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Meanwhile the observatories around Paranal (including the yet to see first light ELT) face a potential threat from a US backed proposed green energy mega-project
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/will-chilean-observatory-lose-its-dark-skiesRobin
In the meantime these systems are being used without oversight or basic checks that any observer should be doing. (The TNS system has no gatekeeper and relies on the accuracy of the submitted data). The issues with this observation are multiple and obvious without needing any further data to anyone with basic knowledge of how transients behave (A mag 14 object which suddenly appears with no sign of a precursor or host galaxy and then stays at identically the same brightness for several weeks should already have raised suspicions.) The ghost negative “missing star” in the (observed – archive) difference image and the double colour star images in the DSS 2 colour archive image of the region made it obvious was going on (even before taking into account the proper motion from Gaia and the 2MASS image showing it in yet another position) yet the operators of this system “followed” it for 4 weeks before finally triggering it as “discovery”.
Jack,
It looks like now you have got the badge off, you also now have to remove the plate underneath which is glued on. The chap here drilled it, screwed in a self tapping screw and pulled it off
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/648277-disassembling-a-porta-ii/?p=9112803
Cheers
RobinThe rapid decline continues based on Atlas forced photometry
Attachments:
at the suggested 11Mpc distance could get much brighter
and then again perhaps not. After rising to mag 14.5 in just one day it is reported to be in rapid decline.
https://www.wis-tns.org/astronotes/astronote/2024-374
Now classified as an a relatively rare type IIb, a stripped envelope core collapse supernovaHas the BAA ever considered negotiating access for members to paywalled publications like this or is it just too costly/not feasible ?
Cheers
RobinCan you see the solar spectrum visually when the core module (without the camera objective lens) is held up to your eye and pointed at the sky? This will check that all is right with the spectrograph itself (slit/collimator/grism) If that is ok then with the objective lens in place you should then be able to focus the spectrum in the camera. Camera back focus is limited with the ALPY. Is the camera directly coupled to the spectrograph without an additional adapters ?
When you say you say you are moving the camera focus in and out, are you adjusting focus using the threaded tube and locking ring on the spectrograph body ?
A compact fluorescent lamp can help getting rough focus with the camera as the emission lines are more obvious than lines in the solar spectrumCheers
RobinThe overall significance is not clear, though there does appear to be a change in accretion environment and rate around October.
it looks like the increase in activity ended abruptly on 19th November. (A selection of Woody Sim’s spectra plus a couple of mine taken early morning showing He II 4686 emission line)
Cheers
RobinAttachments:
Like the comment there about it being green so it must be space junk as the guy who told him has a PhD in physics so must be right !
Here are the details based on UKMON cameras
Cheers
RobinThe details of this device are yet to be revealed though
Now officially launched.
https://www.sunscan.net/Cheers
RobinHere is the spectrum time series as a 2D greyscale plot with the intensities of three line extracted (qualitative only, no flux calibration)
I was surprised to find that it was only last year that hyperspectral techniques had first been applied to aurora
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-full-d-spectral-image-aurora.htmlCheers
RobinAttachments:
Just had a heads up from Tom Killestein. It’s bounced again. mag 15, up from 17.4 this morning
Robin
note the default setting only gives the location in deg,min,sec to one second resolution. If you need higher resolution switch to decimal degrees (tools ,settings, formats and units, lat lon format, decimal) this then give the location in degrees to 6 decimal places (less than a metre)
EDIT, looking at some papers on this the actual absolute accuracy though is probably more like 5-10m in position and a couple of metres in elevation
Cheers
RobinHi Jack,
I recently had to do this for a meteor camera installation, needed to a couple of metres accuracy. The recommendation was Google Earth
https://earth.google.com/
Zoom into your exact location, right click and click info in the pop up boxCheers
RobinA spectrum time series showing the variation in the various emission lines during this event
Cheers
RobinHere’s the Celestron version.
https://www.celestron.com/cdn/shop/products/93665_NexStar_Wedge_6_570x380@2x.jpg?v=1590984227
Looks like a heck of a bending moment on the arm thoughOr fit a field rotator before the camera
Or a wedge provided the software recognises this equatorial mode
A few more spectra, the latest one at higher resolution with the ALPY600 (missed the fade unfortunately)
Cheers
RobinAttachments:
Great capture Bill.
Things have certainly moved on from my one (and only) attempt at this nearly 20 years ago
http://www.threehillsobservatory.co.uk/astro/spectra_20.htmIt is interesting to try to compare Nick’s time lapse with what was seen at the same time from 400km further north, now archived at
http://threehillsobservatory.co.uk/allsky_camera/allsky_20241010_aurora.mp4
(South is to the left, west is up)
The short intense burst at ~21:02 corresponds to a bright band briefly appearing to the south in my camera and the other intense period ~23:15-23:35 coincides with when it shifted from north to overhead and south hereCheers
Robin
