Published: April 15, 2005
A new observing FAQ was written and continues to be edited with the assistance of Dr. Mark Lacy and others. It is posted at: http://homepage.mac.com/dvhscience/SpaceAcademy/Projects/Spitzer/observingfaq.html These instructions will help ground based observers contribute to the project.
Mr. Adkins presented a workshop at Deer Valley High School using the infrared teaching kit to a small group of teachers and students. The workshop was well received, and resulted in several teachers borrowing the photocell-amplifier circuit for demonstration in their own classrooms.
He also has presented a very brief synopsis of the project to the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society and invited them to participate.
Mr. Adkins' student Brielle Hinckley has taken an active role in pursuing the ground-based observation of our target. She has already taken approximately 10 images of 4C 29.45 over two different observing sessions, all using luminance (clear) filters. Several other students have assisted in collecting images using the New Mexico Skies system, sponsored by TLRBSE's school year observing program. Preliminary results from the data reduction will be available by the end of next month.
Because the finder charts and references have UVBRI filter data, the team requested images from this set from the volunteer observers. The team inquired with Steven Croft about obtaining enough time to do 4 observations with NM Skies using these filters, which come via a 4 hour overhead charge from NM Skies to change and align the filter wheel assembly from its usual RGB configuration. Consulting with the Spitzer Science Center's Dr. Mark Lacy, Hinckley has been charged with making a decision about whether or not to use luminance + R from the RGB set, or to write a proposal to the telescope allocation committee to get time to make UVBRI observations.