Archived
Works
Observation schedule:
Curriculum will evolve as we complete a 12-month cycle.
We're now fully mobile and have access to many more objects! We'll update the curriculum (which was based on the FOV of our window).
The aim is to have 12 themes over a year, focusing on selected topics or star types each month. By the end of any 12-month cycle, we should have covered much of the HR Diagram, providing some basics for further learning on stellar evolution.
We operate in 4 modes:
1), 2) and 3) are recommended for secondary school students and above.
1) Low-resolution spectroscopy:
Most effective for spectroscopic outreach
OBAFGKM stars and more.
2) High-resolution spectroscopy:
Radial velocities, spectroscopic binary studies
Be stars monitoring
Exercises in stellar abundances
3) CCD photometry/ 'live' imaging (via camera & screen):
Variable stars photometry
Exoplanet transits when available
Objects available for 'live' viewing include: Tarantula Nebula (Feb), Eta Carinae (Apr), Running Chicken (May), clusters, the Sun.
4) Visuals (via eyepiece):
Saturn, Jupiter, Sun, Moon. Or just plain star-hopping.
Interesting objects such as carbon stars (they appear very red), bright clusters and nebulae.
Wide-field visual spectroscopy with Star Analyser. Good introduction to spectroscopy.
January: Carbon stars
TW Hor (C7) carbon star
R Hor (Mira-type variable)
Achernar (Be star)
Globular cluster NGC 1261
NGC 1313 SBcd 'starburst' galaxy
February: LMC
LMC: S Dor, LBV. F-type supergiant spectrum during outbursts (Philip Massey, 2000)
LMC: Tarantula Nebula. 100 times larger than the Orion Nebula. OB associations, Wolf Rayet stars & remnant of supernova 1987A.
CC Eri, an UV+BY active spectroscopic binary with a K7.5Ve primary & M3.5Ve secondary. One of the fastest rotating K dwarfs. CC Eri is too dim for our Lhires III.
Delta Pictoris, at 4.7 magnitude, will be accessible as a SB2 study object.
R Dor (M8eIII)
XZ Dor (long-period pulsating variable)
R Hor (Mira-type variable)
March: Canopus
Canopus, the second brightest star, an F0 II bright giant. We have measured the radial velocity of Canopus with different absorption lines to good accuracy.
Avior, unresolved B2+K3 binary. How is spectra disentangling done?
LMC (continued)
Globular cluster NGC 2516
April: Planetary Nebulae (PNe)
Milky Way comes into view of our window and we get busy with planetary nebulae. A good time for an overview of the evolution of low to medium mass stars.
AGBs, Miras, white dwarfs
PNe NGC 2867, 3211; IC 2553, 2501
Globular cluster NGC 2808
Elliptical galaxy NGC 3136
Eta Carinae Nebula
May: Eta Carinae Nebula
We next turn our attention to the evolution of hot, massive stars
Eta Carinae, LBV
Wolf-Rayet stars, neutron stars
Theta Muscae
Suhail al Muhlif
PP Car (Be star)
Other targets include:
R Car, S Car (Mira-types)
Pne NGC 3372
Globular cluster NGC 2808
Running Chicken Nebula
Southern Cross
June: Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri or α Cen C: nearest star, an M5Ve dwarf flare star, part of triple system which consists of α Cen A (Rigil Kentaurus, 3rd brightest star) and α Cen B (Toliman).
LS 2883, HMXB
Introduce cataclysmic variables & symbiotics.
Binary evolution. Common envelopes, roche lobes, mergers (see July blue stragglers)
Celestial mechanics
Southern Cross, BCEPs, hot blue stars
SX Cen, an RV Tauri-type (post-AGB crossing of the instability strip)
Pne NGC 3918, 5189, 5153; IC4191
July: Cepheids
Cepheids AX Cir, R TrA, V Cen
Variability, kappa & gamma mechanisms
Opacity: stellar as well as cosmological
Hadar, Rigil Kentaurus
Proxima Centauri
Blue hook stars (extreme-HB, low mass high luminosity fast rotators?)
Blue stragglers (stellar mergers!)
omega Centauri, NGC 5139, the 'different' GC
Pne 5315, 5189
August: Black Holes
HR 6819 (QV Tel). A system purportedly with a quiescent black hole. We look in detail the paper by Rivinius et al. as well as counter proposals. We'll attempt to observe the 'stationary' Be emissions with the 40-day period of the absorption lines. Data collection from Aug - Oct. A good learning project.
See how interference fringes change as minute vibrations are introduced. Demonstration of the principle behind the detection of gravitational waves with our new Lego-LIGO Michelson Interferometer.
Omega Centauri, the brightest globular cluster in the sky. NGC 5286, another cluster.
NGC 6188 nebula
Atria, barium star
NGC 6326 PNe
September: DSCT
V346 Pav Delta Scuti-type variable
Revisit kappa mechanism, variability
Peculiar classifications: HD181018, HR6408, omega Pav
V Pav (C6, 4) pulsating semi-regular variable
lambda Pav, Be star (no emission detected)
The Milky Way gradually swings away from our window. Brighter asteroids make interesting study objects as the ecliptic comes within our FOV.
Globular clusters NGC 6752, 6584, 6397
We continue observation of HR6819
October: RR Lyrae stars
Horizontal branch, 'cluster stars'
S Ara, RRab exhibiting Blazhko effect
Carbon star Y Pav (C7)
AY Ind (UV Ceti-type flare star) but low in altitude.
Alpha Tucanae, K3iii giant.
AX Gru, variable M4iii giant.
Peacock, low inclination binary.
Redshifts of galaxies. Possible targets include NGC 7090, 7205.
November: Brown dwarfs
Epsilon Indi, K dwarf with pair of brown dwarfs (not visible)
Lacaille 8760, flare star.
Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) at very high air mass, but the H II regions (NGC 346, N66, NGC 330) can be seen in H-alpha (see our pictures taken).
Globular clusters NGC 104 (very bright, dense core), NGC 362.
Time of the year when we set up our smaller telescope for visual viewing + imaging of Saturn & Jupiter (Nov, Dec). You can take pictures of these planets yourself! See 'About' for planet photos taken from our window.
December: Be stars
Achernar, a fast-rotator (>200 km/s) resulting in its oblateness. 6-8 times more massive than the Sun, it's also losing mass at thousands of times more than the Sun.
Continued: Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) & globular clusters NGC 104, 362.
Continued: Saturn & Jupiter visuals + imaging.