A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis provides, forthose with access to even a modest telescope and CCD camera, all theinformation needed to take part in the scientific study of asteroids andvariable stars.Using commercially available equipment, amateur astronomers candetermine the rotation rate, size, and shape of asteroids. Similarly, itis possible to discover the size, temperature, and orbits of stars inbinary systems by using this powerful technique.A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis contains all thematerial needed for readers to understand the theory, and avoid thepractical pitfalls of lightcurve photometry. Detailed examples aregiven for obtaining data, and of course for the exciting and rewardingtask of analyzing the data to determine the physical properties of theobject.Any college student or amateur astronomer who wants to go beyond mereimaging with a CCD camera and enter the challenging world of "realscience" via the lightcurves of asteroids and binary stars will findeverything necessary in this book.

"The Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis provides those with access to even a modest telescope and a CCD camera the background and detailed steps to take part in important astronomical research. Readers learn about the joint projects in which they can take part, as well as the techniques of gathering, analyzing, and then publishing their data. The primary market for this book is amateur astronomers, but undergraduate students will also find its easy going friendly style ideal for help with their studies in this subject. There is of course more to lightcurve photometry than simply taking pictures. For the results to be of value, the data must be gathered and processed in certain ways so that it is both meaningful and can be used by others for analysis. The book contains enough background material (theory) for the reader to understand ¿ and avoid ¿ the pitfalls in the process. More important, there are detailed examples provided for hpw to obtain data and, for many, the more exciting and rewarding effort of analyzing the data to determine various properties of the object being studied. Under "choosing the right software," the author looks critically at the commercially-available packages, providing screen shots and useful advice. Amateur astronomers who wants to go beyond mere imaging with a CCD camera will find everything ithat they need in the book to take a step into `real¿ science. TOC:The Thrill of Photometry.- Getting Started.- Photometry Fundamentals.- Of Telescopes and Cameras.- Choosing The Right Software.- Getting the Right Time.- Collecting Photons.- Measuring the Images.- Analysing the Data.- Example Problem Outlines.- Appendices.- Index."

Getting Started.- Targets of Opportunity.- Photometry Fundamentals.- The Photometry Primer.- Photometric Reductions.- Second Order Extinction.- Telescopes and Cameras.- Imaging and Photometry Software.- Collecting Photons.- Analyzing the Data.- Period Analysis.- Building Star Systems.- Publishing Your Data and Results.