Uploaded September 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Originally broadcast on May 6, 2023, this webinar featured two presentations:
*"Demonstrating Real-time Photometry"* by Gary Hawkins — "The demonstration of real-time photometry to astronomers and the public offers a powerful and seldom-seen outreach opportunity. This talk describes the equipment and software used to provide such demonstrations at the Julian StarFest, Julian CA in August 2022. Real-time light curve plots were provided on a large screen monitor of the W UMa variable, V796 Cep. With a period of 9.43119 hours, it was possible to see the divergence between the V796 Cep and the comparison star light curves in relatively short order. Members of the public were fascinated by the thought of two stars orbiting each other in such close proximity, and that amateur astronomers could make meaningful contributions to the scientific world."
*"Spectroscopy Outreach in Astronomy Club"* by Patrick Kavanagh — "My hands-on introductory course in Astronomical Spectroscopy covered the history of spectroscopy from Fraunhofer on, and took a look at each Spectral Class, O, B, A, F, G, K, and M, with sample easy-to-find stars. I covered techniques for using a Diffraction Grating with a Canon DSLR camera, and ran a data reduction workshop using the RSpec software."
_*Meet the instructors:*_
*Gary Hawkins* spent most of his career in the telecommunications industry, facilitating the design and build of mobile phone networks worldwide. However, Gary loves to experiment with new projects; most notably, he’s run a fitness company, written two books, participates in HAM Radio competitions, and since retirement, is an avid astronomer. About four years ago, he became a visual observer using a secondhand Orion XT8 dob, quickly moved to Electronically Assisted Astronomy, and then, after taking an exoplanet course, now focuses on photometry. Gary is a CMOS photometry mentor for the AAVSO, a Member of the San Diego Astronomy Association, and holds a Ph.D. In Satellite Communications from the University of Bristol, England.
*Patrick Kavanagh* was born in Philadelphia, and has been a Mexican resident since 1972. He’s an active member in the Centro Astronómico Clavius, and he took a course in astrophotography at Iberoamericana University in 2018. In June 2020, he began practicing low resolution diffraction grating spectroscopy. He assisted with the 2020 AAVSO Spectroscopy Workshop, and joined the AAVSO, through which he received training in photometry. In June 2022, he founded the Copernicus Club, where he offers weekly talks. From October to December 2022, he gave a spectroscopy course to the Copernicus Club.
*✩ Interested in attending a live How-to webinar on Zoom?* Visit aavso.org/programs-events to view our schedule and register for upcoming events.
Originally broadcast on May 6, 2023, this webinar featured two presentations:
*"Demonstrating Real-time Photometry"* by Gary Hawkins — "The demonstration of real-time photometry to astronomers and the public offers a powerful and seldom-seen outreach opportunity. This talk describes the equipment and software used to provide such demonstrations at the Julian StarFest, Julian CA in August 2022. Real-time light curve plots were provided on a large screen monitor of the W UMa variable, V796 Cep. With a period of 9.43119 hours, it was possible to see the divergence between the V796 Cep and the comparison star light curves in relatively short order. Members of the public were fascinated by the thought of two stars orbiting each other in such close proximity, and that amateur astronomers could make meaningful contributions to the scientific world."
*"Spectroscopy Outreach in Astronomy Club"* by Patrick Kavanagh — "My hands-on introductory course in Astronomical Spectroscopy covered the history of spectroscopy from Fraunhofer on, and took a look at each Spectral Class, O, B, A, F, G, K, and M, with sample easy-to-find stars. I covered techniques for using a Diffraction Grating with a Canon DSLR camera, and ran a data reduction workshop using the RSpec software."
_*Meet the instructors:*_
*Gary Hawkins* spent most of his career in the telecommunications industry, facilitating the design and build of mobile phone networks worldwide. However, Gary loves to experiment with new projects; most notably, he’s run a fitness company, written two books, participates in HAM Radio competitions, and since retirement, is an avid astronomer. About four years ago, he became a visual observer using a secondhand Orion XT8 dob, quickly moved to Electronically Assisted Astronomy, and then, after taking an exoplanet course, now focuses on photometry. Gary is a CMOS photometry mentor for the AAVSO, a Member of the San Diego Astronomy Association, and holds a Ph.D. In Satellite Communications from the University of Bristol, England.
*Patrick Kavanagh* was born in Philadelphia, and has been a Mexican resident since 1972. He’s an active member in the Centro Astronómico Clavius, and he took a course in astrophotography at Iberoamericana University in 2018. In June 2020, he began practicing low resolution diffraction grating spectroscopy. He assisted with the 2020 AAVSO Spectroscopy Workshop, and joined the AAVSO, through which he received training in photometry. In June 2022, he founded the Copernicus Club, where he offers weekly talks. From October to December 2022, he gave a spectroscopy course to the Copernicus Club.
*✩ Interested in attending a live How-to webinar on Zoom?* Visit aavso.org/programs-events to view our schedule and register for upcoming events.
