Faulkes Telescope Observations
NEO Confirmation Page objects and more
Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) on 2013 October 30th, imaged twice with a
green/blue-green filter (SDSS g'), then twice in red (SDSS r'). Images
obtained using the Faulkes Telescope South, operated by Las Cumbres
Observatory. Click on image to get larger region.
Gary, Callum and Peter: `Stars' of the Future
The three of us came to Armagh Observatory for work experience between the
28th to the 30th October 2013. We were greeted by Dr. David Asher who was
going to be our supervisor/boss for the three days of which we were here. He
introduced us to Faulkes Telescope (South) project. The telescope we were
using is located in Australia. We used this telescope to observe several
asteroids and comets such as: `2001 AV43' and `2013 A1'. Furthermore we
confirmed the existence of many NEOs such as: `2013 UW8'; `2013 UC9' and
`2013 UG9'.
On the first day we introduced ourselves to the programme
`Astrometrica' and used archive
images to ensure we had a profound understanding of the computer programme.
And then the moment came. It was time to control the telescope. We sat down
in earnest in front of our glistening Apple computer and logged on to
Faulkes' website. We skilfully used the telescope to capture 3 images of both
2013 UG9 and 2013 UH9 before switching our attention to the deeply
fascinating asteroid AV43 which Tolis told us has a very Earth like orbit and
an extremely fast rotation period. In the dying seconds of the session Gary's
Bolt-esque speed with the mouse managed to capture us a 9th image of the
asteroid.
After our observations, we took a break from the high intensity of our image
processing and were treated to a splendid tour of the Observatory from the
director, Professor Mark Bailey. At lunch we had the pleasure of visiting the
`star studded' Planetarium for a wonderful show entitled `Beyond the Blue'
before returning to the Observatory to report the results of our
investigation. By using different apertures with Astrometrica we were able to
compare how the measured magnitude of the asteroid changed as the aperture
changed as well as analysing how the magnitude changed as the images were
traversed with different apertures.
We returned on Tuesday and analysed data from the Subaru telescope, perked on
top of a mountain in Hawaii which at a massive 8.2 metres is one of the world'
s largest telescopes. We were scouring the data for asteroids that were
elusively lurking in the shadows. Then, we prepared for our next observation
session by using the
Near Earth Object Confirmation Page to identify objects that we could
find. On the second day we had some difficulty finding NEOs with the correct
R.A, Decl., Magnitude and altitude but after some perseverance we managed to
find 3. Following another enthralling observation session we used
Astrometrica to find C/2013 A1, a comet which will soon have a close
encounter with Mars as well as the candidate NEOs. But then disaster struck.
Although we managed to find 2013 A1 and the other asteroids, 2013 UR8 was
nowhere to be found. From the clutches of defeat Callum had a stroke of
genius and inverted the image. Although we were able to find it in one image
with this innovative technique we could not find it in both and so could not
report it to the
Minor
Planet Centre. Nevertheless we sent away our findings which confirmed the
existence of several asteroids including 2013 UC9.
Arriving for our last day of work experience, we anxiously awaited the
beginning of our final use of the
Faulkes Telescope. Today we were again observing 2013 A1 but this time
Tolis gave us the brilliant idea to use different filters in order to compare
how brightness changed with red and green light. We also discovered another
asteroid, but today in order to challenge ourselves in our last outing with
the telescope we attempted to find 2013 UW8, which moved at a measly 0.42 arc
seconds minute^-1 which according to Peter's expert calculations meant that
the asteroid would need 143 seconds to move just 1 arc second in the
sky. Thus, we ensured we took copious exposures of the asteroid to ensure we
achieved movement in our blinked images in Astrometrica. Nervously we watched
the computer. We blinked the images. And there it was! Due to our careful
considerations we managed to find the slow moving asteroid.
So, at the end of a fascinating 3 days we would like to thank the
Faulkes
Telescope Project and
Las Cumbres
Observatory for providing such a wonderful experience and for the use of
their state of the art telescope (and thanks to the weather too for staying
clear!). Finally, we couldn't forget to extend our most sincere gratitude to
Armagh Observatory's staff, in particular Tolis and David for their expert
knowledge, vast experience and friendly demeanour.
Callum Best, Gary Black, Peter Mc Manus
2013 October 30th
[Note added Oct 31: 2013 UH9, UG9, UC9, UW8 and UR8 were all NEO
Confirmation Page objects at the time of observation. Official
designations 2013 UG9 etc. are assigned by the MPC after sufficient
confirmation. These MPC designations have been substituted for
the preliminary NEOCP designations in the above text.
Results for two of the objects appeared on
Minor Planet Electronic Circulars:
]
More astronomical projects with the Faulkes Telescopes
Last Revised: 2013 October 31st
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