Correcting for Instrumental and Atmospheric Response

Forums Variable Stars Symbiotic ag Peg! Correcting for Instrumental and Atmospheric Response

#577001
Andy Wilson
Keymaster

Hi Steve and John,

That is a great spectrum John. These are exciting times as spectroscopy is becoming more easily available to amateurs, and there are plenty of fascinating targets.

My understanding of response correction is that to get a really good atmospheric correction you need to find an A or B star of similar airmass (altitude) to your target star, and with a professional spectrum available. There are ways to get a good compromise, but for the very best results this is the way to go.

There are a couple of very handy resources that make this much easier. First there is the Miles database of standard spectra. Second a spreadsheet that allows you to locate stars from the Miles database of similar airmass to your target at the time of observation. The ARAS forum post on this subject can be found here:

http://www.spectro-aras.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=941

Best wishes,

Andy