NOTE

All images on this site are subject to copyright and must not be reproduced without my permission

ROBIN'S

ASTRONOMY

PAGE

N54.75 W3.24

You are welcome to e-mail me at robin_astro@hotmail.com with any questions or comments on what you see here

Although I have dabbled in many areas of observational astronomy, my main interest currently is Spectroscopy , the analysis of light from astronomical objects in terms of its wavelength (colour). Although it is a key tool for professional astronomers, there are relatively few amateur spectroscopists.

OBSERVATORY

SPECTROSCOPY

PHOTOMETRY

RADIO ASTRONOMY

IMAGE ARCHIVE

EQUIPMENT LIST

1004x-JG CAMERA

PORTABLE IMAGING PROJECT

 

ODDS & ENDS

SOME INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS (click on the images for more information)

Crab Pulsar - A  Stellar Lighthouse           A neutron star the size of  city and a the mass of the sun spinning 30 times a second sending out beams of radiation including visible light

Planets orbiting other Stars                    Some Exoplanets can be detected by watching for the tiny dip in light as the planet transits in front of its star.

The Sun’s Flash Spectrum.                     The elements in the Sun’s outer atmosphere are revealed for a few seconds at the end of a total eclipse

The Expansion of the Universe           The red shift of distant objects like quasars can be measured using simple spectroscopic techniques

A Gravitational Lens                                  An unseen but massive object passed between us and this star, acting like a lens for a few days   (The streaks are spectra)

Waltzing Binary Stars                              The changes in velocity as viewed from earth in the two stars as they orbit each other can be measured using high resolution spectroscopy.

The Chemistry of a Cosmic Sand Grain Although this meteor burnt up in our atmosphere in less than a second, it was enough to catch a spectrum and tentatively identify some elements.

A Very Big  Explosion                         The visible glow from a GRB produced when a star collapses into a black hole can be seen across the universe but only for a few hours

The Right time and Place.                   To catch the ISS pasing in front of Jupiter you have to work out when it is going to happen and where within 50 metres you need to be standing

 

 

LINKS