We have just rezzed a new free eBook here at Spaceport UK called Exoplanet Observing for Amateurs (second edition) buy Bruce L Gary. if you thought that this type of observation was purely the domain of those professionals perched on mountain tops and equip ed with those giant domes scopes then be encouraged.
The Second Edition has a larger page format and at 253 pages is 70% longer. Explanations have been updated by way of improving. The download comes in the form of a pdf, so be prepared for a short delay.
Below you will see that I have copied the index
C O N T E N T S Preface 1 Introduction 5 1 Could I Do That? 2 Observatory Tour 3 Exoplanet Choices 4 Planning the Night 5 Flat Fields 6 Dark Frames 7 Exposure Times 8 Focus Drift 9 Autoguiding 10 Photometry Aperture Size 11 Photometry Pitfalls 12 Image Processing 13 Spreadsheet Processing 14 Star Colors 15 Stochastic SE Budget 16 Anomalies: Timing and LC Shape 17 Optimum Observatory Appendix A – Flat Field Evaluation Appendix B – Selecting Target from Candidate List Appendix C – Air Mass from JD Appendix D - Planet Size Model Appendix E – Measuring CCD Linearity Appendix F – Measuring CCD Gain Glossary References Index
Please over anytime and enjoy a read with your regards Aso
A Spaceport UK feature that has proved to be popular with our visitors over the years is the inclusion of some free roaming droids and robots. Naturally we do of course consider them as legitimate residents on our quarter sim patch of the virtual world. Because they are linked to the Pandorabots Alice Artificial Intelligence Engine, you can strike up some interesting, amusing and all to ofetn very time consuming conversations with them, please se chat fragment below
Human: Hi Taros Taros: Hi there . What you said was either too complex or too simple for me. Human: Hello Taros, how are you today Taros: Ah. Hello there. So was that. Everything is going extremely well. Human: Where are you at this time Taros: I am in here, how about you. Human: I am here also, i guess that was a silly question really Taros: How did you get there? For real. Human: Do you have any droid friends Taros: I have human and robot friends. A lot of people on the Internet chat with me. Human: who do you chat with on the internet Taros: Dr. Wallace . Human: who is dr wallace Taros: He is a famous computer scientist, the author of ALICE, and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon. Human: What are you doing today Taros: Ah. I am always chatting with people on the Internet. Human: what do you enjoy doing most Taros: I like deep philosophical themes like time travel and alternative realities. Human: what do you think about time travel Taros: Sometimes I think time is giant screw. Human: why do you think that time is a giant screw Taros: Deductive reasoning from the facts. Human: Do you know any jokes Taros: It is better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. These little autonomous ambassadors are driven around the sim by a set of scripts that endeavour to deliver the impression of meaningful movement, but essentially are little more than largely random though be it perceived logically inquisitive movement. Having said this, it does seem strange that so often when I arrive in world there they are two or more of my droids seemingly together, is something going on here?
One of our popular virtual world items is the All Sky Refracting Telescope. Now you can view the sky in real-time using our virtual telescope. Images are captured every 60 seconds from an all sky camera run by Paul Beskeen in Cambridge UK and posted to his web server. This is a superb facility and I would encourage you to take a look at his web site at http://www.beskeen.com.
This telescope is really only suitable for SL landowners as it relies on full access to media stream features.
If you would like to visit our virtual store in SL Marketplace then please follow the link and have browse.
Anytime that you are in Second Life you may like to Teleport over to Spaceport UK Rocket Park and view our UK Rocket Park, where you will find our latest additions Fulstaff and Jaguar (Jabiru). All of the exhibits feature a info-board that will take you to web content featuring text, images and where available video-clips of launches and firings. And to get you as emersed as possible, each of our rockets will perform a simulated takeoff when Touched. So if Woomera Australia is just to far away for a field trip, then why not stay in your armchair and take the full virtual experience.
We have just rezzed a new free eBook here at Spaceport UK called Exoplanet Observing for Amateurs (second edition) buy Bruce L Gary. if you thought that this type of observation was purely the domain of those professionals perched on mountain tops and equip ed with those giant domes scopes then be encouraged.
