Re: Target zone selection

[Tom Droege <tdroege@veriomail.com>]

Doug and all,

Well, I downloaded the latest GhostScript, and then I was able to down load 
your paper.  It looked sort of familiar.  Today I was cleaning off my desk 
(about 20# of stuff are going to the land fill) and found another copy.  So 
someone in tass has been using your technique.  Probably Glenn 
Gombert.  You look like an expert to me, we are glad to have you aboard.  I 
would complement you on your paper, but don't know enough to evaluate 
it.  The best thing I can say is that I found it on my desk.  ;^)

OK, in answer to your question, all the sky.

Remember that there are no rules in tass.  I sit here in Batavia and try to 
herd cats.  But I don't try very hard.

I think Arne Henden (who has the first system) plans to do a quick scan of 
the whole sky that he can see from NOFS.  I believe that he plans on short 
exposures.  I suspect that he wants to tie everything together 
photometrically.  He is at a good location, so he will generate all sky 
absolute photometry.  At least all sky from NOFS.   The rest of us at bad 
locations can then do relative photometry wherever we choose to look using 
his calibrated stars.

Because of the way my house is situated,  (In a woods of 100+ foot Oak 
trees) I have been looking at roughly -1 to +3 with the prototype.  If I go 
up I look at a roof line, if I go down I look at a tree.  I have been 
running here for the last few months just for practice.  I now have 55 CD 
ROMs full of data which I will send to anyone that wants to study this band 
and look for variables.  No bothersome telescope to operate.  Just go to 
your mail box and pick them up.  Data similar to data disk 16.

As others come on line, they will do what they want to do.  I will try to 
use my influence to get them to do something useful.  I believe that Glenn 
Gombert is into discovering the most possible variable stars.  I suspect he 
will just sit on one band in the sky and measure it over and over.  Mike 
Gutzwiller is interested in trying to find planets.  Not much hope, I 
think, but the work on photometry that is required will be good for the 
project.  He is an ex High Energy Physicist (trained at Fermilab) and so 
knows how to analyze data and write software.  I do not know what Michael 
Richmond will try to do.  But he is a real astronomer and will probably 
make a good decision.  At least I am impressed by his work on the tech 
notes.  And so it goes. What will you do with a Mark IV?

I will eventually build a BVRI setup for myself.  This will go in the small 
dome on top of my house.  I should be able to see -10 to +80 or so.  My 
plan is then to just cover this part of the sky as often as possible for 
ten years or to death do us part.  I am 70 and typical males in my family 
make it to 89.

OK, I know that not much is happening in the way of data analysis.  At the 
moment, I am just building.  Eventually I will get tired of this, learn 
Linux, and start processing all those disks I am stacking up.

Tom Droege



At 04:57 PM 10/30/00 -0500, you wrote:

>Can someone fill me in on the target planning for the Mark IV's?
>I have tried to track down discussion of this in the archives,
>but didn't see anything in the last few months. How are the
>target zones decided?
>
>-Doug