RE: A Project

["Talbot, David K" <dkt@bgs.ac.uk>]

Well,
I dont think I'm enough of a programmer to take on this task but just to say
my testing of Michael's pipeline is going well with the photom and match
packages compiling very easily, just a few paths to sort out in the photom
Makefile.
I really like Tom's idea of extending the data gathering of Tass this way.
Within the next few months I should have a suitable telescope with a ccd to
follow when I have scraped together the cash after buying the scope so could
be gathering data on the few clear nights here in wet and windy England.
This at a location that certainly would not justify use of a Mk IV simply
because of the weather restricting good observational nights. I know what
the sky is like from the hills just outside Flagstaff and wish it was half
that good here at home on one night a year as it is on the average of the
several weeks I have spent in flagstaff over the last few years!
I guess as well as coming up with a data reduction pipeline it would be
worth giving some thought to what data say an 8" CST with cookbook ccd can
gather to compliment what the Mk IVs are doing.
regards
David
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Droege [mailto:tdroege@veriomail.com]
Sent: 04 January 2001 23:48
To: tass@listserv.wwa.com
Subject: A Project


Because there are Mark IVs software will be written to process Mark IV 
images to catalogs.  This is an article of faith with me.  ;^)

Some of you software experts out there might think of the following project:

There are also a lot of SCTs out there with Cook Book and commercial 
cameras.  How about someone taking on the job of converting our pipeline to 
work with other cameras?  On the scale of things it should be a smaller
task.

Eventually we will get to the point that we want to follow particular 
objects for as long as possible.  Amateurs with their SCTs could be better 
at this than a Mark IV.    It is just a question of getting filters to 
them.  It would be a lot easier to get software to Europe and Asia than 
Mark IVs for 24 hour coverage.  This could make for some interesting 
projects.

OK, it is early for this project.  But not too early for someone to start 
thinking about it.  It would also be motivation to start looking at what is 
being produced and thinking about making it easy to operate for a SCT user.

Tom Droege