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I have just spent a very frustrating time looking for a missing star for someone else on an image - that took about two hours in total to investigate. In lieu of this, and I would like to give some general advice to help those making a query to other IIS users to properly help identify stellar or deep-sky objects.
One of the first things I should say, that over the years that one thing I have found about observational astronomy is that not everything is as it is printed or as catalogued. Common errors often pop up, and no doubt it is frustrating in trying to hunt down the source of the error or find if it is really new discovery or issue.
No doubt among the brilliant imagers here often find something unusual in the images they produce, whether a missing star or a new object that cannot be identified.
Like most of the experienced amateurs, most are more than willing to help out new observers solve their problems.
If you do wish to gain some help, it is most important to always give additional assistance to others that are helping you. It is especially important when asking for confirming evidence to state basic information; such as time of observation, location, position of object and its brightness.
I strongly suggest all imagers (and visual observers) that do request help include;
- When you discovered this problem (date and or time) and the circumstances.
- All the time and date of the image(s) in question.
(Dates like 09-02-04 02:54 GMT are confusing, especially with US / British date formats. It is better to write times and dates in long form like; 4th February 2009 (04-02-09) at 02h 54m UT, so there is absolutely no confusion. In Australia by the way, the format should always be dd-mm-yy)
- Field size in degrees or arcmin and orientation of the image.
- Proper name or alternative names of the stars or object(s)
- What is the RA, Dec and Epoch of the star/ object in question or the co-ordinates of the centre of the field.
- What is the magnitude(s) of the star(s) or object(s)
- Approximate distances from some easily identifiable bright object
Always make sure you give as much of the
facts as necessary - even to the case of overkill, and
what measures you have taken to verify the claims you are making. If you are seeking some confirmation from an INDEPENDENT SOURCE it is always advisable to say so.
Does anyone else have any other suggestions like this that might be useful in helping others in the Forum ?
Please do not take these points personally or me just being condescending, but unless you give such information, sadly few professional or amateur astronomers will take little notice. This would be true even if it were some new significant discovery!
NOTE: The thing I always find difficult, is once you found something, what do you do with the information?
When Identifying Missing or New Objects
