The AAVSO is now offering you the opportunity to purchase streaming videos of the popular CCD school taught by former Director Arne Henden during the summer of 2014.
Did you get a new CCD camera for Christmas? Find a great bargain at a swap table? Or just wonder why your photometry always has more scatter and offset than other observers? Then, this video set is just what you need! These videos were taken during the week-long CCD School held in August 2014 at AAVSO headquarters (the American Association of Variable Star Observers). AAVSO Director Arne Henden, a renowned photometrist, was the instructor, along with a guest presentation by George Silvis. Each day contained four 90-minute presentations, covering everything from what a CCD sensor is through use of science cameras and analysis of the resultant data. Powerpoint is used throughout, along with some software demonstrations and examples of equipment. There is something for everybody in this lecture series!
Topics include:
| Introduction | Flat Fielding | Photometry Concepts & Suggested Reading |
| The Good and Bad of Science | CCD Camera Selection & Calibration | Transformation |
| Astrophysics | Atmosphere | Advanced Procedures |
| CCD Detectors | Its All About Time | Project Review |
| Filter Systems | Statistics | Curious Cases |
| Bias & Dark Current | Image Processing | Point Spread Function Fitting |
The videos lessons are available for individual purchase or as a complete package. Once you make a payment, you will be emailed a link which can be used again and again to access your video(s) streaming online with no time limit (be sure to bookmark the links for ease of access!). Since the video files themselves are so large (4-7 GB) it was felt that streaming them was the best option. You can also access the videos via your smart phone or tablet by downloading the Gumroad app (versions available on iTunes and Google Play).
To purchase streaming videos:
Since the pricing is different for members of the AAVSO and non-members, please click the link that applies to you:
Alumni of CCD Schools who attended in person in 2012, 2013 or 2014 are entitled to a 50% reduction in cost. Please contact AAVSO HQ if you were one of these students and wish to purchase videos.
Please note that AAVSO Members will receive a 30% discount. If you join the AAVSO now, you can benefit from the members-only pricing and still save money overall!
Supplementary material:
Please follow this link to download practice CCD images that complement the videos
About the instructor, Arne Henden:
Dr. Arne Henden obtained his Astronomy Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1985. He began his professional career much earlier, working for Dikewood Corporation in the early 1970’s, writing sophisticated physics modeling programs running on high-speed mainframe computers. After graduation, Dr. Henden developed an image processing facility at Goddard Space Flight Center, wrote instrument control software for the astronomy department of The Ohio State University, created the acquisition and analysis software for instruments at the U. S. Naval Observatory – Flagstaff Station, helped define and monitor the development of large-format NIR imaging sensors, and from 2005 to 2015 was Director of the AAVSO. His scientific endeavors cover anything variable or requiring unique imaging techniques. He has authored or coauthored hundreds of scientific papers, as well as writing the book Astronomical Photometry in collaboration with Dr. Ronald Kaitchuck. He has given worldwide workshops on CCD sensors and photometry techniques. Although officially in retirement, he still has responsibility for completing the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS) photometric calibration survey.