I managed a rough spectrum last night under poor conditions of low altitude, thin (and thick!) cloud and a howling gale. Star Analyser grating and Canon 650D at 200mm.
Also crop from 200mm widefield image, same conditions.
Nice work Rob, especially given the altitude and conditions.
Can I ask if you were preregistered for CBAT? I sent my spectrum but it hasn't shown up.
Thanks Malc. Yes, I'm registered. It's a simple matter to apply (follow instructions on TOCP main page) and they email you a username & password. They can take a while to reply as it's not an automated process.
In case you haven't seen it, both of our spectra are cited in the IAU CBET #3732. I'm not subscribed but someone from Canterbury University astronomy department let me know.
It's my first telegram so I'm pretty stoked
Sun is setting here now, patchy cloud. Fingers crossed I'll get another shot tonight.
In case you haven't seen it, both of our spectra are cited in the IAU CBET #3732. I'm not subscribed but someone from Canterbury University astronomy department let me know.
It's my first telegram so I'm pretty stoked
Sun is setting here now, patchy cloud. Fingers crossed I'll get another shot tonight.
Thanks for that Malc, and congratulations on the mention! Pity CBETs aren't freely available, would love to get a copy.
Looking good here although the wind's pretty fierce.
This is probably the brightest southern nova since Nova Velorum in 1999. This morning I made it mag 4.6 at Dec 3.842UT and a recent observation from Argentina has it now at mag 4.3. So we'll know soon on this side of the globe as to whether it has continued to brighten.
This morning I made it out to be V=4.5, naked-eye observation (04.74 Dec 2013 UT). Attached is another spectrum, amazing the difference a clear sky & a bit of altitude make!
I haven't even seen the little blighter yet - wall to wall cloud in Canberra. But I have my SA 100 poised and ready, and am desperately hoping that the guys in Holland making the L200 spectrographs get them rolling out before too long - I have one in order.
The French spectroscopy crowd must be gnashing their teeth.
I haven't even seen the little blighter yet - wall to wall cloud in Canberra. But I have my SA 100 poised and ready, and am desperately hoping that the guys in Holland making the L200 spectrographs get them rolling out before too long - I have one in order.
Well, the cloud has arrived here tonight so hopefully it has left you behind.
I'm about to pull the trigger on buying an L200 too, although as this is the second once in a lifetime nova in the past few months I'm expecting a drought after mine arrives
Another clear night here and there appear to be significant changes in the spectrum of the nova. Terry Bohlsen, where are you?! Rather than the emission lines that have been showing at H-alpha & H-beta, absorption lines are evident. I re-shot it several times with the same result - calibration is not perfect but close enough. SA100 grating with Canon 650D & 200mm lens, stack of 15 subs.
What a difference a day makes....
The emission around Ha and Hb have lost their P Cygni profile and become truncated in the blue.....
12a/pix
Yep, I found the same Ken. In general, within the resolution available to me, from 3-6 Dec the Ha & Hb emissions flattened gradually while the adjacent absorption lines deepened, peaking 6 Dec with a flat Hb and a fairly flat, slightly broader Ha line. On the 7th the P Cygni profile is gone and the hydrogen emission lines are re-asserting themselves. Will be interesting to keep following it on a night-to-night basis.