Visit of
Cornwall Schools Astronomy Project7 August 2001
Another group of students from the Cornwall Schools Astronomy Project (CSAP)
visited La Palma to use the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope (JKT) during August
2001.
Amanda Willmott (15) and Mary Williamson (16), who are in the final
year of their GCSE Astronomy course, together with Lauren Willmott (12) who
has just started the course, spent the preceding day using stellar
catalogues and software to select well placed objects and associated guide
stars. During the night of 7th August, they used various filters and took
over 100 different CCD images of planetary nebulae, spiral galaxies, Comet
Linear, Uranus and open clusters of stars and galaxies. By taking images of
Uranus and its moons at the start and end of the night's run, they hope to
be able to estimate the orbital periods of both the planet and the moons.
The students were accompanied by course tutor Mike Willmott and his wife
Maggie, who are both qualified teachers, and everyone was grateful for the
immense amount of time and inspirational help given by Javier Méndez over
these three days, and also from Joanna Holt for the night's observations.
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Lauren Willmott at JKT control
room | Amanda Willmott
takes the first images |
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The
schoolchildren at the WHT control room accompanied by support astronomers
Joanna Holt and Javier Méndez |
The same group as
before but
now with Maggie Willmott standing on the right |
This is the second year that CSAP students and tutors have been able to
visit the site to use the JKT, and the experience gained by them is greatly
valued, and is due in no small part to the supportive atttitude of ING
staff.
Mike Willmott
willmott@cvwidegates.freeserve.co.uk
Images
The images below were taken by the students, reduced by support astronomer
Javier Méndez and colour combined by amateur astronomer Nik
Szymanek. In spite of the bad night conditions (bad seeing, thin clouds) the
students were able to acquire some nice images of the objects previously
selected. For more information please have a look at the log.
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Comet C/2001 A2
(LINEAR) [ TIFF ] |
Comet C/2001 A2
(LINEAR) [ TIFF ] |
Open Cluster
M29 or NGC 6913 [ TIFF ] |
 |  |  |
Open Cluster NGC
457 [ TIFF ] |
Galaxy M74 or NGC
628 [ TIFF ] |
Planetary Nebula
NGC 6543, Cat's Eye [ TIFF ] |
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|
Galaxy NGC 7457 [
TIFF ] |
Uranus [ TIFF ] |
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