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Observing and measuring the positions of asteroids is a ripe field for amateurs to make real scientific contributions. I was inspired by Dennis DeCicco's article in CCD Astronomy (Spring 1996) which I heartily recommend for beginners. Starting with an 8" SCT and a CCD camera (SBIG ST7), I have qualified with the Minor Planet Center at Harvard as observatory number 732.
The real key for me was the computer program I developed to calibrate the images and make accurate asteroid position measurements. It appears that my measurements are usually accurate to within a quarter of an arcsecond (mostly limited by the accuracy of the available catalogs). I use the latest version of the Hubble Guide Star Catalog (v. 1.2) which is available online. I have set up Jim's BBS to provide a forum for more information exchange.
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Equipment |
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Data Reduction |
Observing Procedures |
New Discoveries |
Followup Needed |