C/2019 Y4 ATLAS and faint observations Peter Tickner 03 May 2020 10:44 UTC

I spend a fair bit of time using my 356 mm scope to observe occultation events which are in some instances then re-checked with more sophisticated kit at professional facilities such as those used by the Lucky Star project in France.  For ATLAS I have been running 60second subframes, for a recent Lucky Star observation confirmed by their analysis I was watching a mag 16.1 star at 1second subframes in hazy conditions and I also recently observed a confirmed 0.2 magnitude drop of a 12.5 magnitude target at 4 frames per second.

ATLAS is now too faint to see detail in a 60 second frame but I had no trouble seeing two separate front parts when it was around magnitude 10.  With CMOS stacking repeated images increases the signal and not the noise. The cameras I use now are considerably more sensitive than five years ago. So if anyone believes I could not see separate parts of ATLAS in early April I refer them to the professionals who check my work in the occultation world.

Peter

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