Automated Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) Photometry of Interacting Binary Stars

Honeycutt建议在现有的40厘米望远镜上安装一个低噪声电荷耦合装置（CCD），用于自动测量微弱的相互作用双星的光度，范围从Algols到突变变量和星系x射线源。相互运动的双星经常交换气体流，有时是激烈的。它们通常只在其中一颗恒星演化的一个短暂阶段发生这种现象，只有通过观察这样的双星才能对其进行研究。对这类恒星的观测需要望远镜和工作人员花费大量的时间。Honeycutt将建造电子探测器，使双星自动观测和自动初始数据减少成为可能。即使是一个小望远镜也能观测到非常暗淡的恒星，因此比以前的摄影项目能观测到更多有趣的恒星。

Honeycutt proposes to equip an existing 40-cm telescope with a low-noise charge-coupled-device (CCD) for automated photometry of faint interacting binary stars, ranging from Algols to cataclysmic variables and to galactic x-ray sources. Pairs of stars moving about each other often exchange streams of gases, sometimes violently. Often they do so during merely a brief stage in the evolution of one of the stars that can be investigated only by watching such binary stars. Observations of such stars require much time of both telescopes and staff. Honeycutt will construct electronic detectors that will allow automatized observing of binary stars with automatic initial reduction of the data. Even a small telescope can reach very faint stars and thus many more interesting stars than could be reached by previous photographic projects.