Observational Activities at Manipur University, India (Abstract)
Volume 43 number 1 (2015)
- Kangujam Yugindro Singh
- Department of Physics, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal West District, 795003, India; yugindro361@gmail.com
- Irom Ablu Meitei
- Address correspondence to K. Y. Singh, Department of Physics, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal West District, 795003, India; yugindro361@gmail.com
- Salam Ajitkumar Singh
- Address correspondence to K. Y. Singh, Department of Physics, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal West District, 795003, India; yugindro361@gmail.com
- Rajkumar Basanta Singh
- Address correspondence to K. Y. Singh, Department of Physics, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal West District, 795003, India; yugindro361@gmail.com
Abstract
(Abstract only) We have innovatively designed and constructed three observatories each costing a few hundred USD for housing three small Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescopes, namely, Celestron CGE925, Celestron CGE1400, and Meade 12-inch LX200GPS. These observatories are completely different in design and are found to be perfectly usable for doing serious work on astronomical observation and measurements. The observatory with the Celestron CGE1400 telescope has been inducted, since January 2012, as one of the observatories of the international “Orion Project” headquartered at Phoenix, Arizona, which is dedicated for photometric and spectroscopic observations of five bright variable stars of the Orion constellation namely, Betelgeuse (a Ori), Rigel (b Ori), Mintaka (d Ori), Alnilam (e Ori) and Alnitak (z Ori). Using this observatory, we have been producing BVRI photometric data for the five stars of the Orion project. The other observatory with the Meade 12-inch LX200GPS telescope is being inducted into service for CCD photometric study of SU UMa stars in connection with implementation of a project funded by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). In the present paper, we would like to describe our self-built observatories, our observational facilities, the BVRI photometric data that we acquired for the Orion project, and our future plan for observation of variable stars of interest.