Proceedings for the 26th Annual Conference of the Society for Astronomical Sciences Symposium on Telescope Science Editors: Brian D. Warner Jerry Foote David A. Kenyon Dale Mais May 22-24, 2007 Northwoods Resort, Big Bear Lake, CA Reprints of Papers Distribution of reprints of papers by any author of a given paper, either before or after the publication of the proceedings is allowed under the following guidelines. 1. The copyright remains with the author(s). 2. Under no circumstances may anyone other than the author(s) of a paper distribute a reprint without the express written permission of all author(s) of the paper. 3. Limited excerpts may be used in a review of the reprint as long as the inclusion of the excerpts is NOT used to make or imply an endorsement by the Society for Astronomical Sciences of any product or service. Notice The preceding “Reprint of Papers” supersedes the one that appeared in the original print version Disclaimer The acceptance of a paper for the SAS proceedings can not be used to imply or infer an endorsement by the Society for Astronomical Sciences of any product, service, or method mentioned in the paper. Published by the Society for Astronomical Sciences, Inc. First printed: May 2007 ISBN: 0-9714693-6-9 Table of Contents Table of Contents PREFACE 7 CONFERENCE SPONSORS 9 Submitted Papers THE OLIN EGGEN PROJECT ARNE HENDEN 13 AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL ASTRONOMER COLLABORATION EXOPLANET RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND TECHNIQUES RON BISSINGER 17 EXOPLANET OBSERVING TIPS BRUCE L. GARY 23 STUDY OF CEPHEID VARIABLES AS A JOINT SPECTROSCOPY PROJECT THOMAS C. SMITH, KENNETH E. KISSELL, 27 LHIRES III HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTROGRAPH OLIVIER THIZY 31 PRECISION UBVJH SINGLE CHANNEL PHOTOMETRY OF EPSILON AURIGAE JEFFREY L. HOPKINS, ROBERT E. STENCEL 37 A NEW PROGRAM TO SEARCH FOR FLARE EVENTS IN LONG PERIOD VARIABLE LIGHTCURVES: ARCHIVED GNAT DATA ERIC R. CRAINE, ROGER B. CULVER, ADAM L. KRAUS, ROY A. TUCKER, DOUGLAS WALKER, ROBERT F. WING 45 BVRI CCD PHOTOMETRY OF THETA-1 ORIONIS A JEFFREY L. HOPKINS, GENE A. LUCAS 51 THE HALLOWEEN STELLAR OUTBURST OF 2006 – A NEARBY MICROLENS? ROBERT KOFF, JOSEPH PATTERSON, THOMAS KRAJCI 57 PARAMETER SOLUTIONS FOR THE SYSTEM AP LEONIS LEE F. SNYDER, JOHN LAPHAM 61 PHOTOMETRY WITH DSLR CAMERAS JOHN E. HOOT 67 CCD VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHY AND ANALYSIS OF COMET SCHWASSMAN-WACHMAN 73P FRAGMENTS B & C USING THE LOW-COST MEADE DSI CAMERA STEVE GIFFORD 73 Table of Contents INITIAL EFFORTS AT ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE INVERSION BRIAN D. WARNER 79 VARIABLE STAR PHOTOMETRY AT WEST CHALLOW OBSERVATORY DAVID BOYD 89 SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY OF ASTRONOMICAL DATA P. R. MCCULLOUGH 95 DEVELOPING AN UNDERGRADUATE ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM RUSSELL M. GENET 99 IMAGING AUTOMATION JERRY D. HORNE 103 FAST PHOTOMETRY JOHN MENKE 111 Poster Papers DIFFERENTIAL CCD PHOTOMETRY USING MULTIPLE COMPARISON STARS DAVID BOYD 119 GALILEO’S LEGACY RUSSELL M. GENET 127 TIME-SERIES ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOMETRY CONFERENCE RUSSELL M. GENET 129 AN AMATEUR ASTRONOMER’S INITIAL ASTEROID LIGHTCURVES CHARLES GREEN 131 FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS OF GNAT MG1 SURVEY STARS: A SUMMER COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT NOLL ROBERTS 135 ECLIPSING BINARY SYSTEM CU SAGITTAE LEE F. SNYDER, [email protected] 137 ECLIPSING BINARY SYSTEMS AN TAU, V506 OPH, V609 AQL, AND RV TRI JOHN LAPHAM, LEE F. SNYDER 141 A PELLICLE AUTOGUIDER FOR THE DSS-7 SPECTROGRAPH GARY M. COLE 153 Preface Preface This year, we start our second quarter century. Unlike a 25th anniversary being “silver,” we couldn’t find one for 26 years. So, we’ll take the liberty of calling this the “Silicon Anniversary” for the Society. Why Sili- con? Because so much of the work being done by amateurs and professionals relies on CCD cameras and com- puters, where silicon is the prime ingredient in the chips in both that make them do their magic. We have, indeed, entered a “golden” era for astronomy. Not for many years has amateur involvement been so critical to the advancement of at least this branch of science. Amateurs have capable resources and, most important, the time and flexibility of schedule that allows them observing opportunities not always available to professionals. Of course, on the other side of the coin, professionals have access to much more sophisticated equipment that can go fainter, deeper, and finer. The two groups working together are a very powerful force in unlocking the secrets of the Universe. The Symposium on Telescope Science, originally under the direction of the IAPPP and since 2003 by the Society for Astronomical Sciences, has been held in Southern California since 1982 but not always in its current location of Big Bear Lake, California. The timing and location of the meeting are not by chance. The Sympo- sium is meant to be a lead-in to one of the biggest star parties and astronomical swap meets in the world, the annual RTMC Astronomy Expo, held just a few miles from Big Bear on the weekend following the Sympo- sium. Through the three days of the Symposium on Telescope Science, the Society hopes to foster new friend- ships and new collaborations among amateur and professional astronomers. Our goals are the personal scientific advancement of Society members, the development of the amateur-professional community, and promoting research that increases our understanding of the Universe. It takes many people to have a successful conference, starting with the Conference Committee. This year the committee members are: Lee Snyder Robert Stephens Robert Gill Dave Kenyon Dale Mais Brian D. Warner Jerry Foote There are many others involved in a successful conference. The editors take time to note the many volun- teers who put in considerable time and resources. We also thank the staff and management of the Northwoods Resort in Big Bear Lake, CA, for their efforts at accommodating the Society and our activities. Membership dues alone do not cover the costs of the Society and annual conference. We owe a great debt of gratitude to our corporate sponsors: Sky and Telescope, Software Bisque, Santa Barbara Instruments Group, and Apogee Instruments, Inc. Finally, there would be no conference without our speakers and poster presenters. We thank them for mak- ing the time to prepare and present the results of their research. Brian D. Warner Jerry Foote Dale Mais Dave Kenyon 7 Preface 8 Conference Sponsors Conference Sponsors The conference organizers thank the following companies for their significant contributions and financial support. Without them, this conference would not be possible. Apogee Instruments, Inc. Manufactures of astronomical and scientific imaging cameras http://www.ccd.com Santa Barbara Instruments Group Makers of astronomical instrumentation http://www.sbig.com Sky Publishing Corporation Publishers of Sky and Telescope Magazine http://skyandtelescope.com Software Bisque Developers of TheSky Astronomy Software and the Paramount Telescope Mount http://www.bisque.com 9 Conference Sponsors 1 0 Submitted Papers 11 1 2 Olin Eggen Project – Henden The Olin Eggen Project Arne Henden American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) [email protected] Abstract Olin Eggen was one of the most prolific professional observers in the Southern Hemisphere. Over a 50-year ca- reer, he collected hundreds of thousands of photoelectric observations. This paper describes an ambitious pro- ject started by the AAVSO to digitize his observational archive. 1. Introduction Eggen moved to the Southern Hemisphere in 1966, assuming Directorship of Mt. Stromlo Obser- Olin Jeuck Eggen (July 9, 1919 – October 2, vatory and pursuing the development of the AAT 1998) received his Ph.D. in astrophysics from the large reflector. He moved to Cerro Tololo Inter- University of Wisconsin (Madison) in 1948 (only the American Observatory (CTIO) in 1977 where he second one awarded by UW), working with Joel stayed until he passed away 20 years later. Stebbins and Albert Whitford on the lightcurves of Olin Eggen was a vice-president of the RAS, a Algol. His seminal paper in 1962 with Lynden-Bell life member of the ASP, was awarded the American and Sandage (“Evidence from the Motions of Old Astronomical Society Henry Norris Russell Lecture- Stars that the Galaxy Collapsed”, Eggen et al. 1962) ship in 1985 and the Pawsey Memorial Lectureship is his most cited paper (both Lynden-Bell and of the Australian Institute of Physics. The Australian Sandage later were awarded the Bruce medal by the National University has established a scholarship ASP, partly based on this paper). Eggen also intro- program in his name; the CTIO library is named after duced the concept of moving (or kinematic) groups Eggen. of stars. A photograph of Eggen, Lynden-Bell and He was an extremely prolific researcher, publish- Sandage is given in Figure 1 (from the PASP obitu- ing some 400 research articles over his 50-year ca- ary: Eggen 2001). reer, with articles being written up until his death in 1998 from a heart attack. He worked with many of the notable astronomers over the last half of the 20th century, including Sandage, Lynden-Bell, Greenstein, Herbig and others. He was well known as a careful researcher, never observing unless it was perfectly clear, and always substantiating any claim he made in a paper. However, Eggen was not without contro- versy, having a gruff personality, always willing to voice his opinion on a topic, even resigning his membership in the IAU around 1970. We will leave his most famous episode, “the Neptune file,” for other historians to comment about! 2. Eggen's Legacy Eggen was well known as a proponent of small- telescope science. However, what the AAVSO is most interested in is that Eggen published only a small part of the enormous amount of data he col- Figure 1. Photograph of Olin Eggen, Donald Lynden- lected over his lifetime.