ISIS Instrument Response

[John Briol]

Would it be possible to image Vega, go on to other unknown targets and later use Vega's profile in ISIS for Instrument Response on the unknown targets?
Thank you,
John

[Ken Harrison]

John,
I think you mean - could I use an instrument response generated from a Vega spectrum to apply to other target stars.....
The answer is yes.
All things being equal, when you have a good instrument response curve for your set-up it can be applied to any other target.

[Robin Leadbeater]

Hi John,

That will work approximately and is the easiest technique when starting out but it is worthwhile bearing in mind that when measuring the instrument response this way you are also including the effect of the atmosphere which will change from day to day and depending how high the star is. Therefore when you are looking for best accuracy (eg if you are producing data for a pro-am campaign) it is good practise to use a reference star close to the target and measure it close to the same time as the target. ISIS has several sets of spectra of reference stars built in eg those from the MILES database so it is usually possible to find one nearby. eg for the current Nova Del 2013 campaign, most people are using Iota Del ( HD196544)

Cheers
Robin

[John Briol]

Thank you Ken and Robin.
John