Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
[Closed captioning for this webinar is available by clicking the [ cc ] or [ . . . ] icons above. In our April 1, 2021 How-to Hour, guest instructor Lauren Herrington reveals how you can use the "drift scanning method" to record scientifically useful spectra of tens of thousands of stars using nothing but a camera, diffraction grating, and an untracked telescope.
She also discusses how to optimize your resolution, so that you can use your slitless grating to record fine details, such as the blueshifted absorption lines originating in the torrential stellar wind of P Cygni.
Lastly, she demonstrates how to process and calibrate your spectra, and how to submit your processed spectra to the AAVSO's database.
No prior knowledge is necessary, but viewers will likely find it beneficial to know ahead of time what the terms "spectrum," "absorption," and "emission" mean as they relate to astronomy, and how to operate a simple telescope. Recommended pre-view reading: http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys301/lectures/spec_lines/spec_lines.html
Explore AAVSO and find out how YOU can make a meaningful contribution to science at aavso.org (our Spectroscopy Observing Section is at aavso.org/spectroscopy-observing-section)
[Closed captioning for this webinar is available by clicking the [ cc ] or [ . . . ] icons above. In our April 1, 2021 How-to Hour, guest instructor Lauren Herrington reveals how you can use the "drift scanning method" to record scientifically useful spectra of tens of thousands of stars using nothing but a camera, diffraction grating, and an untracked telescope.
She also discusses how to optimize your resolution, so that you can use your slitless grating to record fine details, such as the blueshifted absorption lines originating in the torrential stellar wind of P Cygni.
Lastly, she demonstrates how to process and calibrate your spectra, and how to submit your processed spectra to the AAVSO's database.
No prior knowledge is necessary, but viewers will likely find it beneficial to know ahead of time what the terms "spectrum," "absorption," and "emission" mean as they relate to astronomy, and how to operate a simple telescope. Recommended pre-view reading: http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys301/lectures/spec_lines/spec_lines.html
Explore AAVSO and find out how YOU can make a meaningful contribution to science at aavso.org (our Spectroscopy Observing Section is at aavso.org/spectroscopy-observing-section)
