(1) Fresno State's station at Sierra Remote Observatories. Click the following for: A Gallery of Images from Fresno State's station Publications from Fresno State's station The Sierra Remote Observatories home page

The first eight Sierra Remote Observatories were built in 2007. The project was founded by Dr. Greg Morgan, Dr. Keith Quattrocchi, and Dr. Mel Helm, all of whom are members of the Central Valley Astronomers. The observatories are at a dark site at 4610' altitude, near Shaver Lake. Fresno State's telescope is in Observatory #7. We operate it mainly from campus, 47 miles away, by remote control over the internet. The 16-inch f/8 telescope is by DFM Engineering. It has an STX-16803 camera by SBIG.

Science programs include:

Time-resolved photometry of cataclysmic variables, including the discovery of apsidal superhumps and nodal superhumps in several systems (with Fresno State students Kenia Velasco, Jonathan Roveto, Michelle Meyers, Jerry Rude, and Dillon Trelawny)





Time-resolved photometry of the outbursts of soft X-ray transients/black hole candidates (with Fresno State graduate student Dillon Trelawny)





Searches for superflares and related chromospheric activity in solar-like stars, suspected to be enhanced by magnetized planets such as hot Jupiters (with Fresno State graduate students Randy Clark, Jerry Rude, Dillon Trelawny, and Armando Guerrero)

(2) Fresno State's Campus Observatory. Click the following for: A Gallery of Images, largely by students Publications from the Campus Observatory

The Campus Observatory is on the grounds of the Downing Planetarium, at longitude 119.7447 degrees West, latitude 36.8147 degrees North, and elevation 340 feet (104 m). (The local mean time correction is +1m 01.3s.) Its main telescope is a 16-inch Meade LX200. The Campus Observatory is well instrumented, with a wide variety of cameras and other equipment. For an equipment list and a description of their performance, see here.

Science programs include:

• Target-of-opportunity observations of the eruptions of classical novae, with Dr. Greg Morgan and Fresno State undergraduate student Matthew Garrett.
• Discovering and timing transits of extrasolar planets, with Fresno State undergraduate students Jesse Rorabaugh and Matthew Garrett.
• Variable star searches, particularly for hot, high-gravity stars that heat cool companions that have undergone common envelope evolution, with Fresno State graduate students Dan Chase and Scott Endler.
• Campaigns with the Center for Backyard Astrophysics, hosted by Columbia University. CBA is a global network of small telescopes, dedicated to observing cataclysmic variable stars and their outbursts. This includes timing the spins, disks, and orbits of cataclysmic variables, particularly SU UMa stars and intermediate polars (listed here). The Fresno State students involved were Randy Clark, Sarah Lin, and Zachary Girazian.
• Observations for Professor Ringwald's Hubble Space Telescope project (with Steve Saar), on the low states in the magnetic cataclysmic variables AM Her and AR UMa, with Fresno State graduate student Michelle Meyers.
• Observations simultaneous with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer spacecraft, on accretion during a high state in the magnetic cataclysmic variable AM Her, with Dr. Greg Morgan.

• Cataclysmic Variables: How and Why They Vary, by Coel Hellier.
• Chapters 1-7 and 10-11 for the 2nd edition from 2005
  (or Chapters 1-5 and 8-9 for the 1st edition from 2000),
  and any other chapters that interest you,
  of The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing, by Richard Berry and James Burnell.

(2) Other astronomical observing, as the opportunities arise:

• Local dark-site observing, with the Central Valley Astronomers. I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Greg Morgan, whose gallery is here, and with Dr. Mel Helm, whose gallery is here.
• Mount Laguna Observatory, which belongs to San Diego State's Department of Astronomy, who kindly give me telescope time.
  • Click here for a gallery of images from the 40-inch telescope.
    
  • Here are some pictures of the observatory from 2004 Summer.
• White Mountain, in Fritz Zwicky's opinion the best undeveloped astronomical site in the contiguous 48 United States.
  • Here are some pictures from our first expedition.
• Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona or Mauna Kea in Hawaii, for students who establish a track record working with the above projects.
  • Here are some pictures from our 2003 September observing run at Kitt Peak.