Science with Your Telescope Brian D. Warner Palmer Divide Observatory Space Science Institute

Science with Your Telescope

Brian D. Warner

Palmer Divide Observatoryhttp://www.MinorPlanetObserver.com

Space Science Institutehttp://www.SpaceScience.org

Science is Fun!

• You can use what you already have

• Expands your knowledge

• Professionals depend more, not less, on amateur observations

• Satisfaction of collaborations and publication

Asteroid Lightcurves at The Palmer Divide Observatory

• Correlation between size and period.

• Slow rotators - what about them is common?

• Size, shape, pole orientation


• Additional observations in support of radar observations

• Remove observational bias towards brighter, main belt asteroids, i.e., increase

statistical sampling

• Correlation between size and period.

• Slow rotators - what about them is common?



• Additional observations in support of radar observations

• Remove observational bias towards brighter, main belt asteroids, i.e., increase

statistical sampling

Why Do Asteroid Lightcurves?

The Palmer Divide Observatory

20”

14”


0.5m f/8.1 Ritchey-Chretien

FLI-1001E (1Kx1Kx24m)

FLI filter wheel - BVRC

80mm/ST-237 guiding

0.35m LX-200GPS

North:FLI-1001E - unfiltered

South:ST-9E, f/5.0 reducer, VRC


A Typical Night

• Select targets

• Open observatories

• Write scripts

• Start runs

• Download images during/after runs

• Measure images and analyze data

A Typical Night

• Works 2 asteroids

• Periodically syncs

• Periodically focuses

• Shuts down camera

• Homes scope

A Typical Night

• Measure images with MPO Canopus

• Plot raw data and look for obvious outliers

• Do Period Search with MPO Canopus Fourier analysis

Follow up

• Merge multiple nights

• Do Period Search on combined data set

It’s Not Always Pretty!

Binary Asteroids

Initial Discovery at PDO (Oct. 2004 - present)

3309 Brorefeld5477 1989 UH25905 Johnson9069 Hovland

34706 2001 OP83 76818 2000 RG79

Results - Hungarias

From Harris Lightcurve List (August 2006)

• Total Number: 70

• PDO (primary): 49 (70%)

• Spin Rate Distribution:

– Two peaks

– Less “Spin barrier” effect versus NEO population

Results - Hungarias

• Published quarterly by Minor Planets Section of ALPO.

• Best place for amateurs to submit.

• Juried publication, in many professional libraries around the world (good PR for school programs)

• Inexpensive: FREE!

http://www.MinorPlanetObserver/mpb/default.htm

The Minor Planet Bulletin

Publishing Your Work

Data Mining Asteroid Images

Variable Star Search







Binary Stars

Modeling Binary Stars

Binary Maker 3http://www.binarymaker.com

Modeling Binary Stars

Binary Maker 3

Mass ratio input = 1.500000 mass ratio < 1 = 0.666667Omega 1 = 4.439516 Omega 2 = 4.439516Omega inner = 4.526136 Omega outer = 3.948668Fillout 1 = 0.150000 Fillout 2 = 0.150000

Surface area 1 = 2.298928 Surface area 2 = 1.612613Volume 1 = 0.321256 Volume 2 = 0.186599Mean radius 1 = 0.426171 Mean radius 2 = 0.355198Temperature 1 = 5400.00 Temperature 2 = 6000.00Luminosity 1 = 0.4662 Luminosity 2 = 0.5338Inclination = 72.000

Variable Stars (Visual/CCD)

American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)

http://www.aavso.org

Double Stars

• Easy to do with CD/DSLR/Webcam equipment

• Many targets in one night

• Help is needed on neglected stars

Double Stars

Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS)

http://ad.usno.navy.mil/wds/wds.html

Yahoo News Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/binary-stars-uncensored/

Double Stars

a / a RA / Dec of the primaryb / b RA / Dec of the secondary

Double Stars

Double Stars

Publishing Your Results

Journal of Double Star Observationshttp://www.jdso.org/

The Webb Society Double Star Circularshttp://www.webbsociety.freeserve.co.uk/notes/doublest01.html

Science is FUN!

Society for Astronomical Sciences

http://www.SocAstroSci.org

Acknoweldgements

Funding for this research was provided by:

NASA grant NNG06GI32G

NASA grant NNX06AB30G

NSF grant AST-0607505

Documents

Science with Your Telescope Brian D. Warner Palmer Divide Observatory Space Science Institute