I have selected 8 stars to experiment with for data collection that are accurate given my city light conditions and aperture size. S Boo V Lib RU Lib Y Lib U Lib SS Her W Sco RS Lyr I need a mathematical formula to determine integration times for ACP control. I use a Paramount ME with a Meade 16" SCT, SBIG ST-10 And Maxim DL. So far my attempt is to image where max ADU is at 20,000. Is this a correct target ADU? Y Lib at 300 seconds estimated magnitude is 14-15 from AAVSO list gives me a count of 18,232. SS Her at 9 seconds measured mag 10.2 MaximDL counts 9333. I presume I should increase integration time. Is there a formula or is it guess and check? S Boo 10 sec mag 9.5 gives 57,606 with no bleeding pixels. 65,000 is the well limit and my camera tests linearly at least as far as 50,000 ADU. Ru Lib and V Lib test similarly large. The others are washed out by the Moon so I will add them in a week or so. I have not calibrated yet for a presentable image, just getting my legs for a good set to start so I can match dark frame integration times. Anyway is there a formula to lead me to guess a proper integration time? Arnie told me to contact Jerry Foote for advice, so could I have a link to him? Marlin Costello
Links:
[1] http://www.aavso.org/forums/variable-stars/long-period-variables-lpvs
[2] http://www.aavso.org/forums/variable-star-observing/photometry