acrux spectrum

[Astrobserver99]

Spectrum of acrux with meade 8" SCT, Atik CCD and Star Analyser 100

Acrux is a type B0.5IV

[Merlin66]

Rob,
Good start.
Was that an Atik colour CCD?
The "dip" at the end of the green looks like it could be associated with the RGB filters....
Have you done any processing on it yet? Rspec or Vspec.

[Astrobserver99]

Merlin,
It's a colour ccd, one of the older Toucam chip models. The IR filter was in place. Also had a problem with dew. I don't usually do star spectra, strictly dedicated to minerals, but I can see why astronomers get hooked on it:)

[Merlin66]

The UV-IR only limits the extent of the spectrum to roughly 400nm - 700nm.
A picture of the stars may show you what they look like - but a spectroscope shows the soul....

[Astrobserver99]

Nice quote, is that your own?

There was also a neodymium skyglow filter attached, something I did not notice at first.

[Merlin66]

Hmmm
yes the sky glow filter would skew the balance.
You should remove all the filters for spectroscopy....

Yes -my thoughts on spectroscopy...I don't know how original it is....may have heard it somewhere...but it does reflect how effective spectroscopy is in analysing the "fingerprints" of the stars...a bit like looking at their DNA.....

[Astrobserver99]

Yes, I am familiar with the concepts of spectroscopy. My main problem is always getting the equipment set up properly, as I have no permanent setup.

[Merlin66]

Paraphrased from
"Unbroken starlight allows us to admire a star's external characteristics; its spectrum allows us to look into its very soul."

Comes from Kaler's website:
http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/spectra.html#spectrograph