Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21711606w&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #116.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Stored in the archives at Appalachian State University's Dark Sky Observatory (DSO), there are approximately 30 years (starting in 1981) of variable star observations made with the observatory's 18-inch telescope. These observations either come in the form of CCD images or older photomultiplier measurements of brightness. Both types of files contain brightness information on variable stars, and comparison stars. Looking at the comparison stars, we can calculate the extinction coefficient, k, by plotting how the magnitude of the star changes with airmass. The slope of the linear fit is k. Since k is the factor by which light is attenuated by the atmosphere, we hypothesize that if find any trends in k over the 30 year span of data, we can infer something about how the Earth's atmosphere has changed. We have processed observation runs during the spring and fall (the times of the year with the best viewing conditions at DSO) that occurred in the latest seven years of the telescope's operation. Additionally, the ten years of photomultiplier data has an accompanying k measurement, which was calculated along side the light curve. Using these preliminary data, we cannot see any trends, but we need to fill in this middle regime before we can draw any conclusions. The approximately 15 years of intervening data needs to be processed, but that process is slowed by the disorganization of the data, which we are currently sorting. This research is currently being funded by the North Carolina Space Grant and Appalachian State University.
Caton Daniel
Smith Benjamin A.
Weaver Elise
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