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Now you mention it, iota Cancri is my favourite double star. Similar to Albireo but rather prettier IMAO.
Pi Cephei is was double star of the month according to https://www.webbdeepsky.com/double-stars/object/pi%20Cep
Pi Gruis is, by all accounts a fine double, but too far south at -46 Dec for UK-based telescopes. I may give it a try when I return to La Palma.
Pi Sco is visible from most of the world. The primary is a spectroscopic binary and the secondary is rather difficult (though well separated) at mag 12.2. The primary does show eclispes, but with a depth of only 30mmag it likely presents a worthy challenge to photometrists willing to stretch themselves. The period is 1.57 days. Anyone up to it this summer?
Sounds good. Often thought I should attend.
The event is always fully booked before I receive my supply of round tuits and generally before I know whether I will be in the country at the time it is held.
BTW I was present at the British Concorde’s (002) maiden flight from Filton, Bristol, which happens to be 54 years ago today!
I have been in the cabin of a Concorde. Sadly, it was travelling at Mach 0 in a hangar at Duxford, just down the road from here.
If anyone would like to replicate my experience, please let me know in good time and I will show you around the district and, in particular, introduce you to the excellent pub “The Plough” in Duxford.
Paul
Given that serious astronomers express stellar luminosities both in ergs/second and in a inverted logarithmic scale to a bizarre base, I am inclined to cut journalists some slack.
I will get in contact soon. From the GUI point of view, APT works rather well in setting the ellipse parameters.
I’ve just watched the BBC1 lunchtime news about this flyby. Under the name of each astronomer interviewed about this NEO, the BBC gave them the title ‘Astrologer’.
Argh!
Alex.
Reclaim the night!
With a concerted effort in the public media, astronomers could call themselves astrologers and hoi polloi would begin to think of astrologers as scientist rather than mystics, entertainers and/or charlatans.
Vocabulary has changed radically in the past. Consider the terms “nice”, “gay” and “hacker”.
Might be difficult though …
Richard: thank you for revealing the term “capsule aperture” to me. I may well contact Russ and suggest that he consider adding them to APT. He has been very welcoming of suggestions for enhancement in the past.
For only slightly trailed images (major/minor axis < 2, say) an elliptical aperture works very well – as measured by comparing the results for untrailed subs and circular apertures with their trailed counterparts of the same field and a carefully chosen elliptical aperture. If you examine some of my entries in the VSS database you will find some examples of elliptical aperture photometry.
Richard: thanks for revealing the term “capsule aperture” to me. I may well contact Russ and suggest that he consider adding them to APT.
For only slightly trailed images (major/minor axis < 2, say) an elliptical aperture works very well – as measured by comparing the results for untrailed subs and circular apertures with their trailed counterparts of the same field and a carefully chosen elliptical aperture. If you examine some of my entries in the VSS database you will find some examples of elliptical aperture photometry.
I can’t comment on ASTAP but can say that APT (A Photometry Tool by Russ Laher) considers circular apertures to be a special case of arbitrary elliptical apertures. This may be an appropriate way of enhancing ASTAP if the code is going to be uprated anyway…
Elliptical apertures are extremely useful for phometry of galaxies. Might they also be for cometary comae?
Thanks for the link to sourceforge. I will check out its contents.
To be a little more serious this time. I may be able to help to some extent, though not with Peranso (my “a frayed knot” comment) because I picked up a very low amplitude EA variable in my analysis of MAXI J1870+070 data. On that occasion I was lucky because an entire primary eclipse occurred in a single night’s data. Subsequent analysis of a few weeks data, not with Peranso, dug out the secondary minimum. The depths are about 25 and 10mmag respectively, well within the range of an exoplanetary transit. Until the secondary showed up I did wonder whether an exoplanet had been found.
All this took place almost five years ago and I will need to refresh my memory before more detail can be given. One of the projects still waiting for another delivery of round tuits is to see what else can be found in this data set and a few others waiting in storage.
Certainly sounds interesting to me!
I would love something that size and have somewhere to put it. I also have no idea how much it would cost to convert it into usable telescope – preferably a Cassegrain-style to keep the size of the housing to a sensible size.
If the BAA as an organization would like to have a robotic telescope in La Palma, please get in touch. I can provide site, power, internet, ancillary equipment like computers, etc at zero cost. Would a subscription model make sense? A significant contribution to construction costs would give you a guaranteed number of hours per annum for the remainder of your BAA membership.
