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Advice on a CCD
- Jared Macphester
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- dmcdona
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17 years 2 months ago #51764
by dmcdona
Replied by dmcdona on topic Re: Advice on a CCD
Jared, I'm not familiar with the Atik I'm afraid, but other's here would be able to give you more details of its technical spec and capability.
That said, the price seems very reasonable.
As regards photometry, I'd say the filters you need to buy would probably cost not far less than the price of the imager. If you want to really get into photometry, I would strongly suggest you get hold of "A practical guide to lightcurve photometry and analysis" by Brian D Warner (published by Springer). This will give you a good idea of the type of equipment you should consider.
Also, bear in mind that if you have no, or very little experience of using a CCD imager, you will need to prepare yourself for a very steep learning curve. You first need to get your imaging skills up to scratch (and that includes having all you kit working at its optimum level) and then you're going to have dig deep to buy the extra stuff needed for photometry.
I would suggest that a logical progression is that you go ahead and get a CCD imager and learn how to use it with the equipment you have. Next, have a go at astrometry. Its pretty simple but will open you up to the rigours of providing real science to the community. Then, you'll be in a postion to give photometry a lash. But also be prepared to accept that you may need to spend a fair bit of cash.
And, one last point, if the money isn't an issue in divorce proceedings, the time you allocate to photometry might be
Hope you don't think I'm pouring cold water on your enthusiasm, but its best you know the pitfalls up front.
If you post up a list of equipment you currently have, that would be helpful.
Cheers
Dave
That said, the price seems very reasonable.
As regards photometry, I'd say the filters you need to buy would probably cost not far less than the price of the imager. If you want to really get into photometry, I would strongly suggest you get hold of "A practical guide to lightcurve photometry and analysis" by Brian D Warner (published by Springer). This will give you a good idea of the type of equipment you should consider.
Also, bear in mind that if you have no, or very little experience of using a CCD imager, you will need to prepare yourself for a very steep learning curve. You first need to get your imaging skills up to scratch (and that includes having all you kit working at its optimum level) and then you're going to have dig deep to buy the extra stuff needed for photometry.
I would suggest that a logical progression is that you go ahead and get a CCD imager and learn how to use it with the equipment you have. Next, have a go at astrometry. Its pretty simple but will open you up to the rigours of providing real science to the community. Then, you'll be in a postion to give photometry a lash. But also be prepared to accept that you may need to spend a fair bit of cash.
And, one last point, if the money isn't an issue in divorce proceedings, the time you allocate to photometry might be
Hope you don't think I'm pouring cold water on your enthusiasm, but its best you know the pitfalls up front.
If you post up a list of equipment you currently have, that would be helpful.
Cheers
Dave
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