Henk J.J. Bulder
ABSTRACT
The use of CCD video cameras among amateur astronomers is becoming more and more popular and consequently the number of recordings of scientific interest is growing. Unlike professionals, amateurs lack the equipment to process video signals into relevant data. Moreover telescopes of amateurs are far from perfect where it concerns tracking the objects of interest, thus introducing vast amounts of movement in the resulting recordings. Even the reduction programs of professionals are not able to deal with such movement leaving a lot of amateur tapes unreduced or at best reduced in an imperfect manner.
This paper presents some computer reduction techniques used on several tapes of interesting events such as mutual events of Jovian satellites, regular eclipses of Jovian satellites, the occultation of 28 Sgr by Titan, and the rings of Saturn, the occultation of 136 Tau by Venus.
Subsequently a strong appeal is made to set up a centre with the necessary equipment to use and further develop the programs to reduce video tapes of amateurs (and professionals alike). This would certainly motivate more amateurs to participate in scientific projects like PHESAT95.