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[Click here to go to the 111th Annual Meeting main page]
Advanced Use of AstroImageJ for Exoplanet Observing Workshop
Registration closes October 25 (or before, if the workshop fills up). Please note: this is an in-person only workshop exclusive to AAVSO members who have also registered to attend the in-person Meeting.
When: November 7, 2022, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MST Where: In-person at the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, AZ, USA Description: This workshop will provide attendees with the opportunity to hone their exoplanet observing skills using AstroImageJ (AIJ), the popular exoplanet observing software used by both professional and amateur exoplanet observers. This workshop is an “in-person” version of AAVSO’s CHOICE course of the same name. Participants will not only learn advanced uses of AIJ, but will also come to understand the hidden mysteries of how exoplanet transit modeling is done, what detrend parameters are all about, and other underlying exoplanet observing and analysis concepts. In addition, the workshop will review some of the new features of AIJ Version 5.0, such as automatic comparison star and detrend parameter selection. A working knowledge of AstroImageJ is a preferred, but not a necessary prerequisite to this workshop. In advance of the workshop, participants should read “A Practical Guide to Exoplanet Observing." |
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Instructor: Dennis Conti, PhD
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Dennis is the Chair of the AAVSO's Exoplanet Observing Section and is an AAVSO Board Member. Dennis is a retired telecommunications professional and an amateur astronomer with a strong interest in exoplanet research. In 2015, he founded the AAVSO’s Exoplanet Observing Section, and has continued as section leader since. Notable accomplishments in that role include: establishment of the CHOICE courses on Exoplanet Observing (200 participants to date), architect of the AAVSO Exoplanet Database, participation in a large pro-am Hubble exoplanet collaboration, and participation in the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission. Dennis has worked closely with the TESS Science Team to qualify AAVSO members as official participants in the TESS ground-based follow-up program, with over 26 AAVSO members now a part of that program. He also developed the TESS submission guidelines and the software for detecting false positives, |
| both of which have benefited the entire TESS team. Dennis is co-author of over 25 exoplanet discovery papers, and has given presentations at AAVSO meetings and its 2020-2021 webinar series. For his contributions to TESS and other exoplanet activities, Dennis was awarded the American Astronomical Society’s 2020 Chambliss Amateur Astronomy Achievement Award and the 2018 AAVSO Director's Award. |