![\"Sir](\"https:\/\/www.popastro.com\/images\/variablestar\/2008\/07\/patrickmooreinstudy_400.jpg\" "\\"patrickmooreinstudy_400\\"")
Sir Patrick Moore in his study (photo credit: Ricky Halpin)<\/p>\nSir Patrick Moore in his study (photo credit: Ricky Halpin)<\/p>\n
On the 7th<\/font><\/sup> February I was privileged enough to meet and interview Sir Patrick Moore and ask him some questions about his work and thoughts on observing variable stars and what the future holds for variable star observers in the years to come.<\/p>\n We met at his 15th<\/font><\/sup> Century house, Farthings, in Selsey, West Sussex, and the interview was held in his study where oh so many of his now world famous books were written on his old Woodstock typewriter.<\/p>\n (David Scanlan)Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today about Variable Stars, I am sure your views and knowledge on the subject will hopefully encourage more people into observing variable stars in the future.<\/p>\n (Sir Patrick Moore)<\/p>\n Your very welcome and I hope what words of encouragement I can offer will inspire people to observe these amazing stars.<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n I know you have spent some time observing SS Cygni and SUB Tauri type stars in the past but what was it that prompted you to observe variable stars initially?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n I’m essentially an observer of the moon and planets but back many years ago there wasn’t many people that had big enough telescopes to get down to lower magnitudes but I was fortunate enough to have a telescope that could do this so I started to observe some of the variables and that’s what got me interested in them.<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n Most people think that estimating magnitudes is very difficult. Do you think this is true and do you have any tips or advice for people in helping them to understand magnitudes a little better?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n No it’s not difficult as long as you select your right comparison stars. I use the step method and I have found this to be sufficient in obtaining magnitudes. There are other methods such as the fractional method but I find the step method works best for me.<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n People also think you need a large aperture telescope to observe variables but this is not the case is it?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n You don’t need to own a large telescope but it depends on what magnitude you want to go down to. I have a lovely old 3\u00e2\u20ac\u00b3 refractor and I have used that quite a lot on some of the variables and it has served me very well indeed.<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n Variable star observing is important to both the amateur and professional astronomical community but it isn’t spectacular work when compared to modern day astroimaging. We have all seen amazing pictures of planets, galaxies and nebulas imaged by amateur astronomers but what encouragement would you give to a young, or beginning, amateur astronomer to encourage them to observe variable stars?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n You can do one of two things. You can do some fantastic work and produce stunning images and you can do work of real scientific value, a personal friend, John Fletcher, has the capability of producing stunning images but he doesn’t, instead he concentrates of very faint objects. Variable star observing is not spectacular though\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6there are no amazing pictures but the work done on recording their magnitudes is vital of our understanding of these stars. There are thousands of variables out there and the professional astronomers rely on amateurs to keep a watch of these stars as there simply are too many for the professional to cope with.<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n Variable star observing is an area where the amateur can make a serious scientific contribution. Recently you told me about the discovery of a nova by amateur astronomer George Alcock some years back, a nova which you helped to confirm. Can you tell me a little bit more about this discovery?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n (Laughs)George Alcock rang me in the middle of the night, about 10 minutes before sunrise, so I dashed out with my binoculars and there it was. George had discovered a nova but no credit to me, it was George’ discovery and he told me exactly where to find it.<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n So it is true\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.an amateur astronomer with even the most modest of equipment can make a discovery?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n That’s perfectly true and it can happen at any time. Amateurs have a great record of discoveries not only with variables but also with comets and various other celestial objects. You should also remember that the average amateur has a much greater knowledge of the night sky compared to a professional astronomer. I remember an episode some time ago a professional astronomer, whom I wont name (Laughs), rang me and said he has discovered a nova but he had actually made a completely independent discovery of Saturn (Laughs) so it goes to show that the amateur does indeed know the skies better than their professional counterparts (Laughs)<\/p>\n (DS)<\/p>\n In Mid 2009 Epsilon Aurigae will undergo its first eclipse since 1984 but very little is known about this star and some theories suggest that a black hole may exist in the area of the stars. Do you think this is a possibility?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n No. I have been observing Epsilon Aurigae for a very long time now and I have seen many of its eclipses. There’s a supergiant star there and it’s purely eclipsed by a small companion star of which its nature we don’t know. Even in the time of its eclipse it’s not entirely constant. You also have a good comparison star there, Eta Aurigae, but don’t use Zeta Aurigae as that’s a variable as well (Laughs). When I was very young I remember noticing that Alpha Cassiopeiae appeared to dim and brighten as well but we are told that Alpha Cassiopeiae is not a variable but I have my suspicions that it is indeed variable. Rho Cassiopeia is also one to watch as no one knows when that will go supernova but unfortunately I won’t see that, my observing career is all but over now due to an old spinal injury which is a nuisance.<\/p>\n (DS)What do you think the future holds for amateur variable star astronomers in the future?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n I think the same as in the past. The amateurs are there doing the work that the professionals cant. They are providing a vital role and making discoveries all the time so hopefully that will continue as the continued observation of variable stars is very important.<\/p>\n (DS)You have achieved a lot in your lifetime but what is the one thing that you wish you could have achieved or may even still do so?<\/p>\n (PM)<\/p>\n In the field of astronomy all I want to achieve now is the promotion of astronomy and helping to encourage others into the role of astronomy, I think I am just about done with writing books, doing lectures and the sky at night. That’s my main aim now\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6to help people and encourage people into astronomy.<\/p>\n My sincere thanks go out to Sir Patrick for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to talk to me and make this interview possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sir Patrick Moore in his study (photo credit: Ricky Halpin) On the 7th February I was privileged enough to meet and interview Sir Patrick Moore and ask him some questions about his work and thoughts on observing variable stars andRead more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-variable-stars"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t