Director of the RAS, Remote Astronomical Society, Observatory Announced Today That a New Membership Program is Now Available to Amateur Astronomers
Exciting program to provide amateur astronomers with remote observing facilities. Equipped with sensitive chilled detectors some of these systems have been used to discover asteroids that were fainter than 20th magnitude.
Fountain Valley, CA (PRWEB) October 19, 2005 -- The new director of the RAS (Remote Astronomical Society) Observatory, Martin Nicholson, announced today that a new membership program is now available to amateur astronomers (http://www.martin-nicholson.info/ras/front.htm). This exciting program is designed to provide amateur astronomers with similar remote observing facilities currently only enjoyed by professional astronomers. An added attraction to the 5 sophisticated Takahashi telescope systems mounted on Paramount robotic mounts is their access to the pristine dark skies of New Mexico, USA.
Equipped with sensitive chilled detectors some of these systems have been used to discover asteroids that were fainter than 20th magnitude. Every clear night (normally about 250 nights a year) hundreds of CCD (Charged Coupled Devices) images are captured under the direction and control of both individual and groups of observers operating the RAS telescopes from computers located all over the globe. At the end of each exposure, the images are downloaded from the cameras (also referred to as detectors), compressed and transferred to strategically located, high-speed servers. The researchers then connect to the high-speed servers via the internet and retrieve their science data.
The UK based Nicholson quipped, “It is really quite amazing…in some cases, many of these international amateur researchers will begin analyzing, documenting and reporting their latest findings to various scientific data repositories within just hours of initially intercepting the faint stream of photons that may have traveled hundreds of light years to reach our Earthly destination.” Nicholson continued, “The system in use at our observatory is very efficient. Imagine being able to direct a telescope from hundreds or maybe thousands of miles away to a point in the heavens within a few arc minutes of accuracy. The best part is that this miracle happens not just once or twice a night but literally hundreds of times a night.”
Nicholson commented, “Professional astronomers have many resources available to them provided by universities and other research facilities funded in part by grants. Now amateur astronomers will also be able to participate in a similar fashion and at reasonably inexpensive rates. The RAS Observatory has negotiated a special arrangement with Rent-a-scope, (www.rent-a-scope.com a robotic telescope time rental service) to provide observing resources to members of the RAS Observatory (www.ras-observatory.org) at special research rates."
Mr. Nicholson went on to say. “There are many additional benefits to membership at the RAS Observatory. Pooling the expertise of the various members, advanced techniques are shared and employed to achieve higher levels of scientific achievement.
In a technical vein some of the instruments are equipped with special filters and sensitive detectors that are typically beyond the financial means of many amateurs. By joining the RAS Observatory members can engage in some very specific types of research.”
Here are some of the additional benefits available to members of the RAS Observatory:
| | - A support system for amateur astronomers to participate in scientific research
- Educational resources
- Assistance in developing meaningful projects
- Assistance in presenting findings and document research results
- Submission of papers
- Coordination of research projects
- Subsidizing research projects
- A platform to permit researchers to present work
- Recognition to researchers for achievements
- Coordinate amateur projects with professional projects
- Coordinate collaborative projects
- Completive projects to help develop skills
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Asked about future plans, Mr. Nicholson responded, “We are also planning to provide an environment where collaborative research will be coordinated through web meeting resources. At the moment this technology is under study. However, if we are successful in meeting our planned objectives, international amateur researchers will be able to attend global meetings using the RAS Observatory resources, from their respective locations through-out the world. This will allow many more individuals to participate, save a tremendous amount of time, reduce travel and accommodation costs and in general speed up the entire process of disseminating new technology and resolving many issues in a much shorter time frame.”
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