Hi,
I am coming back to astronomy after a long time away, and would like to get involved in some citizen science. But, I'm not sure what path to go down since everything looks so interesting. I thought perhaps if I described the equipment I currently have, someone might provide some guidance as to what it might be best suited for, or perhaps with some additions, etc. In other words, does my equipment scream "do this!!" :-)
I have a 14" Celestron SCT and a German Equatorial mount. It is an f/10 telescope, and I also have a Hyperstar accessory that changes that to f1.9, as well as a Celestron adapter that changes it so f/6.3. I have 2 dedicated astronomy cameras. One is a planetary camera and the other a deep sky camera, both from ZWO. Both are one shot color cameras, so, not monochrome. Also a selection of eyepieces and other doodads to make life a bit easier. There is also a small finder scope and camera for tracking.
Would this setup lend itself to any particular use? Is it a matter of "if you added "this", then you could do "that"?
I'm happy to do the homework, just wondering if there's any particular direction I should look in.
Thanks for any help, and have a good evening.
Ron
Ron:
IMHO, you will use your system more often IF you set up your scope and camera with one configuration. Changing hardware just gives you less time to do science and makes it more difficult to convince yourself to get outside and image the sky. A permanent structure makes this even easier to do if you can afford it? If you're young and/or ambitious, this may not be a problem? :-)
Your scope (C14 f/10) on a GEM will do virtually any typical citizen science project. You don't need another scope. The reducer (f/6.3) will give you a larger field of view (FOV). If your camera is able to give a FOV of about 30 arcminutes at f/10, you are all set. A smaller FOV will work but if it is less than 15 arcmin, finding comps gets a little more difficult. Check this and perhaps set up the reducer permanently.
Get a monochrome camera and a filter (V). Yes, you can use your OSC camera if you learn how to separate the Bayer array channels. If you want to do most useful photometry, working with standard Johnson Cousins or Sloan filters is the best alternative. Again, don't let this recommendation keep you from starting with the OSC camera you have. You will just need to put more effort into data reduction.
If you have your guider set up, so much the better but perhaps not critical for most work if your mount is of good quality. Can you use exposures of 120 sec without trailing? That will get you many bright to moderate stars (<15 mag?).
Many observers enjoy seeing a real change in a light curve resulting from their nightly efforts. Short period variables and exoplanets are certainly going to provide that initial sense of satisfaction and FUN!
The equipment you already have will get you started in most projects. So give it a try, then refine your hardware as you get more experienced and hopefully excited!
Ken
Thanks so much for all…
Ken,
Thanks so much for all that information. It is incredibly helpful.
A couple of quick answers for you...
The telescope is permanently mounted right now. My "observatory" is a heavily modified Rubbermaid storage cabinet where I reinforced the body, and added a frame to floor to support a set of wheels. Each year, I make the setup a little bit easier because, exactly as you said, if it's easy to just walk out there and start doing things, I use it more often. I'm not quite to that point yet, but I'm working on it.
I'm in the process of re-installing everything after a minor calamity last year that resulted in the telescope having to be shipped for repairs. Winter here (suburbs outside of Chicago) slow things down a bit. Once everything is back up and running as I'd like, I should be able to get 120 seconds without trailing, but I've got guiding as well.
This sounds like great fun. I'm in the process of becoming an AAVSO member, and look forward to starting to dig into some training.
Thanks again. Ron
Seconding everything…
Ron,
Seconding everything Ken said. That C-14 should do you well. OSC will work, only one additional S/W step to debayer the images.
And if you want to do photometry on stars too close or below your southern horizon, remember that AAVSO has scopes available from USA to Australia that you can collect photometric images from! Check out the AAVSONet section.
I see you mentioned a ruggedized rubbermaid observatory. If you have the time and interest, a short writeup on it would go well in the Instrument and Equipment forum. The only issue is that for some obscure reason one can't insert images in the forums.
Peter
Hmmm, there were a couple of new comments here that I responded to, but they all seem to have dropped off the thread for some reason.
Well, I'll try to remember what my responses were....
Tom Calderwood asked me to provide some information about my sky conditions.
I live in the suburbs outside of Chicago, IL, USA, so our skies are not exactly immaculate. The sky maps say that our skies are around Bortle 8. The weather service says that we get, on average, a couple of clear nights each week, and a couple of partly cloudy nights. Of course, it varies with time of year and such. That's what I'm working with.
Sorry, unfortunately, I can't remember the other questions that were asked.
If you happen to come back here, and don't find your comment, I'm not sure what happened to it, but if you could repost it, I'd sure appreciate it.
Thanks.
Ron
Hello Ron,
I noticed that you were also having a conversation with Tom Calderwood and other people on the "Instrumentation & Equipment" forum here: https://www.aavso.org/newbie-question-about-equipment
Perhaps that's where the comments you were thinking of are? This is the "General Discussion Forum".
I realize that it isn't always easy to see which forum you are actually in and we have a lot of them! The full list is here: https://www.aavso.org/forum
I hope that helps,
Sara
Aww, Jeez, Sara, I am an idiot. Those are exactly the comments that I was looking for.
I am SO sorry for taking you your time. One of these days I will get my head screwed on straight, although my wife would probably tell you to not hold your breath. 😊
I will try to do better.
Oh, quick question. Is there a way to post pictures on the forums, or a method that members use? I was asked to post some information about how I store my telescope and pictures tell the best story.
You have a great day.
Ron
Hi Ron,
No need to apologize. The forum navigation on our site can be confusing.
Unfortunately, we no longer allow attachments to forum posts (except in the case of CHOICE courses). If there is something that you would like to share, you will have to put it on your own drive, DropBox account or some other place and add a link to your post. Alternatively, you can get in touch with another user privately by clicking on their username and using the contact form to start a conversation or exchange email addresses. Sorry for the inconvenience.
-Sara
Ahh, I see,…
Hi Sara,
Ahh, I see, about the attachments. I thought I might have been missing something because I’m taking the VStar course right now, and in that private forum, you can have attachments.
I could probably put things like picture on a Google drive or something like that and make it accessible. Maybe folks on the forums will have other suggestions as well.
Thanks again.
Ron