Binary star research using
microtelescopes
Miloslav Zejda, Zdeněk Mikulášek, Jiří Liška
Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic
Petr Svoboda
private observatory, Brno, Czech Republic
PRCSA, Lijiang, 15th April 2011
Binary star research using
microtelescopes
nano-telescopes
Miloslav Zejda, Zdeněk Mikulášek, Jiří Liška
Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic
Petr Svoboda
private observatory, Brno, Czech Republic
PRCSA, Lijiang, 15th April 2011
first telescopes – diameter only several cm!
Galileo & Castelli:
discoveries of binaries or multiple systems:
Mizar (1616),
J1 Orionis – Trapez (1617)
b Scorpii …
Variable stars observations (in modern history since 1596)
Means:
• naked eye – limits – 6-7 mag,
• telescope + eye – 1844 Argelander
• telescope + photography – 1881 Draper – 14.7 mag
• telescope + photoelectric photometer
1892 Monck, 1907 Stebinns
• 1946 Kron, early 50‘s Johnson & Morgan UBV
• telescope + CCD – 1979 – Kitt Peak NO
Silicon age
• spread of objective measurements among many
observatories and amateur astronomers
• increasing number of photometric measurements
• observing of fainter and fainter objects
• stars brighter than 6 mag are too bright
=> lack of observations of bright stars!
objections?
surveys – ASAS… - monochromatic, unsatisfactory time resolution
space missions – Hipparcos – good, but old, time resolution
Kepler, COROT – excellent jobs, but …
GAIA - ?
nano-satellite – BRITE project
solution?
• return to Galileo‘s size telescopes
=> usage of micro/nanotelescopes
• „windows astronomy“
• „balcony astronomy“
• break down the prejudices
• suitable for amateurs and small
observatories
Advantages:
• cheap acquisition
• cheap and efficient practise
• excellent opportunity to obtain unique
long sets of observations
suggestions?
• to equip the observers with a kit (CCD, photometric filters, nanotelescope)
• tell them what and how they should observe (targets, filters, time resolutions…)
• establish a network of observers – see for an example http://var.astro.cz
Examples of usage
nano-telescopes
NO Pup
Minima timings of
eclipsing binaries
P. Svoboda; 0.035m refractor
CCD SBIG ST7 filter I
J. Liška: RF 0.04m + CCD ATIK 16Ic
 Phe
DI = 0.15 mag
TW Dra
Light curves
SAAO 0,5m + single-channel PEP
MJUO 0,6m + single-channel PEP
L. C. Watson, J. D. Pritchard, J. B.
Hearnshaw,P P. M. Kilmartin and A. C.
Gilmore: MNRAS 325, 143–150 (2001)
J. Liška: 0.04m refractor + CCD G2-0402
P. Svoboda; 0.035m refractor, CCD SBIG ST7
P. Svoboda; 0.035m refractor, CCD SBIG ST7
HD 1438 (And)
amplitude DV≈ 0.02 mag
It is worth to do it!
Thank you for
your attention!
In the presentation we used observations
and materials from:
VSES archive
NYX archive
personal archives of authors
MNRAS 325, 143–150 (2001)
NASA ADS servise
webpages: http://ccd.mii.cz
http://var.astro.cz
http://www.astronomie2009.cz
http://en.wikipedia.org
and others