Northolt Branch Observatories

The Northolt Branch Observatories (NBO; Observatory codes: Z80, Z48 and Z37) is an astronomical observatory located in London, England. NBO collects follow-up astrometry of near-Earth asteroids and other small Solar System objects.[1] It focuses on public outreach, sharing images, videos and information about asteroids on social media.

Northolt Branch Observatories
Northolt Branch Observatories logo
Alternative namesNBO
Observatory codeZ80, Z48, Z37
LocationLondon, Greater London, London, England
Coordinates51.55466°N 0.37192°W / 51.55466; -0.37192
Altitude55 metres (180 ft)
EstablishedSeptember 27, 2015 (2015-09-27)[1]
Websitewww.facebook.com/NBObservatories
Telescopes
0.25-metre f/8 Ritchey–Chrétien
0.07-metre f/5.9 refractor
0.30-metre f/8 Ritchey–Chrétien
0.15-metre f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain

The two main belt asteroids 72834 Guywells and 128345 Danielbamberger are named after members of the Northolt Branch Observatories team.[2][3]

History

Northolt Branch Observatories was founded in 2015, as an extension of the London-based Northolt Branch Astro group of local amateur astrophotographers.[4] It is a British-German collaboration: Data is collected on-site by observers at the telescopes in England, and then processed remotely from Germany.[5]

Activities

Northolt Branch Observatories is an educational outreach partner with NEOShield-2.[6] It works closely with Asteroid Day[7][8] and the PACA (Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy) Project, with the goal to raise awareness about asteroids.[9][1] In 2016 and 2017, NBO hosted the International Capture The Asteroid imaging contest, in partnership with NEOShield-2.[10][11] The annual competition is targeted particularly at amateur astrophotographers, who rarely choose to image asteroids in favour of planets or deep-sky objects.[12]

In addition to observing Near-Earth asteroids, NBO also provides supernova confirmation[13][14] and long-term follow up of comets as part of PACA observing campaigns. Examples of PACA campaigns with contributions from NBO include Rosetta's comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko,[15] and the comets 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresák and 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková.[16]

References
  1. "Our Story: The Northolt Branch Observatories". facebook.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  2. "Sein Name fliegt durchs All: Asteroid nach Hobby-Astronom aus Laisa benannt" (in German). Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA). April 22, 2018.
  3. "Ein "Stern", der seinen Namen trägt" (in German). Oberhessische Presse. April 15, 2018.
  4. "Astrophiz 23: Meet Asteroid Hunters Daniel Bamberger and Guy Wells. Astrophotographer Dr Ian 'Astroblog' Musgrave". December 15, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  5. "Astrophiz 50: Asteroid Hunters II". February 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  6. "Educational Outreach Partners". NEOShield-2. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  7. Bamberger, Daniel (December 20, 2016). "Christmas Rocks". blog.asteroidday.org. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  8. Griffin, Rory (producer/director) (June 30, 2016). Man Vs. Asteroid: An Asteroid Day Special (Motion picture). Discovery Science. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  9. "PACA Solar System Outreach". facebook.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  10. "NEOShield2's Capture the Asteroid competition results are in!". Squirrel Valley Observatory. December 6, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  11. Dienel, Franziska. "Capture the Asteroid Competition 2017". neoshield.eu. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  12. "How to capture an asteroid – first steps". facebook.com. Northolt Branch Observatories. September 22, 2017.
  13. "Observer BDAD (Daniel Bamberger)". aavso.org. American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  14. Bishop, David. "Bright Supernova". rochesterastronomy.org. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  15. Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma (June 13, 2014). "The role of amateur astronomers in Rosetta's mission". ESA. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  16. King, Bob (November 30, 2016). "Comet Campaign Seeks Imagers Worldwide". Sky&Telescope. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
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