|
Re: Multi-site Input in Occult4
I have family in town and not be available Tue-Wed-Thu this week, but I'm not critical for the Occult discussion.
?
Steve C
?
|
|
Re: Multi-site Input in Occult4
Steve - I just offered it as an example - not as a suggested object to observe.
But actually, IF such an object were a slow moving TNO, with a l-o-n-g duration event, then you could do exposures with your Astrid of 1 to several seconds and you might reach mag 15.5. (That's why I run my Occult4 searches to mag 16 Target Stars). [With my 14.5-inch I can get to mag 16.4 with a 1 second exposure. My 12 will get mag 15.5 in 1 second - but of course you need multiple data points in the drop]. As it's been mentioned a few times now, let's plan on having a NEUS chat session on Occult4 somewhat soon. I'll look ahead and pick a nite that will be cloudy for all. A later topic might be doing mobile observations and picking sites. ?? -G |
|
Re: Multi-site Input in Occult4
George,
?
That one is a full magnitude plus fainter than I've even tried (plus the low elevation)--I'm pretty doubtful I'd get anything meaningful from it.
?
?
Steve
?
?
?
?
|
|
Re: Thoughts?
Hmm...tough call...other factors I'd likely be "weighing" are the cloud cover throughout the area of my observing sites, the safety of the remote sites, whether either occultation was more highly valuable for any reason, and my energy level and commitments the next day.? Understand that from me, these?thoughts are more academic than experiencial, as I don't really have a great mobile setup at present. I have to cannibalize pieces from my home observatory (a C8 SCT/ATLAS mount on wheels) and use them on a smaller scope - something I'm reluctant to do.The C8 SCT on wheels is WAY TOO MUCH WORK to disassemble and reassemble at a remote site.?? ...Kevin? ? ? On Sun, Jul 7, 2024 at 11:45?AM Steve C via <conard=[email protected]> wrote:
|
|
Re: Multi-site Input in Occult4
Elizabeth & All:
Be glad to do an Occult4 session. But there is a LOT involved with Occult4, so for anyone interested you probably should familiarize yourself with the past posts I did... the topics are Occult 101, 201, and 301. A least a read-thru so the details in even a basic chat won't be a bit much. BTW: For planning tonight's adventures I'm sorting thru a list of 108 Occult4-generated potential events. It becomes a research project. G |
|
Multi-site Input in Occult4
Oc-folks:
Just quickly... Whilst making up plans for tonight I ran across a good example of why it's nice to input the Lat & Long of other's sites into Occult4. (I can explain how to do this in a later chat). In short, in the 2 attached images you can see the sites of other NEUS observers (the "dots"), and when the path is plotted it becomes instantly obvious if the path you are considering passes by anyone else. Here you can see an event I was considering also passes near Steve C and Michel M. If set up correctly you can even access Google Earth from Occult4 and zoom in (way in!) to see how close a path actually runs. BTW, this event is a bit too faint (maybe?) - 15.5 combined, Max dur of 1.06 sec. Steve -- I'll be responding to your "Thoughts?" post.... when I have spare moment. Now back to tonight's planning. (Got 1 Pos last night). George |
|
(2173) Maresjev on 19 July
This amazing good event is about a week and a half away.? Looks like we've never managed to get any occultation data on this one.? Details:
?
Star Mag:? 9.4
Mag Drop:? 7.2
Max Duration:? 4.3 sec
Alt/Az:? 50 @ 153 deg
Time:? 8:25 UT (4:25 EDT)
?
Path:? Just south of Detroit, just south of Erie (PA), Warren (PA), Cherry Springs State Park, Scranton, Middletown (NY), West Point, and just south of New Haven.
?
Currently there are 7 stations for this event--Steve M in Minnesota plus 6 of us from OccultNEUS.? As it gets closer, I may move my mobile stations to get a better spread of chords.? Anyone else thinking of trying this one?
?
?
Steve C
|
|
Thoughts?
I'm curious what others would have done with the situation I had last night.? I had two events 20 minutes apart, both with high probabilities from my home observatory.? The first was quite faint, so unlikely I could get data with my C-5/Astrid set-ups--and I'm getting too old to haul around my C9.25 for remote events.? The second was just bright enough for the C-5/Astrids, but short.? So I could have either (without multiple 2 AM car rides) observed both from home getting single chords (no other observers), or only observed the second but possibly get 2 or 3 chords on that event.? I chose the two single chord option, and did get two positives.? I'm thinking in hindsight I should have gone for multiple chords on the second event...
?
?
Steve
?
|
|
Re: Scope Collimation
George covered this¡ but to add my two cents, I have used multiple dobs up to a 20 inch obsession (Westchester Amateur Astronomers) that I added digital ¡®Push To¡¯ setting circles to¡ and the best method is with a laser.
You can get away with the Cheshire eyepiece for smaller scopes, but for 12¡± you¡¯re going to need a laser. We also carefully modified the mirror strap and made certain the centering pins actually centered the mirror.? Then, we changed all the polls and even changed the cage clamps. It was surprising how crude that expensive scope was made. Rick Bria? |
|
Re: Scope Collimation
Kevin:
Not sure what model you have and what you mean by "tests", but I have a 12-inch Sky-Watcher 300P GoTo, WiFi controllable scope. It gets transported A LOT - in the back of a pickup, and I rarely, if ever, run into collimation issues. I transport the OTA laying on its side in the original large cardboard box it was shipped in (see attached). I put 5-inches of soft foam in the box, under the OTA to absorb any sudden jolts. After you collimate the primary, there are "lock-down" knobs next to the collimation knobs that you tighten down. This "locks the collimation in place". After I lock down my collimation, I seem to have little to no collimation issues. Are your mirror clips loose? My 2ndary has never needed re-collimation in the several years I've had it. I do my collimation with just a standard laser collimator - see attached. Also.... If yours is a GoTo and WiFi capable, forget the bulky SynScan hand controller and use the SynScan app for Android phones - and control the scope via the WiFi app (it's MUCH easier). After a "north level", and 2 star alignment, I just type in the RA & DEC of my Target Star and the scope almost always slews itself to within 1 camera FOV of the Target. Other "mods" I did.... * I designed my own motorized focuser (via a gear motor) * I added a 2nd place to put the finder - on the metal tube that also holds the mirror * Added resistors to the back of the 2ndary as an anti-dew unit * Stuck a bubble level to the base * Built a 3-wheel dolly to move it around the yard, and out to my truck (rough weight of the scope is about 100lbs - 50 for the OTA, 50 for the base). The dolly saves my back! George |
|
78405 2002 QW14 Report
All,
?
I had been planning to run three stations for this event last night.? Bob D out in Illinois was also on the path. The original plan was to set-up at home with my observatory and two Astrid C-5 remote stations.? One was intended to be at our local airport and the other at Cherry Spring State Park (the airport is on the way to CSSP).? This would have given a good spread, with the airport and CSSP bridging Bob's home station.
?
When I looked at it again yesterday afternoon, I realized that there was not enough time after sunset to set-up all three and do the driving in between.? I cancelled CSSP and inserted another station about halfway between the airport and Bob's line.? That would only involve a less than 5 minute drive instead of a 35 minutes one.
?
My go-to forecasts said mostly clear skies, although some others were not as good.? At sunset, the skies were mostly cloudy (who'd think it!).? I sat in my observatory waiting for enough clearing and darkness to allow me to punch through--this took until about 9:30 local time (event was at 10:52).? Because of a potential meridian flip, I opted to prepoint the C14 and just did the math to make sure I'd be on field at the right time (once again, math worked).? I was out of the observatory at 9:45 and on the road.
?
When I got to the airport site, it was 100% clouds to the south, but a lot of clearing was visible to the west (where twilight was still very visible).? I set the Astrid/C-5 up and waited for the clear area to get there.? This happened about 15 minutes before event time.? I debated trying to run for the third station, but that's when I tend to break things (unintentionally)--so I punted and stayed put.? It was clear for the event there, and I was able to see the ~0.9 second blink live and in-person.
?
When I got home, I checked the observatory, and found it was in/out of high clouds at event time.? But the large aperture won out, and there was a very clean ~1.0 second blink there as well.
?
The two stations were about 1.4 km apart on the path, but the shorter event was predicted to be closer to center.? If I knew there would only be two chords and had the time, I would have increased the distance between them.
?
Multi-stations are becoming less challenging as I do it more--for good events like this one, I'm going to routinely try for three assuming it runs close to my observatory.? FYI, my Astrid/C-5's can get to about mag 12.3 for clear skies and moderate elevation angle--at 10 Hz, this was 11.7.
?
?
Steve C
?
?
?
|
|
Re: Uploading Light Curves
Like Kevin, I have been sending new light curves from the PyOTE VizieR tab, as requested by Dave Herald a while back. Do it after the North American report form and it will populate the Light Curve information automatically.
I have not yet gone back and done that with past positives. The result is a very simple light curve. No reference, and no details. Rick Bria? |
|
Re: Uploading Light Curves
I have the same issue/question as Steve.? ...Kevin On Tue, Jul 2, 2024 at 9:54?AM Steve C via <conard=[email protected]> wrote:
|
Steve C
George Viscome
Kevin Hartnett
rickbria22
