1 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY HANDBOOK Joan Genebriera Rev 16/08/2021 ASTROPRIORAT OBSERVATORY quid pro quo If you find errors in this manual please let me know. Thank you Astropriorat Observatory 2 PREFACE Cerro Paranal, Chile 2009 In a first intention, these notes were created for my own use as “field notes” not intended to substitute a good textbook on operational or astronomical instrumentation. Therefore, I apologize to the reader if they seem sometimes a little “cryptic”. Just because of that they might be useful to those who seek practical details not found elsewhere. The reader will note that mention is frequently made of the Tacande observatory, La Palma. This is because a large part of the manual was produced during the period of use of this observatory. Now the observatory is located in Catalonia, continental Spain These notes are the result of over 15 years of collecting my own data, except when specifically quoted as the work of other persons or institutions. These notes are freely available, but for the same ethical principle please cite this source for partial or total reproduction. In my opinion, the new "frontiers" of amateur astronomy are occultation of stars by Solar System objects, spectroscopy, photometric detection of exoplanets and radio astronomy. This exciting work requires a larger knowledge and equipment, but the results are worth the effort. I want to thank my colleague and friend Boris Fritz for his contribution of “DEEP SKY VISUAL OBSERVATION" to these notes. Joan Genebriera, June 2010 Astropriorat Observatory 3 OBJECT INDEX Astropriorat Observatory location characteristics.....................................6 I Visual observation Visual observation of deep sky ...................................................................... 7 Observation techniques .................................................................................. 9 Limiting magnitude ....................................................................................... 10 Secrets of image enlargement ...................................................................... .. 12 How to take notes and make drawings .......................................................... 13 Filters ............................................................................................................. 14 II Wide sky photography Photographic lenses…………………………………………………………. 16 Time Lapse and astronomy nature ................................................................ 19 III Telescopes RC 406 Visual observation …………............................................................ 26 Telescopes RC 406 + CCD............................................................................. 29 Auxiliary telescope ........................................................................................ 32 CCD basics ................................................................................................... 35 Noise ............................................................................................................. 36 Residual Bulk Image ...................................................................................... 40 Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) ........................................................................ 41 SNR of G4-1600 + RC 406 .......................................................................... 42 General Observatory parameters: .................................................................. 45 Sky quality ....................................................................................................... 48 How to determine the light pollution? ........................................................... 51 Nyquist criteria ................................................................................................ 52 IV Deep Sky image processing General advices in Deep Sky image processing ................................................56 Preprocessing of astronomical images (calibration) ......................................... 58 Image processing for scientific cameras ........................................................... 62 Filters for CCD cameras .................................................................................. 65 Recommended exposure .................................................................................. 67 Solar analog stars ............................................................................................. 68 DDP Image Processing .................................................................................... 70 Canon 6D camera ............................................................................................ 73 Image processing in DSLR cameras ................................................................ 78 Histograms ........................................................................................................ 79 Astropriorat Observatory 4 V Solar System image processing General hints on Solar System image processing ........................................... 81 Suggested Cameras for Solar System imaging ............................................... 85 Suggested software for Solar System imaging ................................................. 88 Seeing vs. meteorology ................................................................................... 90 Sun observations with the Sprit 120 ED refractor ........................................... 92 Sun image processing ....................................................................................... 98 H-alpha Coronado filter ............... ................................................................. 100 VI Astrometry Critical sampling .............................................................................................. 102 Wide Field, Astrometry&Photometry…….………………………………..… 104 Astrometric Catalogs: ..................................................................................... 108 - GAIA, CMC-15, UCAC4, URAT1, PPMXL VII Solar System Occultation's Camera, equipment and software (under construction)..…………………... 110 VIII An Astrodynamics primer Kepler's Laws ................................................................................................... 114 Newton's Laws .................................................................................................. 115 Orbital elements ................................................................................................ 118 Practical orbital determinations ......................................................................... 121 Ephemeris ......................................................................................................... 129 IX Photometry Instrumental magnitude .................................................................................... 130 Color index ........................................................................................................ 131 Extinction coefficients ...................................................................................... 132 Photometric aperture ........................................................................................ 134 Photometric Landolt fields ................................................................................ 136 Other photometric fields .................................................................................... 143 Photometric Catalogs: ........................................................................................ 144 -GAIA, CMC-15, UCAC4, SDSS, ALADIN, LONEOS Differential photometry ...................................................................................... 146 Absolute photometry .......................................................................................... 147 Photometry precision ........................................................................................ 149 Transforming magnitude to standard system...................................................... 151 Conversion equations between photometric systems ........................................ 153 General process of photometric data .................................................................. 154 Standard photometric filters .............................................................................. 155 Astropriorat Observatory 5 X Spectroscopy General notes for Astrophysics ....................................................................... 158 DIY Spectrograph characteristics .................................................................... 160 Practical instrumentation ..................................................................................163 How we can track and focus? ......................................................................... 164 Spectrum calibration: ........................................................................................166 - Preprocessing - Spectrometry - Radiometry How to measure the resolution? ...................................................................... 172 How to measure the SNR? ............................................................................... 173 General spectrograph usage: ............................................................................ 174 - Measures of radial velocity - Measures of rotation speed Sun spectrum .................................................................................................... 179 Spectral lines in stellar atmospheres ................................................................. 181 Main nebular