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Proceedings for the 31st Annual Conference of the Society for Astronomical Sciences Joint Meeting of The Society for Astronomical Sciences The American Association of Variable Star Observers Symposium on Telescope Science Editors: Brian D. Warner Robert K. Buchheim Jerry L. Foote Dale Mais May 22-24, 2012 Big Bear Lake, CA Disclaimer The acceptance of a paper for the SAS proceedings can not be used to imply nor should it be inferred as an en- dorsement by the Society for Astronomical Sciences or the American Association of Variable Star Observers of any product, service, or method mentioned in the paper. Published by the Society for Astronomical Sciences, Inc. Rancho Cucamonga, CA First printing: May 2012 Photo Credits: Front Cover: NGC 7293, Alson Wong Back Cover: Sagittarius Milky Way, Alson Wong Table of Contents PREFACE I CONFERENCE SPONSORS II SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE III PRESENTATION PAPERS 1 PHOTOMETRY OF HUBBLE’S FIRST CEPHEID IN THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY, M31 3 BILL GOFF, MATT TEMPLETON, RICHARD SABO, TIM CRAWFORD, MICHAEL COOK BK LYNCIS: THE OLDEST OLD NOVA? OR: ARCHAEO-ASTRONOMY 101 7 JONATHAN KEMP, JOE PATTERSON, ENRIQUE DE MIGUEL, GEORGE ROBERTS, TUT CAMPBELL, FRANZ-J. HAMBSCH, TOM KRAJCI, SHAWN DVORAK, ROBERT A. KOFF, ETIENNE MORELLE, MICHAEL POTTER, DAVID CEJUDO, JOE ULOWETZ, DAVID BOYD, RICHARD SABO, JOHN ROCK, ARTO OKSANEN PHOTOMETRIC MONITORING BY AMATEURS IN SUPPORT OF A YY GEM PROFESSIONAL OBSERVING PROJECT 17 BRUCE L. GARY, DR. LESLIE H. HEBB, JERROLD L. FOOTE, CINDY N. FOOTE, ROBERTO ZAMBELLI, JOAO GREGORIO, F. JOSEPH GARLITZ, GREGOR SRDOC, TAKESHI YADA, ANTHONY I. AYIOMAMITIS THE LOWELL AMATEUR RESEARCH INITIATIVE 25 DEIDRE ANN HUNTER, JOHN MENKE, BRUCE KOEHN, MICHAEL BECKAGE, KLAUS BRASCH, SUE DURLING, STEPHEN LESHIN LUNAR METEOR IMPACT MONITORING AND THE 2013 LADEE MISSION 29 BRIAN CUDNIK FIRST ATTEMPTS AT ASTEROID SHAPE MODELING 37 MAURICE CLARK DIURNAL PARALLAX DETERMINATIONS OF ASTEROID DISTANCES USING ONLY BACKYARD OBSERVATIONS FROM A SINGLE STATION 45 EDUARDO MANUEL ALVAREZ, ROBERT K. BUCHHEIM ON THE MAXIMUM AMPLITUDE OF HARMONICS OF AN ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE 59 ALAN HARRIS PV CEPHEI AND GYULBUDAGHIAN’S VARIABLE NEBULA 65 DAVID BOYD WHY VISUAL OBSERVATIONS OF MU CEPHEI ARE IMPORTANT 69 DAVID G. TURNER ROAD (REMOTE OBSERVATORY ATACAMA DESERT): INTENSIVE OBSERVATIONS OF VARIABLE STARS 75 FRANZ-JOSEF HAMBSCH ER URSAE MAJORIS: A DWARF NOVA WITH SURPRISES 79 ENRIQUE DE MIGUEL, JOE PATTERSON, JONATHAN KEMP, WILLIAM STEIN, GEORGE ROBERTS, T. CAMPBELL, FRANZ-J. HAMBSCH, TOM KRAJCI, SHAWN DVORAK, ROBERT A. KOFF, ETIENNE MORELLE, MICHAEL POTTER, DAVID CEJUDO, STEVE BRADY, KENNETH MENZIES SMALL TELESCOPE SPECTROSCOPY OF EPSILON AURIGAE 89 JEFFREY L. HOPKINS OBSERVATIONS USING A BESPOKE MEDIUM RESOLUTION FAST SPECTROGRAPH 97 JOHN MENKE HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY FOR THE AMATEUR: EXPERIENCES WITH THE LHIRES III SPECTROGRAPH 105 STANLEY A. GORODENSKI EXTREMELY LOW-COST POINT-SOURCE SPECTROPHOTOMETRY (ELCPSS) 113 JOHN BEAVER, CHARLES CONGER SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF ALGOL DURING ECLIPSE CYCLE 121 JONATHAN BOYD, KODIAK DARLING, ELISE SPARKS, LAJEANA WEST, DOUGLAS WALKER A FRESH LOOK AT THE ALGOL-LIKE ECLIPSING BINARY, AO SER 127 KEVIN B. ALTON, ANDREJ PRŠA THE LIGHT AT NIGHT MAPPING PROJECT: LAN MAP 1, THE TUCSON BASIN 139 E.R. CRAINE, B.L. CRAINE, P.R. CRAINE, E.M. CRAINE OBSERVING DOUBLE STARS 147 RUSSELL M. GENET, B.J. FULTON, FEDERICA B. BIANCO, JOHN MARTINEZ, JOHN BAXTER, MARK BREWER, JOSEPH CARRO, SARAH COLLINS, CHRIS ESTRADA, JOLYON JOHNSON, AKASH SALAM, VERA WALLEN, NAOMI WARREN, THOMAS C. SMITH, JAMES D. ARMSTRONG, STEVE MCGAUGHEY, JOHN PYE, KAKKALA MOHANAN, REBECCA CHURCH AMATEUR IMAGE PIPELINE PROCESSING USING PYTHON PLUS PYRAF 159 WAYNE GREEN HIGH TIME RESOLUTION ASTRONOMY OR HIGH SPEED PHOTOMETRY 165 GARY A. VANDER HAAGEN PHOTON COUNTING – ONE MORE TIME 177 RICHARD H. STANTON TRACKING BOLIDES, 3D VISUALIZATION AND DATA 185 THOMAS G. KAYE, ROBERT CRAWFORD, MARK BOWLING, JOHN KALAS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR MEASURING ASTEROID OCCULTATIONS WITH DSLR AND CCD CAMERAS 191 JOHN E. HOOT PAPERS WITHOUT PRESENTATION AND POSTERS 201 A VIRTUAL ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH MACHINE IN NO TIME (VARMINT) 203 JOHN BEAVER THE CONFUSING CASE OF 16666 LIROMA 209 ROBERT K. BUCHHEIM, JOHN RUTHROFF STUDENT PROJECT AND CURRICULUM BASED ON LIGHT AT NIGHT DATA COLLECTION 215 ERIN M. CRAINE, JENNIFER C. DEBENEDETTI ENHANCING THE EDUCATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL EXPERIENCE OF NON-SCIENCE MAJORS WITH THE USE OF AN IPAD AND TELESCOPE 219 ROBERT M. GILL, MICHAEL J. BURIN THE ROTATIONAL PERIOD OF THE SUN USING THE DOPPLER SHIFT OF THE HYDROGEN ALPHA SPECTRAL LINE 225 ROBERT M. GILL FAST SPECTROMETER CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING 229 JOHN MENKE ADILS: AN AMATEUR DUAL IMAGING LITTROW SPECTROGRAPH 233 WAYNE GREEN HIGH ACCURACY RA/DEC ENCODERS FOR A CA 1890 GEM 234 WAYNE GREEN A SINGLE BEARM POLARIMETER 235 JERRY D. HORNE Preface Preface We welcome the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to the 31st annual SAS Sympo- sium on Telescope Science. The first joint meeting between the Societry for Astronomical Sciences and the AAVSO, held in 2009, was a tremendous success, bringing in presenters from around the world and in record numbers. Current plans are for the AAVSO to make this a biannual affair, merging its annual Spring meeting in even-numbered years with the SAS Symposium. The SAS Board of Directors is looking forward to a long and rewarding partnership that brings together some of the world’s best backyard and professional astronomers to share their experiences and expertise in the name of promoting astronomical research to advance our knowledge of the Universe. Not everyone wants to give a presentation but they still want to contribute to the Symposium by submitting a paper for the proceedings. So, this year, partly because of the unprecedented number of papers received, the proceedings include a section not just for poster papers but “papers without presentation.” We may try to do this in future years as well but, as always, our first goal is to get presenters who also submit papers. The live presen- tations are vital for spurring discussion both during Q&A and in groups outside the formal paper sessions. It takes many people to have a successful conference, starting with the Conference Committee. This year the regular committee members are: Lee Snyder Robert D. Stephens Robert Gill Jerry L. Foote Cindy Foote Margaret Miller Brian D. Warner Robert K. Buchheim Dale Mais There are many others involved in a successful conference. The editors take time to note the many volunteers 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 fully 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, PlaneWave Instruments, Apogee Instruments, Inc., and DC-3 Dreams. Thank you! Finally, there would be no conference without our speakers and poster presenters and those sitting attentively in the audience (you’re not doing your email right now, are you?). We thank them for making this one of the pre- miere pro-am events in the world. Brian D. Warner Robert K. Buchheim Jerry L. Foote Dale Mais 2012 April 27 i Conference Sponsors Conference Sponsors The conference organizers thank the following companies for their significant contributions and financial sup- port. Without them, this conference would not be possible. Apogee Instruments, Inc. Manufacturers of astronomical and scientific imaging cameras http://www.ccd.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 Santa Barbara Instruments Group Makers of astronomical instrumentation http://www.sbig.com PlaneWave Instruments Makers of the CDK line of telescopes http://www.planewaveinstruments.com:80/index.php DC-3 Dreams Software Developers of ACP Observatory Control Software http://www.dc3.com/ ii Symposium Schedule Symposium Schedule The schedule is subject to change without notice. Meeting Courtesies Please turn off cell phones, pagers, and alarms during presentations. Please be kind to the presenters and wait until breaks to check your email and browse the Internet. Yeah, we know. Please be considerate of those in the meeting room near the wall with the vendor’s room. If visiting the vendor’s room during presentations, please keep voices down and do not use the direct entrance between the vendor’s and meeting rooms. Enter the meeting room from the hallway. If you do not want your presentation to be recorded (video/audio) and/or not posted on the SAS web site, please let us know before your talk begins. Thanks! SAS Program Committee iii Symposium Schedule iv Presentation Papers 1 2 Hubble’s First M31 Cepheid – Goff et al. Photometry of Hubble’s First Cepheid in the Andromeda Galaxy, M31 Bill Goff AAVSO 13508 Monitor Lane Sutter Creek, CA 95685 [email protected] Matt Templeton AAVSO 49 Bay State Rd. Cambridge, MA 02138, USA [email protected] Richard Sabo AAVSO [email protected] Tim Crawford AAVSO [email protected] Michael Cook AAVSO [email protected] Abstract In the 1920s Hubble discovered a variable star in the Andromeda Galaxy, M31 which later was revealed to be a Cepheid type variable. Hubble’s observations confirmed that M31 was indeed at remote star system separate from our own Milky Way. We present here recent photometry of this object made during 2010 and 2011. These observations were made by members of the AAVSO at the request of the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Heritage Project. Over 300 Rc, V and unfiltered observations have been made. These are the first observations in current times to establish a period for the object. The period of this Cepheid as measured here is in agreement with the earlier data from 1920s and 1950s.