Author Archives: Paul

The very bright (and brightening) nova candidate in Carina confirmed as classical nova in the early evening of March 21st. Additional information can be found at ATel #11460.

Confirmation of the Nova candidate ASASSN-17mt was achieved in the early hours of September 29 local time, a few days after the announcement. Additional information about the spectrum of this classical nova acquired as it entered the Fe curtain stage … Continue reading →

Two documents created to provide a brief summary of response correction and in particular using the response assistant in ISIS for spectra acquired with the Alpy 600. Correcting for instrument response using the Response Assistant in ISIS Creating an instrument response and … Continue reading →

A confirmation spectrum of TCP J18102829-2729590, a galactic nova in Sagittarius. The target, setting rapidly in the west, was imaged using the Alpy 600 under challenging conditions, providing confirmation as a classical nova in the optically thick stage. The resulting … Continue reading →

22 spectra of mu Sgr showing clear evidence of the orbital characteristics of this enigmatic binary, now 115 days through its 180 day period. The variability could show evidence of atmospheric eclipsing, together with wind variability. As the target sinks towards … Continue reading →

A document that summarises the steps required to create a very accurate wavelength solution using ISIS when processing spectra acquired with the Alpy 600: Alpy 600 “Mixed Mode” Calibration

A quick report and first light test of the Alpy 600 mounted to the RC14 telescope: Alpy 600 + RC14 Test

A report on radial velocity measurements of NGC 5236 (M83) undertaken recently from spectra with the Lhires III: Galaxy redshift and velocity measurements using the Lhires III spectrograph

The 2016 WR6 campaign wrapped up on 21st April with 20 spectra acquired over 91 days at the target wavelength of 5411Å.

Datasets of the rare blue supergiant UW Canis Majoris – a eclipsing contact binary. Lhires III spectra  acquired at two target wavelengths, He II at 4686Å and 5411Å,  over a 2 month time frame to coordinate with BRITE-Constellation satellite photometric observations.

The following spectral image was taken during the day on January 25th, 2016. It shows a spectrum of Alpha Centaurus superimposed on the background solar (sky) spectrum. This high resolution Lhires III spectral image spans about 130Å in the ‘green’ … Continue reading →

The following is a small sample of Be stars acquired as part of the BeSS initiative showing excellent alignment with atmospheric telluric lines, despite using only a 3 line, second order polynomial dispersion calculation for spectral calibration.

A test of the Shelyak Alpy 600 using a Takahashi FSQ-85 shows extremely well corrected spectra, particularly notable at shorter wavelengths which are typically problematic for refractors of simpler design. A link to the report: FSQ-85 and the Alpy 600   … Continue reading →

Several spectra of the star Fomalhaut acquired simultaneously with Lhires III and Alpy 600 spectroscopes illustrate the difference between high resolution and low resolution spectroscopy.

A series of A-Type stars acquired on the  17th  and 20th September, 2015 with an Alpy 600. Even at low resolution, it’s possible to detect subtle increases in complexity in the sequence. An increase in line strength of  ionised CaII is particularly obvious. … Continue reading →

A test of the new Shelyak Alpy 600 low resolution spectrograph showing a sequence of OBAFGKM stars.

A number of plots illustrating the dynamic nature of zeta Puppis from data acquired on the 12th March 2015.

20 spectra of zet Pup taken between UT 1130 and UT 1830 on February 19, 2015. 19 spectra of gam2 Vel taken between UT 1150 and UT 1820 on February 20, 2015.

The gam² Vel campaign entering its third month (click to enlarge image). The impressive  feature at 5696Å is the C III emission of the Wolf-Rayet companion, and the ‘left-right’ wavelength shift over time is a result of its 78.5 day orbit. … Continue reading →

Some test absorption and emission spectra acquired with the Lhires III using a 150 l/mm grating.     

An animation of 20 spectra taken between Dec. 11 2014 and January 28 2015  showing a continually varying HeII feature (click to enlarge).  

A quick representation showing 1.5 month’s worth of data collected so far for the 2015 zet Pup and gam² Vel spectroscopic monitoring campaigns. Zet Pup spectra target the 4686Å HeII emission feature, while the CIII feature at 5696Å is the target for … Continue reading →

The 29 spectra submitted to the 2014 international eta Carinae campaign feature as part of ATel #6380 (August 11) and ATel #6464 (September 12).

A spectrum obtained on August 8 reveals the transition of HeII from minimum to P3

A test data acquisition of Eta Carinae spectra to assess the potential for contributing to current monitoring projects. Conditions were poor (cloudy) but results look promising. The profile below has been corrected for instrument response and normalised.

Spectroscopic observations of the magnitude 5.66 Wolf-Rayet star Theta Muscae reduced using BASS.

‘First light’ star testing of a Spectra L200 spectroscope . Click “Continue reading” below to see the entire analysis.

Further calibration and testing of a Spectra L200 spectroscope on the solar spectrum (pointing the telescope at the day time sky) using the integrated neon  lamp for calibration. Click “Continue reading” below to see the entire analysis.