RPHOT Release 3.0
An Automated UBVRI Aperture Photometry Data
Acquisition and Reduction Software Package
for PC-Based Observatories
Acquisition and Reduction Software Package
for PC-Based Observatories
Y2K Compliance Statement and software fix available for download (33 Kb).
RPHOT is the most comprehensive PC-based software package available for acquiring and reducing Johnson UBVRI photometry data with the SSP-3/SSP-5 or any aperture photometer. RPHOT allows observers great flexibility in planning and modifying their nightly observing programs. RPHOT produces optimal reductions even from data containing missing filters or sky measurements, automatically. Virtually any mixture of variable star, asteroid, comet, or lunar occultation photometry can be accommodated, in all standard filter combinations. Each object can be reduced using either "all sky" or differential photometry methods, resulting in output files suitable for direct submission for publication. Final plots may be sent to a wide range of supported printers, or to .PCX files suitable for processing with PC Paintbrush compatible software. RPHOT users can...
- Manually or automatically log date, time, filter, counts, star name, gain scale, integration time, and comments while at the computer/telescope. Optec SSP photometer owners can additionally program a wide range of filter cyclings and any integration time from .01 second on up (for occultations), or any integer integration time (for variable stars). Edit or delete raw data during data acquisition.
- Optionally streamline data taking by first creating a file of the observing sequence.
- Switch back and forth between "slowmode" (for variable stars, comets, asteroids, etc.) and "fastmode" (for occultations).
- Do up to 400 ("slowmode") or 32000 ("fastmode") consecutive integrations per filter, with optional automated cycling through all filters in a filterset (SSP owners only).
- Screen plot raw or integrated counts vs. time for occultations, zooming in on the critical moments of the event, then sending the plot to a printer or .PCX file.
- Produce, store, and plot/print/.PCX the regression fits of first and/or second order extinction coefficients and/or transformation coefficients for U, V, U-B, B-V, V-R, and V-I, within minutes of ending observations.
- Optionally use the Moffatt/Vogt procedure to improve accuracy of the U-B terms.
- Produce a file of heliocentric UT dates, times, and standard UBVRI and/or instrumental and "clear" magnitudes and color indices for each object. Each object's file will be appended with succeeding nights of observations.
- Automate the reduction of one or a whole series of data files using command line argument batch files.
- Screen plot and print a light curve or periodogram of
any star in any Johnson or instrumental color or color index,
with any time window desired, including "folded" windows
for periodic variables. Also, the user can rapidly cycle through
trial periods for suspected periodic variables. Optional parabolic
fits to solve for the times of minimum/maximum light.
Basic System Requirements:
- IBM PC/XT/AT/386/486/Pentium or Pentium Pro compatible computer, with 640K memory.
- MS-DOS 2.1 or later.
- Hard drive recommended.
- Graphics adapter card (virtually any graphics card will work; including Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, or SVGA). Monitor can be monochrome or color. Wide range of printers supported including HP LaserJet and DeskJet, most 9 and 24 pin dot matrix, and all PostScript printers.
- Model SSP-3A/SSP-5A photometer or Model SSP-3/SSP-5 photometer
(automatic data acquisition only) and SSPCARD, IBM PC interface card.
The RPHOT Package Includes:
- A comprehensive 75 page manual describing all RPHOT features, plus appendices showing how RPHOT works.
- All programs required for manual and automated data acquisition, reduction, plotting and printing.
- Drivers for PostScript, dot matrix, laser and ink jet printers, and all standard .PCX file formats.
- A simple shell environment from which the data acquisition and reduction programs may be run.
- Sample data and sample reductions.
- Star catalogs containing UBVRI data and coordinates for:
»»» 49 bright B-V = V-R = 0 standard stars, »»» 75 bright first order extinction/transformation standard stars, »»» 42 bright red-blue pairs for second order extinction, »»» 60 bright RS CVn and eclipsing binary stars and their comparison stars.
- Utility programs for...
»»» calculating airmass given coordinates or any star name assigned to an RPHOT star catalog. »»» calculating the Julian Date and decimal given the UT date and time. »»» adding stars to any of the RPHOT star catalogs. »»» producing ephemerides of eclipsing (or other periodic) variables in compact, easy-to-read for, with user defined sun and star altitude observability criteria. »»» performing a graphic Jurkevich period search on any sequence of data in any filter, plotting the Jurkevich index vs. period to the screen, printer, and/or .PCX file. »»» cloning the reduced output files into Julian Data format, trimming out unused filters, for convenient reporting. »»» converting printing files into high resolution binary files suitable for later printing, or for sending directly to your printer or a .PCX file for PC Paintbrush compatible processing.
RPHOT Release 3.0 (c) 1991, 1999 Nolten Software, all rights reserved. Distributed exclusively through...
