CCD Photometry from Inside the Light Dome: Leisure Time Activity for a Retired Engineer
In the past four years, Tom Polakis has very actively pursued photometry with his CCD imaging equipment in Tempe, Arizona. During that time, he has determined rotation periods of asteroids, measured brightness and colors of eclipsing binary and pulsating variable stars, and created light curves of exoplanets and an active quasar along the way.
The first half of his presentation describes the fundamentals of photometry, equipment and acquisition of images, and data reduction. Then the talk moves on to show a number of examples of his work that illustrate how measuring something as simple as the variation of light and color teaches us so much about stellar and Solar System astronomy.
Tom has been active in the hobby for 43 years, with interests in visual observing, photography, and CCD imaging. His stories have appeared in the pages of “Astronomy” and “Sky & Telescope” magazines, and is an author or co-author of 25 papers in refereed journals.