But Bojan, if you capture using GSTAR capture (free from the myastroshop website) it has built in millisecond timing overlay from the computer clock and I recommend giving it a go in conjunction with beeper sync.
Thanks Jonathan, I have been looking for something like this for ages.
Does anyone have advice for the best setting for a Philips ToUCam (SPC900NC)
The defaults seems to be:
Format I420 (other options: IYUV, YUY2)
Resolution 320x240 (other options: 640x480, 352x288, 176x144,160x120)
Frame rate 25fps
No matter what I select, the output avi always seems to be 25fps, for example in the attached screen print I selected 15fps, but the output looks like it was still 25fps.
Record a sequence and look at the times on each frame - that will give you an indication of what is going on regarding the timing. If you are running 25fps then there should be increments of 0.040 seconds each frame.
Some playback video software ignores the timing signal in the avi and will play back at 25 fps regardless, so it may have recorded at a lower speed and effectively been sped up on playback.
I find the free program VirtualDub very good for closer examination, editing and capture too.
Note that Steve Preston has updated his path prediction (latest monthly update to the asteroid files was released by the MPC on April 28).
Predicted path has shifted a little southward. Probably doesn't really matter much. Melbourne is still mostly in the 1-sigma zone but the main path is now south of a line from Berwick to Aspendale and now includes Phillip Island. Mornington Peninsula and Latrobe Valley are right in the path however so the more of you who can check it out the better.
To date I have heard from probable observers from Apollo Bay to the La Trobe valley. There is a chance of a hole in the clouds somewhere. Don't leave it to the last minute to find problems in gear or method. Be prepared a few minutes either side of predicted times. The shadow is moving at some 10km/sec.
Regards and good sky, at least at about 00.22 on 8th May,
pity the occultation is not on now.. clear skies across most of the path but not for long! hopefully enough people get gaps tomorrow night!
i have tested my routine.. Q-guide camera on my rough as guts finderscope can comfortably see 6th mag stars in 0.2 sec integrations. have beeper sync running on the laptop and cam studio to capture to video the combination of the output from guide camera and timestamp from beeper sync.
need to work out the delay in getting image from camera to screen but can work that out afterwards if i get a hit. good luck..
I'm all ready too: Camera - SPC900NC, GSTAR capture software and ED127 scope, Dimension 4 time sync for the PC. I managed to find and capture a test video of the correct star no problems.
I couldn't work out how to capture a video file from my QHY5 (is it possible?) so I'll stick with the ToUCam this time.
still another 14+ hours to go unless i've got things completely wrong!
james - i'm sure there would be a way to capture Q-guide to video file, but i'm doing it the hacks way.. using free Cam Studio to 'screen capture' everything on my laptop screen to AVI.
with the quality set to high, pretty much the full resolution of the PHD window is captured, with accurate time from BeeperSync in the window next to it.
i've also installed and registered for observing this event with Occult Watcher.. cool program! There's another event for Melbourne on Tue 18th May.. 9th mag star but still very do-able with longer integrations.
Skippy sky says CLUDS in Melbourne..
However I do not need skippy to tell me that ... a glance through the window is enough.. rainy, grey, miserable day..
First attempt at an occultation by an asteroid. Unfortunately totally clouded out with rain at the critical time from eastern Melbourne. Still, that's visual astronomy!
Four of us stayed to the end at the Lodge with mostly heavy cloud. But at the very last minute there wa a break in the cloud and Antares shone through then the last minute ended.
Odd, the BOM sat pics showed the cloud almost only everywhere along the path. Did anyone see anything of the event?
I was very badly clouded out here as well for my first attempt. But I'm all set up now - Occult Watcher is really great and I have a whole list of new targets to keep me busy. As Phil said, (1464) Armisticia on 18 May is mag 9.6.
I need to test my camera and see what magnitude I can go down to.
i had given up but then with five minutes to go some gaps appeared, so i hooked everything up and pressed record but all i got was cloud and a wet laptop.. i've never tried to observe while it was actually drizzling before
next time maybe..
can't get focus with my Q-guide on the Epsilon so will either have to get an adaptor or pull the old Maksutov out of the cupboard if i'm going to see 9th mag stars like Armisticia on 18th May..
The trouble with inegration over 0.2 sec or more is the loss of time resolution, error increasing to 200ms or more. Then visual/audio methods become more accurate - 20 to 50ms. With a 27km asteroid shadow travelling at c10 km/sec diameter error becomes .5km or more
There is also the mag 10.1 star by Ethiopia just before midnight on Monday 10th
Ron
Last edited by Ron Garrett; 10-05-2010 at 01:29 AM.
I hope you all keep at it, there is a very frustrating Melbourne shaped hole in our occultation network that needs filling And believe me, they are all the more exiting events because of the difficulty in observing them.
Well I had a go at (1432) Ethiopia tonight. The star was only a mag 10.1, but I **think** might have snagged it. In the attached image, the star has dimmed a lot, but it is still just visible. The time looks like it's in the ball park too.
I did a test and found my Philips ToUCam SPC900NC can only go down to mag 8.5 ish on my scope. So I changed over to the QHY5 and used the QCVideo software.
looks promising. analyse the video with limovie which will let you take a light curve of your video so all will be clear. it's a free download, but the instructions are a little light, so give me a shout if you get stuck!
We seem to have had 2 misses. You probably heard that Dave Herald went to Sale for a "miss". We had another site a Apollo Bay on the S edge of the path with a clear sky but no event. I'll make sure he sends in a report.
I'm going to start a thread "Occultations Victorian" - NOT parochial, just recognising the "hole " you mentioned and the fact that these things are very locally visible.
Ron
And believe me, they are all the more exiting events because of the difficulty in observing them.
(1432) Ethiopia
