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Inspired by Gary’s image, I tried with my iPhone at 13.35 UT (sunspot just above centre, Mercury below). I held it to the 18 mm eyepiece of my Takahashi FS 102 (102 mm refractor, f/8) with Thousand Oaks solar filter.
Jeremy
Dear Richard,
I am sure you have many fascinating stories about your time at Plesetsk and Baikonur.
I contacted Dr Richard McKim about your query and he says we don’t have any of the former Artificial Satellite Section newsletters in the Archive. If you, or anyone else, manages to come across any, he would certainly appreciate copies for the Archive.
Kind regards,
Jeremy
Hello Eric,
I have not looked at those all sky images, but they sound intriguing.
I am sure they would show meteors and perhaps the occasional fireball. The really interesting part of imaging meteors/fireballs is to obtain an orbit for the object and, ultimately, to identify the parent body. However, to do this one needs data from (at least) 2 sites a few 10s of km apart, to allow triangulation. Also needed is good time resolution during the passage of the object to obtain the velocity of the object.
Kind regards,
Jeremy
Thanks James, Peter and Paul
The survey email is being delivered in batches. For those of you who haven’t received it yet, it should arrive in the next few days.
In the meantime people are welcome to use the link given in my email at the top.
Best regards
Jeremy
In 2015 I imaged on 116 nights (32%), which is close to the average of the last 11 years (33%). However, it was a year of two halves, with the first four months being generally very good indeed. The best month overall was September with 18 nights and the worst May and Dec with only 4.
Jeremy
That’s a very nice find, James. I am glad it will find a place on your wall. Donati’s was certainly one of the most impressive comets of the 19th century. It probably stimulated an astronomical interest in many people. Dr. Thomas David Anderson (1853-1932) and Col. E.E. Markwick (1853 – 1925) both mention it as their first astronomical recollection, being shown it when they were 5 years old. The former went on to discover several novae and the latter became the second Director of the VSS and BAA President.
Jeremy
I watched ingress, Nick. Always impressive to see a bright star like Aldebaran suddenly disappear behind the dark limb – you get a real impression of the moon moving against the background stars. I was clouded out for egress, though.
Jeremy
Dear Tony,
The Christmas meeting is one of the most popular events in the BAA Calendar and our meeting on Dec 12 maintains the tradition of welcoming world-class speakers including Professors Gerry Gilmore and Lucie Green. As in recent years, we have moved the venue from Burlington House to University College London so we can accommodate more people. However, even this large lecture theatre still has a limit on capacity. As in previous years, to ensure a comfortable, enjoyable and safe experience for those attending we have to keep track on the number attending, hence the request to book at place in advance. The meeting is free for members to attend provided they reserved a place by November 20, as announced in the October JBAA and via BAA ebulletin. We had anticipated this would give ample time for those intending to come to register for the event to register for free (non-members who wish to attend would pay the fee anyway) and the £5 fee would encourage people to register early.
I do hope that you will still be able to come to the Christmas meeting, which I am sure will maintain the high standards of previous years and be a very enjoyable event.
Kind regards,
Jeremy Shears
Well done, Peter. A nice image, especially considering the challenging conditions you were up against.
I hope you’ll get more opportunities.
Best regards,
Jeremy
Excellent, Michael. The simplest way to start is to image the field of NSV 2026 every clear night to see if it’s in outburst or not (unfiltered is fine). If you spot an outburst, please post the news to the BAA VSS alert group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/baavss-alert/info
Jeremy
Great stuff Michael. Do let me know if I can be of assistance as your plans progress.
If you want to have a dabble with CVs, the VSS is running a campaign on one called NSV 2026, which is in Taurus. Unfiltered CCD obs (or filtered, if you get the V filter) are needed to spot outbursts of this enigmatic dwarf nova – then when an outburst occurs, time series photometry is required for as long as possible. It goes into outburst every couple of weeks, so you won’t have to wait long for something exciting to happen!
More details here: http://www.britastro.org/vss/NSV2026.pdf
Jeremy
Hello Michael,
the requirement for a filter depends what type of variable star you are observing. I observe Cataclysmic Variables, in particular Dwarf Novae in outburst. I usually do unfiltered photometry to get the best signal-to-noise ratio. I’ll use a V-band comparison star sequence. Observing some eclipsing systems, where timing the eclipse is critical rather than the actual mag, can also been done unfiltered. For much other VS work a filter is highly desirable in order to be able to compare your photometry with other observers – and in the case of coloured variables (like Miras) a filter is essential. Whilst many amateurs use a V-band filter, some use a B, R or I filter. These are specific wavebands, based on the Johnson-Cousins system, which are designed for photometry and are thus different for standard coloured filters for tri-colour imaging (and different from UV or IR cut-off filters).
I am not sure where one can buy 2-inch V filters. The company Astrodon lists them, but they are unmounted. Maybe someone else can advise.
Best regards,
Jeremy
Wonderful image, James. Looks like you had good skies during your trip to North wales.
All the best,
Jeremy
Congratulations to everyone that observed this event – indeed an excellent result!
I enjoyed your Youtube video, Tim – thanks for posting. It looked to me that there were a couple of flashes towards the end of the occultation – was that due to the seeing?
Jeremy
Nice image with a huge amount of detail, Cam. You seem to be mastering narrow band imaging. Best of luck with your search for a larger format CCD.
Thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Jeremy
This is excellent news, Steve. Do keep us posted about your experiences with the new lights, and how they affect your views of the night sky, now that the nights are drawing in.
Jeremy
