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

Our Solar System 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

Mars 2003 Aug 23

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

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

Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society

Our Solar System 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 1 st magnitude star as 100 times brighter than a 6 th magnitude star. Therefore the difference between magnitudes is the 5 th root of 100 = So: 1 st to 2 nd magnitude has difference of st to 3 rd =2.51 x 2.51 = st to 4 th = 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 = st to 5 th =2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 x 2.51 = st to 6 th = 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 and the Sun

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

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

Honor Wheeler

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 iso 100 will get you started, though experimentation will give the best results. Images of the eclipsed Moon require longer Exposure times.

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 M42 Pleiades Both images were on a driven mount Exposures 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

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

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

Local and National societies Martin Crow Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society British Astronomical Association

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. Seeing I – perfect seeing, without a quiver II – slight undulations, with moments of lasting calm III – moderate seeing, with larger tremors IV – poor seeing, with constant troublesome undulations V – 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