EEOP

Ever want to submit an observing program to the AL?  I submitted the following to the AL at the 2015 Convention.  It wasn't approved, but on the other hand it wasn't rejected either.  I was encouraged to try to wrap this program into the dormant Imaging Program approved at the 2011 ALCON.  Dan Crowson and I are both trying to bundle disciplines as diverse as artistic, scientific and my EEOA ideas into a unified Imaging Program for the 2016 ALCON's consideration.   Eventually, this became the basis for the AL's Foundations of Imaging OP.

Here's my original effort:

Electronically Enhanced Observing Program Introduction

EEOP Coordinator Information:

Steve Boemer

Chesterfield, MO  63017

sboerner at charter.net

Introduction:

Over the past fifty years, new technology has changed the face of amateur astronomy.  Digital setting circles, GOTO mounts, digital imaging, and the Internet have changed the way many plan and use their observing time.  Today all major observatories rely on digital imaging rather than time spent at the eyepiece.  The advent of CCD, DSLR, and low-light video cameras means this trend is now at hand for the amateur observer.  This program gives the observer a chance to explore the exciting possibilities that these cameras can provide as an addition to traditional viewing at the eyepiece. 

The goals of this program are to extend visual astronomy by:

1. compressing time,

2. demonstrating motion,

3. recording fainter detail,

4. detecting what the eye cannot see, and

5. making scientific observations. 

A secondary goal is to provide an option for those either physically or visually challenged who are unable to view objects via the eyepiece.  The purpose of the program is not imaging to produce an Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).  This program provides an opportunity to view traditional objects in a new light.  As you work to complete the various levels of the program you will recognize elements that are present in many Astronomical League Observing Programs.  You are encouraged to pursue directions that spur your interest.

Program Activities, Equipment, and Guidelines:

The program offers three sequential levels of accomplishment:  Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

 Bronze Level -- You must complete fifteen (15) of the thirty four (34) activities.  Five (5) of the activities are required and are marked (Required).  The remaining ten (10) can be chosen based on your observing interests and are indicated as (Choice).    Completion of the Bronze Level earns a certificate.

 Silver Level -- You must repeat the five required activities with different targets and complete an additional five (5) activities not attempted at the Bronze Level.  Completion of the Silver Level earns both a certificate and pin.

 Gold Level – You must complete an additional ten (10) of activities not attempted at the Bronze or Silver Levels . Completion of the Gold Level earns a certificate.  The Deep Sky Activity #22 may be used to complete the Gold Level.

You will find a link to the EEOP's activities below in the Related Links section of this page.

You may use a GOTO mount for all of the activities in this program. Any equipment you personally own and have direct or indirect control over is allowed.  Remote rental, or other type systems (iTelescope, Slooh, etc.) are not allowed for this program.  Control of personal equipment via a local network as in control from inside your house to a telescope in your yard is acceptable. 

Many of the activities will require stacking/combining images.  The videos mentioned below can be either recorded or made from combining individual frames.  Due to the changing nature of software, few specific recommendations are made here, but posting to an online astronomy forum should get opinions about the latest, greatest tool.  The final videos for projects mentioned below need not be longer than fifteen seconds.  While it may spoil the visual appearance, consider including visual or audio time stamps on the various videos for scientific value.  Images need not be photographic masterpieces submitted to APOD, just good enough to compare to visual eyepiece observations.  In many cases a single frame capture should be sufficient and post-processing is not needed.  In many of the activities below, the idea is to compare what you see in the image to what would be seen in at the eyepiece.  In such cases, your final submission should include your observations about those differences.

Before actually starting on the program you should consider how you plan to report your findings.  A traditional paper log will probably be unsuitable for this observing program.  Many of the choices produce a video that demonstrates motion.  You may need to report your findings on a web page or via other Internet method.  You might choose to send the results in on a DVD.  You may choose to publish your work to a site such as YouTube and include links in your findings.

Required information for each activity (as needed):

Activity number/name, object viewed, date taken, time taken, location, seeing, transparency, image field of view, image directions (north and east or west), optics used, camera used, exposure information, user notes, relevant software, and comments on the activity.

Rules and Regulations:

To qualify for the AL's EEOP Certificates and pin, you need only be a member of the Astronomical League, either through an affiliated club, as a Member-at-Large, or as an International Member-at Large, and complete the activities for each of the three levels.

Final Submission of Results:

Once you have completed the activities for a particular level prepare a Program Summary Report.  The report may be via the Internet on a web page or other means such as a sequence of files on a DVD or other storage device with an index pointing to the actual activity.  The activities should be clearly labeled with all required information included (object, date taken, time taken, location, seeing, transparency, image field of view, image directions (north and east or west), optics used, camera used, exposure information, user notes, relevant software and comments on the activity).  Also complete the EEOP Tracking Spreadsheet that is found in the Related Links section below.  The spreadsheet will contain your name and address, shipping information, a list of your completed activities, and the Level for your submission.

To receive your EEOP Certificates and pin, send your report along with the completed tracking spreadsheet via email or post to me for verification.  I prefer to verify the observations myself since I really love to see what other folks have done. However, if mailing the observations seems impractical and there is another member in your club who has already received the EEOP Award, I will accept a recommendation from that person or your club's Awards Coordinator.  Even with local approval I still need the tracking spreadsheet.  DVDs or bulky materials may not be returned at the discretion of the Program Coordinator.  If there are any questions or problems please contact me by mail, phone, or e-mail at the following address:

EEOP Coordinator Information:

Steve Boemer

Upon verification of your observations, your certificate and pin will be forwarded either to you or your society's Awards Coordinator, whomever you choose. 

About the Pin:

The EEO pin features two comet images by my friend and fellow club member Dan Crowson of Dardenne Prairie, MO.  The main background image of C/2009 Garradd was chosen because it demonstrates the feeling of motion that is one of the EEOP main goals.  The second image of C2012 S1 ISON was chosen because it was so distinct.   To see the particulars for Dan's images visit his website at http://www.crowson.com.

Related Links:

Program Activities as a Word Document(currently leads to a web page with activities)

Program Activities as a PDF(currently leads to a web page with activities)

Electronically Enhanced Observing Program Tracking Spreadsheet

Find your EEOP Award  (not working)

Program Activities

Outreach

1)     Use live video displayed on a monitor or computer screen for at least two outreach sessions of at least two hours each.  One session should be with the Moon between first quarter and full such that it would degrade deep sky objects visually.  The other should be done with no Moon in the sky.  Write a summary of the two sessions and include it in your final submission for the award.  Include in your summary what objects were viewed, how the views compared to visual done at the same time, your reaction(s) to the sessions and any pertinent comments made by both experienced and novice participants.  In short, how well does video display serve as a tool for presenting public outreach? Screen captures of object seen, while not required, would be a plus. (Required)

Solar System

2)     Image the sun (using appropriate solar filters) to capture solar detail in white light.  Take the normal safety precautions associated with viewing and imaging the sun.  Capture images at the same time of day and camera orientation from the same location for at least a week showing the movement of sunspots over time.  Try to predict the solar rotation rate from your data.   At least five images should be captured.  Produce an animated gif or video that shows this motion.  You may use any filter(s) you wish to complete this activity. (Choice)

3)     Make a video of a solar eclipse.  A partial eclipse is acceptable.  (Choice)

4)     Make a time lapse video to show the growth of a solar flare or prominence in Hydrogen alpha.  (Choice)

5)     Make two videos that show the emergence and disappearance of any two Clair-Obscur events such as the Lunar-X.  (Choice)  (See:  http://the-moon.wikispaces.com/clair-obscur)

6)     Make a video of a lunar eclipse.  A partial eclipse is acceptable.  (Choice)

7)     Make a video of a lunar occultation or graze.  If you choose an occultation it should show both the disappearance and emergence of the star.  Make an attempt to accurately time the event (disappearance/emergence and the total length of the occultation). (Choice)  

8)     Create a lunar mosaic from either video or individual frames.  The mosaic should have a field of view greater than the individual frames and should be made from at least twenty (20) frames. (Choice)

9)     Capture at least one minute of video and stack to produce images that show any ten of the features required in either of the Astronomical League’s two Lunar Programs. (Required)

10) Capture at least one minute of video of at least four of the non-Earth planets and stack to make final images.  Silver Levels:  Experiment with various filters to show differences or specific features. (Required)

11) Make a time lapse video of Jupiter that shows movement of the moons, their shadows crossing the surface and/or the Red Spot. (Choice)    

12) Take an image or make videos of five different non geosynchronous earth orbiting satellites moving across the sky.  One of the satellites should show an Iridium Flair event and a second should be the I.S.S. (Choice)

13) Make a video of an asteroid moving through the sky. (Choice)

14) Make a video of a comet moving through the sky. (Choice)

15) Make a video or stacked image that shows the retrograde motion of a planet through the night sky over a suitable period of months. (Choice)

Wide Field

16) Create both a video and an image that shows stars trailing around Polaris for a period of at least four hours. (Choice)  

17) Create a video that shows the Milky Way crossing the sky for a period of at least four hours. (Choice)

18) Create a video that shows the motion of the moon against a static background sky over a period of at least one hour.  While not required, showing a lunar occultation is a plus.  (Choice)

19) Take individual images of five constellations out to the limits of the constellation's boundary[A1] . [SCB2] Pick constellations with which you are unfamiliar.  Create an edited image that shows the limits of the boundary and identify/label named stars, Messier, and brighter NGC objects.  You may use an online service to label and identify objects and stars.   While not required, spend some time at an observing session viewing areas of interest you discover in the images. (Choice)

20) Take an image during meteor shower that demonstrates the radiant point.  (Choice)

21) Shoot at least two hours of continuous images with a digital camera on a static tripod using your longest built-in exposure, and using the shortest focal length lens to which you have access. From the data make:

a.      a star trail picture using startrails.exe or similar software,

b.     a stacked picture using DeepSkyStacker or similar software, and

c.      a time lapse video using photolapse.exe or similar software.  You should probably reduce the size of the images used to make the video to improve the display. 

It will produce better results if you minimize the amount of ground in the pictures. (Choice)

Deep Sky

22) Using video capture or stills with an exposure of 30 seconds or less, image two globular clusters, two open clusters, two planetary nebula, two diffuse nebula and two galaxies from the Messier list or NGC Catalog.  Image an additional ten objects of your choice from these catalogs.  Make comparisons between the levels of detail observed visually versus via your imaging. What differences are you seeing in the limiting magnitudes of your imaging vs. visual efforts?  This activity may be used as one of the ten needed for the Gold level.  Silver and Gold levels are encouraged to select progressively dimmer and more difficult objects.  (Required) 

23) Using video capture or stills with an exposure of 30 seconds or less, image the same objects done in activity #22, only this time use ONLY IR light by selecting a suitable IR filter and modified camera.  Make comparisons between what is detected with visible light versus IR light. (Choice)

24) Picking any ten of the double stars in the Astronomical League Double Star program or the Washington Neglected Double Star List, use video or still imaging to measure both the separation and angle between the primary and secondary.  How do your results compare to accepted values? (Required)

25) Use video or imaging and stacking techniques to create a mosaic of two deep sky objects that are larger than the normal field of view of your optics and video capture device. (Choice)

26) Make a video showing Algol or other eclipsing binary variable star pass through a minimum.  Your video should clearly show the dimming and brightening of versus the surrounding stars.  The video should include an accurate visual or audio time stamp.  Make an estimation of the change in magnitude.  (Choice)

27) Image five variable stars weekly over a period of a month.   Determine the change in brightness of the stars and report your results graphically. (time sequence light curve)  (Choice)

28) Take images that show the spectra of at least five of the stellar spectral types:

 O, B, A, F, G, K, M.   The spectra should show the appropriate lines consistent with the class. (Choice)

29) Take an image of M31, the Andromenda Galaxy, and label as many globular clusters as possible. (Choice) 

30) Image a supernova in another galaxy. (Choice)  

31) Image ten of the galaxies in the Flat Galaxy Program.  Using your images measure the position angle.  (Choice)

32) Image any ten asterisms from the Asterism program.  (Choice)

33) Make a time lapse video of the Aurora Borealis.  (Choice)

34)  Capture an exoplanet as it transits its star. Display the transit by graphing to show a change in magnitude as the exoplanet transits the star. (Choice)