EB observing generally involves the following:
- identify a star to observe based on predictions of when eclipses are going to occur
- obtain a series of images, using your camera and telescope, from several hours before, until several hours after the eclipse
- process the images in the usual manner (dark subtraction, flatfielding)
- perform aperture photometry on all the images, yielding a time series of brightness versus time. Differential photometry through a single (usually V) filter is commonly used.
- determine the time of minimum (ToM) of the time series, i.e. the center-point of the dip in brightness, which is the time of the eclipse
- apply "heliocentric correction" to the ToM
- optionally analyze the ToM in the context of previous observations ("O-C Diagram")
- publish and archive the ToM and time series data, for use by researchers and future observers.
The other "How-to" pages provide somewhat more detail about these steps.
Next: how to observe EBs.