Variable stars
Projet: Variable star Search Project for Automated telescope ( VeSPA )
With the first discovery, on March 9, 2014, the observatory began an observational campaign aimed at searching for new short-period variable stars in a range between magnitudes 13.5 and 15.5.
On this page we present a brief description of this project called "Variable star Search Project for Automated telescope "
(VeSPA): it is a CCD photometric survey of the Northern hemisphere which aims to discover new variable stars.
Instrumentation and methodology
The observations of the project VeSPA are obtained with the Newton telescope (250 mm F/5.5), equipped with a CCD camera
Starlight Xpress Trius-SX9.
A typical session consists of shooting from 4 or 8 adjacent fields in succession for the duration of the night, in order to have a coverage of 1/2 square degree, with a typical shutter speed.
2 minutes. This is serious; was chosen to be able to photometrically measure stars between magnitudes 13.5 and 15.5.
On average, a new variable star is expected to be detected for each square degree of sky observed.
The management of the telescope & egrave; entrusted to a software (Polypus) designed at our Observatory, which governs the observing sessions for the duration of the night, completely automatic.
The search for new variables on CCD frames is; conducted using a utility included in the package MPO Canopus. The light curves and the determination of the parameters of the new stars are obtained
with Mpo Canopus e Peranso.
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Variable stars discovered at the Bassano Bresciano Observatory