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I just realised I was replying to a post from 2015! I was not paying attention this morning.
I can see it came back to the top of the forum as someone is attempting to spam this post. The spam was blocked but the date/time and poster were updated. I shall leave it to the WebOps Team to fully remove the spam and spammer.
Andy
It looks as though Baader do 2″ photometric filters, £171 for the V filter quoted on the FLO website. They are showing out of stock, so you might need to wait for them to order it in, but significantly cheaper than the other options.
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/photometry-filters/baader-ubvri-bessel-photometric-filters.html
I think this has been covered, but unfiltered is definitely preferable to a UVIR blocking filter.
Once you get going, it would be great if you can contribute your observations to the VSS database. I can point you in the direction of different software options to provide the data in one of the upload formats.
Cheers,
Andy (BAAVSS Database Secretary)The wide variety of smart telescopes are great, but as with anything you get what you pay for. Putting together a custom setup where you get a high quality 50mm apochromatic lens, a good quality mount and a good quality CCD or CMOS camera is going to give superior results but will be a lot more expensive. Smart telescopes are designed for convenience and ease of use, and that is where they will beat a custom rig. Also, some smart telescopes like the Seestars and Dwarfs are designed for portability.
You can do science with them, but look into the capabilities to understand the pros and cons. For example, they have colour chips so you can’t just add a photometric filter. Though we already have a couple of observers submitting photometry to the Variable Star Section database taken with Seestars using the green channel from the colour camera. I got myself a Dwarf for its ease of use, portability, and easy access to the fits files and calibration frames.
The resolution will be the same as any traditional telescope with that aperture, focal length and pixel size. You can find results taken with a variety of smart telescopes in the BAA image gallery. Click the images to see the details of the equipment used to find those taken with smart telescopes
https://britastro.org/observations/
You can also search for ‘Seestar’, giving these images.
The best images are obtained by people who do post-processing of the results, rather than relying entirely on the inbuilt processing.
If you want ease of use and portability then they are hard to beat. If you want to extract the maximum science potential then a custom rig is the way to go.
Andy
That is such sad news and a great loss. Over the years I was fortunate to attend several talks by Allan. He talked with authority provided by his deep knowledge of history combined with an entertaining style that captivated his audience.
AndyYes, booking is open. The advert is on the back of the December Journal and it was announced in the December email Newsletter.
AndyI have uploaded the meeting videos to the BAA YouTube channel. I provide links below for easy access. I divided the meeting into the 3 sessions, and in the YouTube video descriptions there are links so you can jump to each of the talks.
Unfortunately there were a few IT issues on the day so the recordings are not perfect. The first few minutes of the introduction were missed due to a recording issue, and then one of the microphones failed for the start of Paul Leyland’s talk. I have left all of Paul’s talk as you can still see the slides before I swapped his microphone.Session 1 (morning) – https://youtu.be/XIIO4Wbi6Rw
Session 2 (after lunch) – https://youtu.be/GmV6uenWiUM
Session 3 (after tea) – https://youtu.be/REQ3deLjfc8Here is the revised schedule for the day.
10:30 – Welcome and introduction. Director
10:50 – Richard Sargent – Hind’s Variable Nebula
11:20 – Paul Leyland – Observing extragalactic variables
11:50 – Jeremy Shears – Cluster variables in M5
12:20 – Chris Lloyd – Targets for Smart Scopes
12:50 – Lunch
14:15 – Brian Kloppenborg (Remote) – How AAVSO is adapting to the sky survey era
14:45 – David Boyd – Spectroscopy of the massive eclipsing binary VV Cephei
15:15 – Des Loughney – Using the MAST Database to study eclipsing binaries
15:45 – Tea
16:15 – John Toone – 50 years of visual photometry
16.45 – Ingrid Pelisoli (University of Warwick) – Discovering and characterising white dwarf pulsars
17:35 – Closing remarks – DirectorBest wishes,
AndyI am also staying at the Premier Inn. Friday night as well as Saturday night, as that is the only way I can be there for the start of the meeting.
Cheers,
AndyIt is a remarkably high proper motion.
I just noticed the Gaia DR3 parallax puts it at just 17.5pc distant (57 light years). So a celestial next door neighbour! That helps to explain the high proper motion.
A good spot on those images Robin.
Cheers,
AndyHi Ian,
Looking at SIMBAD, I see it has a very high proper motion, approximately 0.5 arcseconds per year. So for an EPOCH of J2000 it should have a very different position.
Over the 25 years since the J2000 coordinates, I work this out at roughly -0.6″ in RA and -6.75″ in Dec. So pretty close to what you are finding.
https://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=ZZ+psc&submit=SIMBAD+search
Cheers,
AndyHi Robin,
That is an interesting idea about spectroscopy.
There does not appear to be a ‘no filter’ option. Either VIS (430-650nm), Astro (430-690nm), or Duo band (H-alpha and OIII). It does not look like modification to remove a filter would be straightforward.
Best wishes,
AndyIt is impressive what this little scope managed. I will gradually try some harder targets to see how it handles them.
I have added images of the Sun and Moon to the gallery.
https://britastro.org/observations/observation.php?id=20250317_121906_068460f96a587c0d
https://britastro.org/observations/observation.php?id=20250317_122120_ed54a2b52dca88f9
It obviously lacks resolution compared to longer focal lengths and larger apertures, though I think it does a decent job.
I worked out how to copy the FITS files onto my computer. This includes the original raw files, and the stacked image created by the Dwarf. That is a really nice best of both worlds approach. It has a timelapse function, that might be interesting for some variable stars, to avoid taking hundreds of images to process over an extended period. My main aim is to use it for Deep Sky, and variable stars will be an added bonus if it works.
Thanks,
AndyHi Ken,
I expect you have already done this, but I thought I would mention it just in case. Where there is an unexpected difference in the intensity between two lines, my first thought is to check the response correction. Not just whether you have good confidence in your own spectrum, but also the one you were supplied with. I imagine the response correction would have to be obtained at night by a observing a star, with the spectrograph in the same configuration as the daytime solar spectrum.
Sorry I am not able to provide a spectrum.
Best wishes,
AndyThat link actually points to a high resolution solar spectrum by me (taken through a solar filter, not of the sky) though unfortunately although it covers H beta it does not cover Na D
Cheers
RobinThank you for pointing out my mistake Robin, now corrected.
I had been checking what solar spectra we had in the BAA database, as well as Europa, and I copied the wrong link.
Cheers,
AndyI suspect part of the issue is this is a very specific request, so there will be at best a handful of BAA members in a position to make the observation. A required spectral resolution rather than a specific spectrograph could open it up to a few more observers. Also, when I was doing spectroscopy with an LHIRES III, I would leave it set at H-alpha, so I could be as efficient as possible at acquiring data by requiring only one setup and calibration set.
We do have a spectrum of Europa in the BAA database, but it is low resolution with an R value of 564.
https://britastro.org/specdb/data_graph.php?obs_id=12734&obs_validated=&obs_observer_id=HAL&r_c=1&f_c=0&o_comment=&plot=PlotA minor point, but it can be helpful to be more specific in the forum post title. So people visiting the website know a bit more about what you are after without opening the post. Hence, Jeremy’s suggestion to make your enquiry about de-forking your Meade 12″ on a new thread.
Best wishes,
AndyIt was fantastic to see Michael Woodman in person, and really great that many members of his family were able to attend the presentation of his Butterworth Award.
While it is a shame not to have consistency, I think in general it is a good policy to give Observing Sections as much autonomy as possible. The Observing Sections are the heart of the BAA, and are run by experts in their field doing world class observing and research.
The Variable Star Section is a good example of why it can be useful to make a Circular public. I know that professional astronomers read it. If it were behind a pay wall then that might not happen. Having the professional researchers read the Circular benefits the members who contribute to the Section.Hi Nick,
You need to be logged into the website to download the Solar Section Newsletters. I suspect that if you login then that will solve the problem.
https://britastro.org/document_folder/baa-document-store/sections/solar-section
Best wishes,
Andy
