[AZ-Observing] Re: Recording Seeing Conditions (was WOW!)

I have considered using doubles, it would certainly be more accurate as 
Brian suggests as it removes some of the viewer's subjective judgment.  
I have used that method a couple times, much too much trouble for the 
information I need to record.  You have to find two or three doubles 
that are appropriately spaced for that night's seeing and high in the 
sky.  This exercise takes more than a few minutes, a good set of double 
star lists at the scope for each month and as a result doesn't routinely 
get done.

For my notes I need a quick method and one that says; great,  good, OK, 
bad, terrible.  A single star method like Pickering provides that 
information.  So that's what I use.

As for using the telescope to determine transparency, this does have 
some merit.  But again you run into technical issues.  You would need a 
set of good charts, maybe a dozen, placed across the sky so that one or 
another would be near zenith at any given time.  I use an 18" telescope 
so I would need charts to 16th mag, not trivial, none of my portable 
charts go near this.  Maybe some AAVSO fields would do the trick.  I'll 
continue to use naked eye I think.

Andrew


Brian Skiff wrote:

>     Andrew wrote:
>  
>
>>> We need something, I am not always going to hook in a CCD camera and do
>>> a measurement of the FWHM to figure out the seeing in arcseconds.
>>>      
>>>
>  
>     No one's mentioned CCD imaging or FWHM in this thread until now.
>  
>  
>
>>> ...standing by a telescope I need something, and it needs to be quick,
>>> simple and need not be horribly accurate.  The only  important thing
>>> that it be reasonably consistent.
>>>      
>>>
> 
>  
>
>>> Looking at a star at high mag and
>>> looking at zenith with a star chart in hand fits the bill.
>>>      
>>>
>  
>     In case others besides Andrew have misconstrued what I'm trying
>to get at, rephrase the above quote as follows:
>  
>     Looking at a [double] star at high mag and
>     looking [through the telescope] at zenith with a star chart in hand...
>
>\Brian
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>
>
>
>  
>

-- 


Andrew Cooper
----------------------------------------------------
http://www.siowl.com



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