infrared

This information was originally published as a series of reports by AAVSO observer Doug West in 2003, outlining his experiments and calibrations of the Optec SSP-4 infrared photometer

• Report 1 (Initial testing)
• Report 2 (SNR testing)
• Report 3 (Transformation)
• Report 4 (Observations)

SSP-4 Photometer Observation Report and Analysis #1

By Doug West
16 May 2003

April 4, 2013: Huan Meng and Dr. George Rieke (University of Arizona) have requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring three bright stars with developing planetary systems. The stars have been observed with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to have varying levels of dust in the circumstellar disk. These varying levels are thought to be produced through collisions among the asteroid-size debris in the disk.

April 3, 2013:  Huan Meng and Dr. George Rieke (University of Arizona) have requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring three bright stars with developing planetary systems. The stars have been observed with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to have varying levels of dust in the circumstellar disk. These varying levels are thought to be produced through collisions among the asteroid-size debris in the disk.

January 16, 2013: Dr. Péter Ábrahám (Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary) has requested the assistance of AAVSO observers in monitoring eight young stars in Chamaeleon in support of photometry he and his colleagues will be obtaining with the VLT/ISAAC (infrared) and Herschel Space Observatory (far-infrared) during January-February 2013.

SSP-4 Targets and Comparison Stars

Table 1 - SSP-4 Target List

Update (July 7, 2015):  I-band coverage of QX Pup by AAVSO observers since 2010 clearly shows that the period given in the 4th Edition of the GCVS of 648: days is incorrect. A phase plot by Sebastián Otero of these data shows that the period of QX Pup in I_c is 551 days.

The Field of QX Pup

This is a multiple set of projects, so pick and choose what aspects of them interest you.

What is Infrared Photometry?

Infrared astronomy is an exciting new area of observation and study for the amateur astronomer, and there is huge potential for amateur astronomers to break new ground and contribute important observations to this exciting field of research.