15/09/2023 – 7:30pm – Speaker Dr. David Arditti.
THE TALK
‘Observing and Imaging the Planets’
The planets of our own solar system constitute some of the principal, most attractive and interesting objects for amateur astronomers to study. Despite them all having now been visited by probes that have sent back vast amounts of data, back-garden
telescopes can still be used to make discoveries and contribute useful scientific data on these objects through ongoing, long-term studies. In this talk Dr Arditti covers both visual-observing and imaging of all the main planets of our solar system. He
discusses the equipment needed, what are the best sky conditions, and techniques of recording observations, as well as the specific features to look for on each planet. The subject of imaging is a large one, and he covers the equipment and software
used by advanced amateurs in this field, outlining some of the processes used by them to obtain images from small telescopes with detail far surpassing the best that was achievable with the largest telescopes in the world before the space age.
THE SPEAKER
Dr. David Arditti has been observing the sky for 45 years. He took up astronomy at the age of 13 after reading a book by Patrick Moore that he found in the school library. After making a telescope by the method described in the book, using spectacle lenses and cardboard tubes, which did not work very well at all, he joined a local astronomical society and became addicted after being shown views of Saturn and other objects through a 12-inch reflector. He now lives in NW London and uses an observatory he constructed himself in his back garden to observe a wide variety of objects, but mostly the Moon and planets, the imaging of which he is a noted expert on.
He is currently both Director of the Equipment and Techniques Section of the BAA and the BAA President. Also, he is Observations Director and Vice President for the West of London Astronomical Society. He has written for many magazines including
Astronomy Now and the BAA Journal and has produced a book, Setting-Up a Small Observatory, published by Springer. He regularly gives talks on observing, imaging, astronomical equipment, the history of astronomy, cosmology, and other topics, to groups ranging from schools to professional conferences. He is also a classical pianist and composer and is Chair of London Composers Forum, a group that puts on concerts of new music.
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