Astrophotography/CCD Projects
Requirements for a grade of "C" and "A":
Good quality black/white astrophotographs (film) that you
obtained, developed, and printed yourself: one (1) => C, three (3) ==> A,
or
Good quality
color
astrophotographs (film) that you obtained and had professionally
developed and printed: four (4) => C, ten (10) => A,
or
Good quality black/white CCD images that you
obtained: five (5) => C, twelve (12) => A,
or
Good quality
color
CCD images that you obtained: one (1) => C, four (4) ==> A.
More and better photos will improve your grade beyond this level.
Feel free to mix color with b/w photos and/or CCD images in your
final project presentation. Project grades will be based on the
quality and quantity of images, choice of subjects, supporting
information, and quality of presentation.
Important:
These projects are due in class on Wed
Dec 8, where you will present them as part of the "Astr
309 Project Fair." The idea here is that research projects are to share and learn from. You will present your project during a 5-10 min
talk to the class. You can present your photos or CCD pictures in one
or more of the following formats:
- as a digital presentation, preferably in PowerPoint [see caution on PPT versions],
- on overhead transparencies[see Andy for overhead transparencies, pens, or other material you may need],
- on a poster or in an album to hand around.
You may work with one or more partners on the project, though the
expectations are greater for a partnered project. If your project is partnered, be clear to indicate that it is so!
Include a description of what you observed, what you were hoping
to demonstrate with your observations, and include all relevant
information about the images. Some projects may
involve additional studies (for example, history of constellations,
temperatures/colors of stars, etc) which you should present in an
interesting and informative way for your fellow students.
We want more than just a slideshow of pretty pictures -- we want
some informational content about the techniques you used, successes
and failures you experienced, and some science/astronomy about the
objects you observed (relate your pictures back to your Astr 201/212
intro astronomy courses). That is, we want to share your information
with other students, so they can learn from your experience.
Burnham's Celestial Handbook is a great resource for this project. It
contains lots of interesting information on constellations, stars,
and individual objects. It is available in the Observatory control
room and at the Math and Science Library. Norton's Sar Atlas and The Observer's Handbook are other good resources (especially for choosing targets and getting
coordinates). You can use the web too, but choose your sources
carefully since not everything on the web is 100% accurate! See Andy
if you would like to borrow Astr 201/212 textbook for background.
Also, remember Andy's mantra for the course: be consistent and systematic -- take a scientific approach -- in your observations. This will take different forms in different topics (see below). For example, you might take CCD images of many different globular clusters and compare/contrast their properties. Or, you might observe a single cluster using several different techniques (tripod photo, piggyback photo, photo through 8-inch telescope, photo at prime focus of the 0.5-m telescope, CCD image with the 0.5-m tel) and compare contrast the results. Observing different targets with different media doesn't offer the same systematic approach to observation.
Here is a sample project that shows some of the do's and don'ts.
Email or phone
Andy (laydenatbgsudotedu or 2-8653) if you have questions or concerns about your project.
I'm happy to talk with your and give you feedback and guidance along
the way. The goal is for you to enjoy doing a more involved project,
and to share the experience with your classmates.
Possible Topics:
I. Astrophoto/Tripod:
- Constellations (b/w and/or color) -- good quality shots
of 10 or so constellations. You may want to create a transparent
overlay with identifications of major stars, the constellation
"stick figure", and other information about the the constellation
(history, position, etc from Burnham's Celestial Handbook or
here).
- Star Trails (color) -- several good quality star trails
showing the colors of the stars. Try to identify the bright stars
in your field from the list in the Observer's Handbook, and see
Andy for how to determine their surface temperatures (from the B-V
color index and/or spectral type). Relate the surface temperature
to the colors on your photos.
- Meteor Shower (b/w or color) -- take long exposure
(star trail) photos on the night of a major meteor shower (see
Table on p.200 of Observer's Handbook) and hope to catch any
fleeting meteor trails that zip across your field of view. Try to
identify where in the sky they came from.
II. Astrophoto/Piggyback:
- Constellations (b/w and/or color) -- good quality shots
of 10 or so constellations. You may want to create a transparent
overlay with identifications of major stars, the constellation
"stick figure", and other information about the the constellation
(history, position, etc from Burnham's or here)
and about the photograph. The tracking
afforded by piggybacking on the telescope may help you observe and
identify fainter stars (probably only useful on a clear, moonless
night).
III. Astrophoto/Prime Focus of 8-inch Telescope:
- Moon Map (b/w) -- obtain photos covering the entire
face of the moon (preferably near full) and piece the prints
together to make a photographic map of the entire moon. Create a
transparent overlay with NSEW directions and the major lunar
features marked (use the map in the Observer's Handbook to
identify them).
- The Lunar Day (b/w) -- take photos of one or more
regions on the moon at several different times during the lunar
cycle (ie, 3-5 days between each photo) to demonstrate how the
changing angle of the Sun in the lunar sky affects the appearance
of mountains, craters, and maria. Try to identify the direction of
incoming light in each photo.
- Planets (b/w or color) -- obtain photos of as many
planets as possible. Uranus, and Neptune will be especially
challenging (Pluto is too faint, Mercury too close to the Sun);
you may need to look at the Digitized
Sky Survey to help you identify them from the background
stars.
- Moons of Jupiter or Saturn (b/w) -- these planets each
have 1 or more bright moons that you can easily photograph. Obtain
photos of either Jupiter or Saturn on several different nights and
watch the moons move in their orbits around their parent planet
(even exposures separated by a few hours on a single night may
show significant motion). Try to identify which moon is which
using the charts in the Observer's Handbook.
IV. CCD/Prime Focus of 0.5-m Telescope:
- Track an Asteroid -- Choose an asteroid to observe from
the Harvard/Smithsonian list of Bright
Minor Planets (a.k.a. asteroids). You might also consider
looking for a known Near Earth Object (NEO), comet, or other
unusual minor planet (these may be more difficult). The ephemeris
for each object gives the RA, Dec, and V-magnitude the object at
different times throughout the year. Take pictures over the course
of several minutes, hours, and/or days (as appropriate) to help
you identify which of the "stars" in the field of view is the
moving asteroid. You may want to look at the Digitized
Sky Survey to help you identify it from the background stars.
Can you determine how fast the object is moving (in arcsec per
day) relative to the background stars?
- Messier Mini-Marathon -- Observe 20 or so "deep sky
objects" from the Messier catalog and/or the New General Catalog
(NGC). Include descriptions and relevant information from
Burnham's Celestial Handbook and/or Observer's Handbook.
- Messier Micro-Marathon in Color -- Observe 3-5 objects
from the Messier and/or NGC catalogs, but observe each through 3
or more filters. Combine each set of pictures into a color image
of the target using the tasks in CCDSoft (I will discuss how in
class). Include descriptions and relevant information on each
object from Burnham's Celestial Handbook and/or Observer's
Handbook. [Note: see me to learn how to use the filter
wheel].
- Deep Sky Compare and Contrast -- Observe 10 or so
examples of a specific type of deep sky object (for example,
planetary nebulae, globular clusters, etc) and compare/contrast
their appearances. Additional information can be obtained from
Burnham's and/or the Observer's Handbook. Can you see any general
similarities among all/most of the examples of this type of
object? If you did the "Deep Sky Compare and Contrast" for your
astrophotography project, observe those objects using the CCD as
well. Compare/contrast their appearances on the CCD versus
photographic images. Which medium produces a better result? What
are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
- Variable Star Light Curve -- Observe a variable star
over its variability cycle, measure the brightness changes over
time and make a light curve. Contact Andy
for a list of variable stars to chose from. Carefully consider the
RA/Dec, magnitude, and period of the star before you settle on
one. Chose a nearby comparison star from the Digitized
Sky Survey. I will show you how to measure star brightness
differences (in magnitudes) between the variable and comparison
star using MaxIm_DL. Try to determine what type of variable star
(eclipsing binary, pulsating, etc) it is from the shape of the
light curve. [Note, this is a great project if you are
interested in applying for a job working on variable stars with
Andy and others in the Astronomy group].
- The Density of Stars and the Galactic Disk -- The
"Milky Way" (hazy band of light in the sky) is actually the
un-resolved light of millions of faint stars. Take CCD images at a
range of angles (0, 5, 10, ..., 90 degrees) from the plane of the
Galaxy and count the number of stars on each image (Andy can help
you figure out the RA/Dec's of the different angles). How do the
star counts change with angular distance from the plane? What can
astronomers learn about the Galaxy from this type of
observation?
V. Make up your own project. If you chose this option, please
discuss your plans with Andy to ensure it is suitable before you
invest time in it. Here are some possibile
projects courtesy of Sky and Telescope magazine.
Image Information:
It is always important to include with your photograph/image (1)
the time and date of the exposure, (2) the exposure time, (3) the sky
conditions (especially sky brightness due to lights and/or moon), (4)
the film and paper used (if photo), (5) f/stop setting (if you used
the camera lens), (6) the CCD filter used (if any). This enables
others to compare their work with yours and get tips from your
experience. It is common practice when sending an astrophograph to
one of the amateur magazines or websites (see spaceweather.com
for an example).
It is also useful to provide supporting information. What is the
subject named? What type of object is it? How big and how far away is
it. Is there anything unusual or noteworthy about it? If you have
photos of different objects, compare their properites. You can get
this information from the Observer's Handbook, Burnham's Celestial
Handbook (copy available on desk in observatory control room), or
from the web:
Andy Layden -- Fall 2006