbetweentargets,thisgivesatotal imagingtimesomewherearound20-25minutesper set.Total imaging time is justover8hours.Each targetwillhave25datapoints,whichmayormaynotbesufficienttocreateacompletelightcurve.

Note:Plansmustbeformattedatplaintext.

;RRLyraePlan1;PaulLuckas;14thJune,2016;SPIRITI;;Commentsareprecededwithasemicolon;;Thefirstsectionsetsupthedefaultimageparameters.Usesinglespacesandcarriagereturns.;#INTERVAL60 ;exposureof60secondsforalltargets#FILTERV ;usingthephotometricVfilter#COUNT2 ;twoimagesofeachtargetperset #SETS25 ;repeated25times; ;Thenextsectionspecifiesthetargets.UseTABspacingbetweenname,RAandDec;V0487Sco 173505.83 -342345.0V0494Sco 174048.48 -313231.8WYPav 175612.37 -570943.4V0690Sco 175738.65 -403327.2 HXAra175844.91 -551624.0MSAra180304.29 -524320.6BHPav183440.57 -652703.0;;EndofPlan


PlanTemplate2:Repeatingtargetsatsetintervals.

Thisplanassumesthatthetotalimagingtimeforeachsetislessthantheintervalbetweensets. There are 7 targets for which 2 exposures of 60 seconds will be acquired for eachtarget within each set. The interval between each set is 30minutes, so there should beplentyoftimeforeachsettofinishbeforethenextisscheduledtostart.

Thisplan,destinedforSPIRITIIalsocontainssomeotherusefulfeatures:

• Binninghasbeensetto2fromthedefaultbinmode3.ThisprovidesapixelscalemoresuitableforphotometrywhenusingSPIRITII.

• Asubframehasbeenspecified to reduce the large fieldofviewofSPIRIT II,making itmoresuitableforsinglestarphotometry.Filesizeisreduced,asistheburdenonCPUwhenitcomestimetoprocessalargenumberofimages.

• Exposureshavebeensetforeachtargetindividually.

;RRLyraePlan2;PaulLuckas;15thJune,2016;SPIRITII ;#COUNT2 ;Take2imagesofeachtargetatatime#FILTERV ;UsingthephotometricVfilter#BINNING2 ;Setsthebinningmodetobin2#SUBFRAME0.5 ;CropsthefieldofSPIRITIItohalfsize #SETS16 ;Repeated16timesoverthecourseofthenight#POINTING ;Re-centrestargetifnecessary#WAITUNTIL1,12:30 ;Firstsetstartsat1230UT#WAITUNTIL2,13:00 ;Secondsetstarts30minlater#WAITUNTIL3,13:30 ;Nextsetstarts30minafterthat#WAITUNTIL4,14:00 ;etc#WAITUNTIL5,14:30#WAITUNTIL6,15:00#WAITUNTIL7,15:30 #WAITUNTIL8,16:00#WAITUNTIL9,16:30#WAITUNTIL10,17:00#WAITUNTIL11,17:30#WAITUNTIL12,18:00#WAITUNTIL13,18:30#WAITUNTIL14,19:00#WAITUNTIL15,19:30#WAITUNTIL16,20:00;#INTERVAL60 ;ExposuresetindividuallyforeachtargetV0487Sco 173505.83 -342345.0 ;TABbetweenname,RAandDec#INTERVAL50V0494Sco 174048.48 -313231.8#INTERVAL65WYPav 175612.37 -570943.4#INTERVAL55V0690Sco 175738.65 -403327.2 #INTERVAL45HXAra 175844.91 -551624.0#INTERVAL60MSAra 180304.29 -524320.6#INTERVAL65BHPav 183440.57 -652703.0;;EndofPlan


AppendixC:ListofsouthernRRLyraetargetsforusewithSPIRITThefollowingprovidesalistofRRLyraestarswellsuitedforSPIRIT.ThelistisorderedbyRA,andincludestargetsoptimallypositionedinthesouthernsky.

NAME RA DECUUCet 000405.1 -165952AOTuc 000406.3 -592906RYPsc 001141.1 -014455UYScl 001445.8 -391436RXCet 003338.3 -152915FXCet 004506.1 -185415AETuc 005000.6 -623808WTuc 005809.7 -632344RUCet 010040.3 -155728AEScl 010725.8 -321835CSPhe 010949.5 -441853VWScl 011815.0 -391245AMTuc 011830.6 -675505RVScl 011942.6 -265155VXScl 013523.7 -350743SVScl 014459.7 -300333RVCet 021514.9 -104801RZCet 022832.4 -082130BBHyi 023318.8 -733643SWFor 030108.7 -380743RXFor 031113.2 -262859XRet 032520.1 -650319SXFor 033022.3 -360314UPic 045006.6 -503925UCae 045314.4 -374916BBEri 045337.5 -192601XXDor 045913.6 -693543SUCol 050747.0 -335154V0964Ori 050754.5 -020849RYCol 051507.8 -413742AOLep 052414.6 -140603RTDor 052944.7 -641713AVCol 055650.6 -274002RWCol 060338.6 -313525VWDor 060745.7 -665839RXCol 061314.7 -371501IUCar 065307.5 -593544HHPup 072035.6 -464230OPPup 073921.5 -172049HKPup 074446.8 -130556

NAME RA DECV0895Mon 075021.4 -011431KZPup 075236.5 -172301ANVel 080609.9 -433953XXPup 080828.2 -163200IUPup 081430.7 -413857BBPup 082422.6 -193231ETHya 083504.2 -085010SVVol 084832.6 -713915DGHya 085806.3 -052626DHHya 090014.8 -094644XXHya 090949.5 -153559SZHya 091348.8 -091909IVHya 092220.6 -133849BKAnt 094414.8 -393941CDVel 094438.2 -455237BNAnt 095706.0 -391726WZHya 101324.1 -130817WYAnt 101604.9 -294342BTAnt 103202.6 -301037FSVel 104600.3 -435917RVSex 104641.8 -082233AFVel 105302.5 -495423TVLeo 111121.9 -055331BIHya 111148.2 -322254V0590Cen 111225.2 -365246WCrt 112629.6 -175452SSLeo 113354.5 -000200BICen 114554.6 -592240XCrt 114856.2 -102629V0753Cen 115115.3 -554816DTHya 115400.2 -311540SWCru 115906.4 -601819EMMus 123555.5 -725300ASVir 125245.9 -101536ATVir 125510.5 -052732AMVir 132333.3 -163958AUVir 132448.0 -065845FXHya 132758.9 -270552WWVir 132823.9 -051709V0671Cen 134009.7 -372628


NAME RA DECRVOct 134631.8 -842406FYHya 135335.4 -293449V0499Cen 135514.8 -431425V0674Cen 140324.1 -362420CWLup 142023.0 -443159STVir 142739.1 -005406YOct 142904.4 -883844DOVir 143846.0 -051931TYAps 144850.0 -711942XZAps 145205.4 -794047XXLib 150710.0 -255952YZAps 151000.8 -782303V0372Ser 151735.0 -010517TVLib 151821.8 -082743AZLib 152038.4 -221729APLup 152145.2 -484537LQLib 152601.1 -153246CGLib 153516.8 -242013VYLib 155117.0 -154503PQLup 155553.2 -404144VXAps 155956.3 -751320BSAps 162051.5 -714016V0445Oph 162441.2 -063230V0413Oph 162511.0 -103126V0680Ara 164307.6 -610542RWTrA 170046.7 -663950STOph 173359.4 -010451V0487Sco 173505.8 -342345V0494Sco 174048.5 -313232V0756Sgr 174848.9 -215252EXAps 175145.0 -692005WYPav 175612.4 -570943V0690Sco 175738.6 -403327HXAra 175844.9 -551624MSAra 180304.3 -524321V0592CrA 182620.8 -445950BHPav 183440.6 -652703V3859Sgr 183832.2 -274205V0413CrA 184757.6 -374423AFSct 184826.7 -135748V1130Sgr 192032.5 -203220HHTel 193320.3 -453949GZTel 193646.1 -504740HNTel 193704.1 -525819

NAME RA DECBNPav 193803.4 -603640V0796Sgr 194639.9 -402723V1356Aql 194658.9 -020434FOPav 195142.2 -624408DNPav 195210.9 -634025V4424Sgr 195401.9 -301510SWPav 195725.7 -664648BPPav 195800.2 -654410V2232Sgr 200727.3 -434910HYTel 200813.5 -551402V1644Sgr 200914.9 -293322V1645Sgr 202044.5 -410706V1646Sgr 202308.8 -311742V2279Sgr 202703.4 -404014CHAql 203342.2 -053849IVPav 203444.9 -723655AAAql 203815.1 -025325VXInd 204151.4 -470643BTAqr 205748.3 -054107RVCap 210128.9 -151346CPAqr 211012.9 -014316ZMic 211622.7 -301703YZCap 211932.4 -150701SSGru 212806.3 -370935ZGru 213437.1 -490729RYOct 213609.4 -771814YZPsA 214206.2 -252829SSOct 215335.4 -824644TZAqr 220155.5 -053603BVAqr 220254.0 -213132YZAqr 221430.5 -105547GPAqr 222539.1 -075628BNAqr 222748.7 -072902HHAqr 224131.5 -062839RWGru 224207.0 -440912XZGru 224734.7 -390333BOAqr 225408.3 -122138YYTuc 231100.6 -582007DNAqr 231917.2 -241259UZScl 232247.0 -300710RVPhe 232831.5 -472713BRAqr 233832.9 -091907

AppendixD:ContributingandsharingphotometricdataThephotometricmeasurementandmonitoringofvariablestars,includingRRLyraestars,isan important on-going endeavour. Amateur astronomers represent a dominant group inboth data collection and analysis, and their work is well regarded by professionalastronomers.

A number of organisations exist that allow amateur astronomers to participate inscientificallyusefulvariablestarprojects.Themostfamousofthe‘pro-am’initiativesistheAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). AAVSO provides the ‘clearinghouse’forvariablestarobservationsaswellasacomprehensivesetofon-lineresourcesforbothamateurandprofessionalastronomers.

Moreinformationcanbefoundatthefollowinglink:

http://www.aavso.org/

Southern hemisphere observers are well represented by the Variable Stars South (VSS)organisation.

FurtherinformationonVSScanbefoundatthefollowinglink:

http://www.variablestarssouth.org/

Documents

Variable star light curve activity for MaxIM v6spirit.icrar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/VS_Maxv6.pdfMaxIM DL includes a number of tools well suited for scientific analysis of astronomical