Information You Should Include In A Discovery Report (original) (raw)

Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams -- Image credits

All discovery reports should include the following:

We do *not* encourage observers to submit images in any fashion, because we generally do not have sufficient staff resources to analyze many such images. If you wish to submit CCD images in support of your discovery claim, please ask us first (i.e., do not send images unsolicited and until we ask you to do so), andplease read these notes.

What not to include in your report: any html encoding or any binary text (as with images; wait for our agreement to accept your images by personal e-mail before sending any images -- we prefer that you place images at your own website and send us the URL).

If you are a new contributor to the CBAT, please provide some background information regarding your observing experience. It is recommended that observations be made of a suspected object more than once -- separated by at least an hour and preferably a day.

**It is imperative to have more than one CCD or photographic image of a suspect, as it may be a defect or flaw of some sort.**Please also see IAUCs 6737 and 6739.

Additional information that we require for different types of objects is described below. Discovery report submitted without sufficient information will not be acted upon.


Comets

Read an article on what information comet discoverers should report.

You can search for known comets at our website, by entering the UT decimal date and the celestial equatorial coordinates of a suspect.


Supernovae

Please include:

Please check the the CBAT supernova catalogue webpage and thethe PSN webpage, as well as recent IAUCsand/or CBETs, to see if your supernova candidate has already been announced.

Note that the spectral response of unfiltered CCDs enhances red objects in CCD images: red stars (such as Mira variables) appear much brighter than they appear visually, and that atlas photographs of bright galaxies generally have the nuclear region overexposed. Please also see IAUCs 6737 and 6739.


Novae

Be sure to check the GCVS lists for other known variable stars in the vicinity, before reporting a report of a possible nova.

Always report:

Please also see IAUCs 6737 and 6739. Note that the spectral response of unfiltered CCDs enhances red objects in CCD images: red stars (such as Mira variables) appear much brighter than they appear visually.


Outbursts Of Unusual Variable Stars

The IAUCs frequently contain information regarding unusual behavior of particularly interesting variables stars besides novae and supernovae; these usually fall into two classes:

  1. R CrB-type stars undergoing a fading; and
  2. cataclysmic variables undergoing outbursts in brightness for the first time in more than two years.

Be sure to report both the designation and position (as precisely as possible, noting the equinox) of the variable star. Reporting both designation and position helps to avoid misidentification. Note the date of the last outburst. Please also see IAUCs 6737 and 6739.

Information on "more routine" variables and on newly-discovered variable stars should be directed to organizations such as the American Association of Variable Star Observers (e-mail toaavso@cfa.harvard.edu) or to the Information Bulletin on Variable Stars published for the International Astronomical Union's Commission on Variable Stars by the Konkoly Observatory, Budapest XII, P.O. Box 114, Box 67, Hungary (see IAU Link).


Features On Planetary Surfaces

Identify the planet and state the longitude, latitude and system (for features on Jupiter and Saturn) of the feature. Describe the feature, noting its size and show that it is new and significant.


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