Unlike electronic cameras, photoelectric photometers have only a single sensor element - one large "pixel." Instead of taking a picture of a variable star with its comparison, the PEP observer aims separately at each, repeatedly sampling both stars.
Historically, photometry in the near-infrared through short-wavelength ultra-violet was done with a photoelectric photometer, an instrument that measured the light intensity of a single object by directing its light onto a photosensitive cell like a photomultiplier tube. [4]
Spreadsheet for reducing BVI data (Change Log) Online V band reduction. PEPObs was developed from legacy code used to reduce photoelectric photometry submitted to the AAVSO PEP program. We have retained most of the original fields …
High quality photometry of bright, astrophysically interesting stars. The AAVSO photoelectric section was founded in the late 1970s. We use oldschool technology, but we can
In photoelectric photometry, the image of a single star is passed through a small diaphragm in the focal plane of the telescope. After further passing through an appropriate… Read More
This photometer was able to achieve 0.01 magnitude precision on the 12-inch telescope by 1909. It represents the first truly quantitative electrical photometry, launching a new era in photometry. The potential of the new photometer was demonstrated with the discovery of a secondary eclipse of the mysterious “Demon Star” Algol .
The true photoelectric era in astronomical photometry began in 1912. Julius Elster and Hans Geitel had experimented with the photoelectric effect from 1889 using
Use a simulated photometer to measure the apparent UBV magnitudes of stars; Make and compare H-R diagrams to find the relationship between absolute and apparent magnitudes;
Our vision: High quality photometry of bright, astrophysically interesting stars. The AAVSO photoelectric section was founded in the late 1970s. We use old-school technology, but we can get superior results on bright stars.
Photoelectric photometry is a repetitive task, and has proven well suited to automation. A number of telescopes are in operation performing fully automated photometry. Since variability studies are a particularly important application of photometry, the search for variations and their classification is also important.