Talk

The video observation of double stars has become a worthwhile and respected addition to the observational skillset of the modern occultation observer. To get the most benefit of the telescope time, it is critical that the video be analysed and reported correctly. This talk is a walk through of the complete process.

Trans-Neptunian Objects represent one of the last frontiers in solar system exploration holding secrets to the formation of the solar system. Their extreme remoteness means that even the most basic of physical information such as size and shape are known for only a minority of objects. Stellar occultations are a technique to gather such data and a high level of coordination between amateur and professional astronomers is starting to produce excellent results. This talk provides an overview of observing opportunities and information available for interested observers and an example of successful observation of an occultation by 2003AZ84 in December 2013.

Image intensifiers make dim night sky objects brighter but that doesn't necessarily mean more can be seen. Much depends on the kind of intensifier, the image forming system, filters, object characteristics and sky brightness. An appreciation of these factors can optimize results and in some cases provide stunning real-time views otherwise visible only by time-exposure photography. Sufficiently powerful intensifiers tend to be costly but their usefulness can justify purchase by amateur groups.

Multiple chord observations of asteroid occultations can produce profiles of asteroids accurate to the 1-km range. The 3D asteroid models of DAMIT and ISAM (derived from mainly amateur light curve measurements) can be refined using the occultation determined profiles.

As a result, two observational disciplines collaborate to produce results which can not be bettered unless the asteroid is visited by spacecraft - an exercise not undertaken lightly or cheaply. Asteroid occultation observations can produce unexpected results, discover hitherto unknown double asteroids, and discover double stars that have separations in the micro-arcsecond range.

This talk demonstrates and discusses these in the context of recent observations.

Video observations of lunar occultations of close double stars allow the determination of the separation and position angle of the pair. The method of observing and obtaining results will be described. A summary of some recent results and discoveries of new doubles along with their publication in the Journal of Double Star Observations will be presented.

The standard for control of devices for astronomy ASCOM now has support for video. This presentation will discuss what does this mean for Occultation observers and the recording of video on Windows computers. The remote control of video cameras via ASCOM drivers will be discussed and popular software that now has support for recording video will be listed.

The new version of Tangra comes with a large number of improvements including an integration with AOTA and OccultWatcher for a full end-to-end solution for measurements, analysis and reporting of observations. The entire process from the measurement to the reporting of the extracted events in OccultWatcher will be demonstrated.

There will be also a focus on the new tracking, reading of the IOTA-VTI timestamp and the support for ADV files on Linux and OS X.

A new Windows software for recording video occultations will be presented. The focus will be on a new file format that has been developed specifically to improve the recording with integrating analogue video cameras. OccuRec is ASCOM-enabled allowing the automatic focusing and tracking of the target in fully unattended mode as well as the control of ACOM Video devices.

OccuRec also allows a time-stamping of video using NTP time base via the Internet. The accuracy, pros and cons of this timing method will be also discussed.

The vast data collections of the amateur astronomers spanning many years are untapped for their wealth of information. The interactions of amateur astronomers with professional astronomers have changed significantly in the digital era, from an occasional interaction of exchanging individual images to a sustained collaboration to coordinated global networks of amateur astronomers. Today, amateur astronomers, with sophisticated equipment and software, provide several valuable resources to the professional observers/astronomers: a large source of manpower, or extension of the professional astronomer's group; a vast collection of data that provides both legacy and temporal information and finally, as ambassadors of science, help build bridges between the scientific and public communities.

From the professional astronomer/scientist's perspective, given the vast amounts of data acquired through various projects, the natural progression to interactive collaborations between these two communities is tremendously beneficial. Combined with various attributes of social media, a new paradigm for scientific research is slowly being defined. This approach has proven to be successful for ground-based observations of Jupiter, Saturn and recently 102P/Hartley. I will highlight several projects that leverage the collaboration between professional and amateur astronomers; and the use of social media, with focus on the recent comet observing campaign of C/2012 S1 (ISON).

The NASA Comet ISON Observing Campaign (CIOC) goals (http://www.isoncampaign.org) were: (i) a detailed characterization of a subset of comets (sun grazers) that are usually difficult to identify and study in the few hours before their demise; and (ii) facilitate collaborations between various investigators for the best science possible. One of the tangible products was the creation of CIOC_ISON, a professional – amateur astronomer collaboration network established on Facebook, with members from the scientific, amateur, science outreach/education, public from around the globe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cioc.ison) and a Pinterest presence (http://pinterest.com/padmayf/comet-ison/). Members, by invitation or request, provide the details of their equipment, location and observations and post their observations to both share and provide a forum for interactive discussions. and its social media component on Facebook, CIOC_ISON. The long lead time, from its initial discovery by Russian amateur astronomers on 21 September 2012, to its ultimate dramatic finish on its perihelion day, 28 November 2013, provided a rare opportunity for the scientific and amateur astronomer communities to study a sungrazer comet on its only passage through the inner solar system.

The CIOC, in now transformed into the Comet Integrated Observing Campaign, and is charged with the observations and characterization of C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (C-G) (and target for the upcoming ESA/Rosetta mission) in 2014- 2015. These two comets illustrate some of the diversity of comets and their observations require different approaches. Additionally, to support the Rosetta mission, standards for the scientific observations and their ultimate analysis will require some coordination of observations, filters, calibration methods, to the ultimate data archival. I will also highlight other opportunities available to amateur astronomers to participate as partners with professional astronomers over the span of the next few years.

This talk will be an account of the setting up and running of Bright Star Monitor South (BSM-Sth), part of AAVSONet, as well as opportunity for amateurs to submit target proposals.