Re: [ATM] thru the looking glass

["lou krajci" <loukrajci@comcast.net>]

>From: Ken Lowther <hermit@outofoptions.org>

>CCD does make the scope more useful in more locations and we should all
>probably think of doing a little organized research.

Amen to that!

My CCD-equipped scope (small chip and field of view...only 5x8 arcminutes!)
did some useful research recently in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, population about
3 million.  My back yard was only a couple miles from the very center of the
city.  One example of the research I did was to help determine the
rotational period of an unusual star.

It's period turns out to be around 1.33 days.  That means that observation
from only one point on the earth makes it tough to unambiguously determine
the period.  In Uzbekistan I was on the other side of the globe...and three
nights of data from Tashkent put the nails in the coffin to that mystery.

See:
http://www.konkoly.hu/cgi-bin/IBVS?5534

Also see:
http://overton.tamu.edu/aset/krajci/binaries/binaries.htm
for some ideas on getting started on some not-too-demanding amateur science.

Amateur science is a different sort of 'fun' than observational astronomy
and I especially enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with other
astronomers, both amateur and professional.

Tom Krajci
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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