The author observes the starry sky
Human beings are born with curiosity and awe for the starry sky, and the exploration of the starry sky has never stopped. The discovery of new objects and new astronomical phenomena is the engine of astronomical development, in addition to professional astronomers are committed to professional astronomical discoveries, astronomy enthusiasts around the world (commonly known as "Tianai") are also actively involved in various types of amateur astronomical observations, including amateur astronomers who have achieved certain results.
For example, the famous interstellar comet 2I/Borisov was discovered by Ukrainian amateur astronomer Gennadi Borisov. In addition, Japan's amateur astronomers have been "dominating" the discovery of novae in the Milky Way for many years; Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki is still insisting on supernova search at the age of 74; Thai amateur astronomer Walachate Boonplod has become the world's most discovered soho comet; and many enthusiasts have discovered a large number of asteroids by participating in FMO, NEAT and other projects.
Astronomy enthusiasts are involved in astronomical discoveries, initially mainly to discover comets visually or photographically. With the development of photographic technology and Internet technology in astronomical observation, amateur astronomical discoveries are not limited to individuals looking for comets through telescopes or photographs, but have shifted to a more convenient and time-sensitive Internet model. Through the network, astronomy enthusiasts can participate in multiple influential amateur astronomical discovery projects, such as: FMO, NEAT, Galaxy Zoo, SOHO (including SWAN, and similar STEREO) and so on.
FMO "Fast Moving Objects" search items
FMO's "Fast Moving Objects" search project (2003~2006) is a project created by the SPACEWATCH Sky Survey program to encourage astronomy enthusiasts around the world to participate in FMO searches by downloading pictures from the Internet. Many FPOs belong to the PHA (Potentially Hazardous Asteroid is a potential threat to Earth). Astronomy enthusiasts only need to identify suspicious "short lines" in the downloaded images to submit. The FMO search project was closed in 2006 due to funding problems.
Fast-moving celestial bodies (long white lines in the red circle) │ Source: FMO Project
NEAT Asteroid Search Project
The NEAT Asteroid Search Project is a near-EARTH ASTEROID TRACKING (NEAT) affiliated with the National Space Administration (NASA). The main equipment of this project includes two telescopes with a diameter of 1.2 meters. Astronomy enthusiasts need to download the original FITS format file in their database, use Astrometrica (a software for astrometry under windows) for asteroid search and measurement, and then calculate the preliminary orbit through the FIND_ORB orbit calculation software, retrieve all the observation pictures of the target in the database according to the orbital parameters, and finally submit all the measured data to the International Minor Planet Center (MPC), the whole process needs to be completed by the participants themselves.
Although THE SEAT asteroid cannot obtain any relevant rights (such as discovery rights and naming rights) after its discovery, the training of search methods and processes can lay a solid foundation for astronomy enthusiasts to discover asteroids in other projects.
NEAT Asteroid Search Project Search and Download Images Webpage │ Image Source: SkyMorph
SOHO Comet Search Project
The SOHO Comet Search Project discovered The Nippon Comets by retrieving images taken by the SOHO probe. The SOHO satellite is a space telescope jointly developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Space Agency of the United States for solar and solar wind observations. The images taken by soHO satellites are shared internationally, and in addition to the experts of its project team, astronomy enthusiasts can obtain and analyze the pictures in a timely manner.
It's also easier to get involved, just measure the (X, Y) coordinates of SOHO Comet in the picture and submit it for reporting. However, it is very difficult to find possible SOHO comets from the pictures full of noise and cosmic rays, not only that, but in practice, it is necessary to PK with other enthusiasts in terms of discovery speed, and reports later than 15 seconds will not be recognized.
A bright Cruz family comet discovered by the authors in 15 seconds with Michal Kusiak, Szymon Liwo, and three astronomers, is the brightest Cruz family comet discovered through the SOHO satellite, numbered SOHO-2143. This is an image of the comet taken by six cameras from three solar probes. │ Image source: SOHO/STEREO
An obvious SOHO comet is often discovered by others in a short period of time, thus losing the right to discover. So search for SOHO comet, you must find it when the comet first appeared, the target at this time is very weak, accounting for only 2-3 pixels in the picture, and it is difficult to distinguish between noise, so it is necessary to practice a pair of "fire eyes". Hundreds of people around the world participate in the SOHO comet search, and when the competition is fierce, there are often several "masters" online at the same time, and the "scene" is quite fierce.
Since the launch of the SOHO satellite, nearly 4200 Comets have been discovered, almost all of which have been discovered by astronomers. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), similar to the SOHO satellites, could also be used to discover Comets of the Nissophila.
Galaxy Zoo
Galaxy Zoo is a volunteer science program run by research institutes such as Oxford University, Portsmouth University, Johns Hopkins University and others, inviting public assistance to classify more than 1 million galaxies. One of the Supernova Zoo projects is an online search for supernovae. This model also provides ideas and references for the domestic Star Tomorrow Wentai public supernova search project.
Galaxy Zoo Project Webpage │ Source: Galaxy Zoo
Domestic amateur observatory sky survey project
In addition to screening observation targets from the observation data of research institutions, some astronomical enthusiasts with high levels can also establish their own sky survey observation projects and "get a piece of the pie" from the mouth of the professional observatory sky survey project.
Xingmingwentai is the first amateur observatory in China built by astronomers to carry out sky survey projects, located in Xiaofengliang, Gangou Township, the southern suburb of Urumqi City, Xinjiang. Originally built in 2007, XingmingWentai currently has a number of remotely controlled unattended observation equipment, its representative equipment or amateur sky survey projects, which currently include: public supernova search project (PSP), half-meter telescope (HMT), comet search plan (CSP), metering auxiliary telescope (PAT), the huge field of view sky survey telescope (EAST) currently in test operation, and the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau - Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory Telescope (NEXT). Since its completion, through the cooperative observation of domestic enthusiasts, a number of new stars, comets, asteroids, supernovae and other celestial bodies have been discovered.
Star Tomorrow Wentai Public Supernova Search Project │ Source: Author
If you want to "get a piece of the pie" from the mouth of the professional observatory sky survey project, you need to stagger with each professional observatory in terms of observation time and sky survey area through reasonable observation plan. The International Minor Planet Center website provides daily survey area maps of each observatory, which can be used to refer to whether the area of the sky to be observed has not been observed by other observatories in a number of days.
The International Minor Planet Center website provides a daily survey area map query for each observatory, and the small squares of various colors in the map are the sky areas that each observatory has searched for in the corresponding time. │ Image source: MPC
Conclusion
Although the observation business of professional observatories has covered various fields, making amateur astronomical discoveries increasingly difficult, there are still a large number of enthusiasts around the world who insist on participating in astronomical discoveries and can obtain considerable results. At the same time, astronomy enthusiasts and professional astronomers now have a closer cooperation, in the professional observatory telescope equipment is more and more powerful today, astronomical enthusiasts can still get results in astronomical discoveries, and enjoy the fun.
About the Author
Xu Zhijian
China Three Gorges University and Purple Mountain Observatory jointly train 2020 graduate students, specializing in astrophysics and astrometry. Before becoming a graduate student in astronomy, he participated in several international astronomical search projects as an astronomical enthusiast for many years and achieved remarkable results. So far, a total of 316 SOHO comets and 15 STEREO comets have been discovered. He also discovered 14 supernovae, 3 extragalactic novae, four asteroids (permanently numbered), and dozens of variable stars through the Star Tomorrow Wentai Sky Survey Program.
Rotating Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Yang
Producer, Editor: Wang Kechao