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. Use photometric filters and determine the brightness of the stars. Report your results graphically. (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. (Choice)