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Old 21-10-2011, 04:29 PM
PeterM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,997
Speaking with no authority at all and as usual this is long…. seems to me you have an independent pre-discovery image of a non transient object. Well picked up I reckon.


This happens a lot with transient objects like supernova and the pre-discovery image only supports by way of confirmation whoever first reported the discovery to the official body charged with announcing them. In our case for SN that’s CBAT. If you find an object in your image after a discovery announcement, that doesn't add you to the official discoverers, but for many transient (SN, Comet etc) discoveries pre-discovery images can be very valuable indeed ie the object brightened since the pre discovery image.


The Yahoo Deep Sky Hunters note on their site “A mailing list dedicated to the exchange of useful information between amateur and professional astronomers.
Our emphasis is on the discovery of new Deep-Sky objects.”
As they exchange information with professional astronomers regarding the discovery of new Deep-Sky Objects then I guess since you pointed this out a long time prior to any announcement and depending on how you worded your post in July last year then maybe they can go into bat for you. If it’s worded well and it points to a discovery then what have you got to lose. Why not write to ESO and send them your image and the details. They may be very supportive of amateurs. Ask the question

And if it's any encouragement here's what happened with SN2009J the one I call my .5 discovery out of my 2.5. I found it about 1 hour before it was announced and I put it on the Yahoo Supernova group page asking if anyone else could image it. No response and having just the one (he says) discovery under my belt at that stage I was not game to send it direct to CBAT. Sure enough just after midnite our time, just as I was about to report it, CHASE in Chile got credit for it in the announcements from CBAT. Bugger, bugger, bugger.x1000.... However I did have a date stamped report prior to any announcement and was encouraged by the great Bob Evans to pursue it with a well worded and factual email, dates etc, let the umpire decide and several days later was acknowledged as an independent discoverer.

I reckon you could write a good article for Australian Sky & Tel and have it published with your image next to or overlaid with the ESO one (with permission of course). This is the sort of stuff I reckon Gregg Bryant should be straight onto. I would love to read the full account of your find.
Either way, whatever comes of it I say great work in spotting something different in your image, more amateurs should be scrutinizing their images for transient and non transient objects and then knowing “who ya gonna call”.

Below are links relating to what to report / how to report transient objects.
http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/WhatToReport.html
http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/DiscoveryInfo.html

Last edited by PeterM; 29-10-2011 at 05:32 PM. Reason: added independent
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