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Re: [vsnet-chat 6991] Re: Weighing the options A very suggestive story :-). I did perfectly the same (in somewhat reverse order) about 20 years ago. I was first suggested (by a nearby astronomy member) to become a photoelectric photometer, and recorded eclipsing binaries and SX Phe stars (CY Aqr and SX Phe, some of these light curves can be seen in the VSNET or VSOLJ databases). I tried my best to get 0.01 mag precision, by using fractional magnitude steps and with some help of mathematics. The key importance was (what was stressed at that time) to "make as frequent observations as possible", and I recorded SX Phe observations several times per minute. The next step was to observe "as many different objects as possible" within a single observing run, in order to forget the impression of the last observation. This importance was stressed by pioneering nearby observers. I calculated more than hundreds of EBs minima and observed several from them interchangeably within the same night. The sheer result was that I didn't even remember which star was in eclipse -- yes, I may have become an ideal photometer :-). I was completely happy with nightly ever-moving telescope (and some happy fatigue ;-), and satisfied with the human skill to introduce the objects within some seconds. The next suggestion I received was to monitor CV outbursts. This application was "what was deemed the supreme application of visual observation". I was given a high power eyepiece to get deeper limiting magnitudes. I started with brighter CVs, then turned to much fainter ones (monitored max 13.5 objects with a 10-cm telescope). When I started using a 15-cm telescope (at my local star group), I even monitored 16th mag objects. When I bought a 20-cm telescope for my own use, I realized that the existing variable star charts were no longer sufficient, and redrawn detailed charts using the POSS figure reproductions in the literature, collected all CVs and suspects from the GCVS, learned Russian to collect charts and information of obscure objects from Astron. Tsirk., Perem. Zvezdy etc. My daytime was spent to prepare chart materials and literature search and programing, and observe them when the night came -- how happy I felt with this business! As things went deeper, I noticed that I had better prepare for and reduce observations between observing runs. The night then began with observation, data reduction (in half darkness) and phone notification of outbursts, another sequence of observation, and so on. I even had an illusion that I didn't feel unconscious spells (e.g. sleep), but always felt that the stars are calling through the eyepiece. Even under cloudy skies, I searched for a cloud gap to get any observation. I then recommended this experience to my local variable star friends. One of them bought a computer to analyze all electronic catalogs available by then, and regularly handled 1000 floppy disks (5-inch FDs were the only reasonable medium at that time), and magically interchangeably installed these FDs on the computer to make catalog cross correlations. The floor of the room was filled with FDs and FD boxes, memos with random numbers... The vast correlations were then used to plan for next observations, and for examination of available photographs (including commercial photographic atlases which he bought), he bought digitizing apparatus, newly available expensive HDDs, fast compilers for a PC -- he confessed that he must have spent nearly $10000 to make these catalog correlations and to prepare candidate observing targets. He later confessed that he would have much better life standard if he had not chosen variable stars as a hobby, and if he had not become acquainted with the notorious tk*t* ;-). The lesson was: astronomy is so addictive :-) Regards, Taichi Kato
Return to the Powerful Daisaku Nogami
vsnet-adm@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp
