Free to the public and all are welcome to attend.
The program will be a group presentation by three esteemed Club members: Brad Ferguson, Mike Mitchell, and Rod Gallagher. Their presentation will be titled "Scientific Data Gathering in Amateur Astronomy." How can amateur astronomers become actively engaged in making meaningful contributions to professional astronomy? Our three presenters have contributed much to our Club over the years and become involved in data gathering projects. The title of this presentation infers the next level of citizen science involvement wherein amateur observers can obtain numbers and observations useful to professional astronomers.
Brad will discuss how he participates in the AAVSO’s photoelectric photometry of variable stars, aka PEP Program. The PEP program of the AAVSO is not as large as it was in the 1980s because of the proliferation of CCD and CMOS cameras now doing photometry, but PEP excels on stars greater than 6th magnitude yielding magnitude readings of +/- 0.005. Professional astronomers will request specific targets for observation and there is a regular sequence of LPVs (Long Period Variables) to observe as well.
Mike will be talking about the Citizen Science program that Unistellar (maker of the eVscope) conducts with the users of their eVscope and eQuinox all-in-one electronic telescopes. Unistellar teams with the SETI Institute to record data on comets, near-Earth asteroids, exoplanets, and other celestial objects.
Rod will discuss his work on asteroid detection and why this is an important way amateurs can contribute to the body of astronomy and planetary defense.
The program will be a group presentation by three esteemed Club members: Brad Ferguson, Mike Mitchell, and Rod Gallagher. Their presentation will be titled "Scientific Data Gathering in Amateur Astronomy." How can amateur astronomers become actively engaged in making meaningful contributions to professional astronomy? Our three presenters have contributed much to our Club over the years and become involved in data gathering projects. The title of this presentation infers the next level of citizen science involvement wherein amateur observers can obtain numbers and observations useful to professional astronomers.
Brad will discuss how he participates in the AAVSO’s photoelectric photometry of variable stars, aka PEP Program. The PEP program of the AAVSO is not as large as it was in the 1980s because of the proliferation of CCD and CMOS cameras now doing photometry, but PEP excels on stars greater than 6th magnitude yielding magnitude readings of +/- 0.005. Professional astronomers will request specific targets for observation and there is a regular sequence of LPVs (Long Period Variables) to observe as well.
Mike will be talking about the Citizen Science program that Unistellar (maker of the eVscope) conducts with the users of their eVscope and eQuinox all-in-one electronic telescopes. Unistellar teams with the SETI Institute to record data on comets, near-Earth asteroids, exoplanets, and other celestial objects.
Rod will discuss his work on asteroid detection and why this is an important way amateurs can contribute to the body of astronomy and planetary defense.
Date: Friday, July 14, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Central
Location:
Science Museum Oklahoma
2020 Remington Place
Oklahoma City, OK 73111
