Astrophotography by Anthony Ayiomamitis

Differential Photometry - Draco

A variable star, as its name suggests, is a star whose magnitude varies intrinsically, in contrast to eclipsing binaries whose magnitude varies as a result of one star in the binary system eclipsing the other. True variables are one of five types, namely Mira stars, semiregular stars, cepheids, eruptive variables and, finally, cataclysmic variables. Minimum to maximum magnitude can range from days to many months with some variables displaying irregular periods.

A popular method for the study of variable stars, particularly short-term variables, is by the use of the technique known as "differential photometry". Rather than measure the (variable) magnitude of a variable star on an absolute scale, measurements are made over time relative to one or more non-variable star(s) and these differences are then plotted so as to study and illustrate the relative or differential change in magnitude. Due to the very large number of variables stars, the field of differential photometry represents one of the key fields in astronomy whereby the amateur astronomer can make a meaningful and long-lasting contribution to both science and astronomy.

More recently, the search for extrasolar planets (over 750 discovered so far) has identified yet another interesting application for the practice of differential photometry whereby the minute drops in magnitude of a star hosting an exoplanet are studied. Further details for the interested party are available here.

Note: The large-amplitude short-period pulsating star GSC 04237-00482 is a fast pulsating variable star with a period of 132.87 minutes and which involves a delta mag of 0.37 (R) magnitudes during this brief time interval. GSC 4237-0482 is a high-amplitude delta Scuti variable star first reported by Ivan Sergey and Andrey Prokopovich from Belarus in 2012 via Project VS-COMPAS (Variable Star Common Observation Mission in Particular Areas of the Sky) where the results of the Northern Sky Variability Survey (NSVS; Wozniak et al., 2004) are initially mined and subselected using customized software for the identification of new candidate undiscovered variable stars. Further details from the International Variable Star Index are available here whereas an AAVSO finder chart is available here.

Image Details
Light Curve for GSC 04237-00482
Imaging Details
Variable Star:
GSC 4237-0482

Other Designation:
VSX J202109.3+620255

RA / Dec:
20h 21m 09s /
+62° 02' 56"


Magnitude:
12.38 - 12.75 (R)

Period:
0.0922723 days

Variability:
HADS

Comparison Star:
GSC 4237:0722

Check Star:
GSC 4237:1510


Date:
Jun 24-25, 2013
22:40 - 04:40 UT+3


Location:
Athens, Greece

Equipment:
AP 305/f3.8 Riccardi-Honders
AP 1200GTO GEM
SBIG ST-10XME
SBIG CFW10
SBIG LRGB filters


Integrations:
Lum :  293 x 60 sec
Dark :  010 x 60 sec
Flat :  ~ 23,100 ADU
Binning :  1x1

Temperatures:
Ambient : + 23.0 ° C
CCD Chip : - 15.0 ° C

Software:
CCDSoft V5.00.201
AIP4Win V2.4.0


Processing:
Reduction
Differential Photometry