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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 |
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(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:
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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)
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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.
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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?
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Steve C
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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...
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Steve
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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? |
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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 |
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78405 2002 QW14 Report
All,
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Steve C
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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? |
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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:
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Re: Uploading Light Curves
Steve:
I know this is something that Dave Herald has been pushing for, and to date I haven't looked into it much. Wish I could help on the procedure, but I don't know it. However.... ever since PyMovie/PyOTE came out I have been including a screenshot of my light curve(s) with my report anyway - so a light curve will always be available for my observation. That said, it's my feeling that supplying just the sole light curve of my Target Star is "worthless" -- without including the light curve of at least one Comparison Star near the Target. The inclusion of a Comparison Star , I feel, notably adds "validity" to the claimed event. In PyMovie you can display both the plots of the Target Star and a "Composite Plot" [Target Star, Comparison Star(s), Background Measurement]. I "stack" them and then do a screen capture (Windows Key + Shift + S). I'll often "expand the Target Star plot a bit also. Below is a sample using an occultation I captured last night (July 2 UT). I really do feel at least 1 Comparison Star should (/must) be included in any light curve that is submitted -- but that's my 2-cents. George |
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Re: NEUS Informal Chat - Wed 6/26- Astrid
Roxanne:
Yes, you can use your Astrid in a (very) manual mode. In the upper left of the camera control interface, under the exposure & gain settings, just enter a short text [maybe something like "(5441)" so that your video file will have an ID for asteroid (5441), and then when you want to record, just press the circular button under the ID. It will change from a dark gray(?) to red to indicate you are recording. Press the same button again to halt the recording. This is what I do 95% of the time when I'm using Astrid "attended". I find entering info from an OW file 'nice' but actually a bit of a nuisance sometimes. ...And if you forget to put a new text in and press record again later, you WON'T overwrite the original file - since the time of the recording will also be in a part of the filename. Let us know if you have further questions. Maybe we can help. G |
George Viscome
Steve C
rickbria22
Kevin Hartnett
