Observations of CHIRON by Denis Bergeron, Val-des-bois, Quebec, Canada
(E-MAIL: bergeron@achilles.net)

Coordinates of my site:
LONGITUDE: 75_ 36'.898 WEST
LATITUDE: +45_ 53'.678 NORTH
ALTITUDE: Around  560 feets

Night of  June 22th, 1995 around 03h30 UT

Hello dear friend astronomer,

This is my ninth report of observation about CHIRON.

My astronomical equipment is a Meade SCT LX-200 10'' F10 telescope with a 
telecompressor lens to reduce my f/ratio to about F5.2  (FL: 51,6 inches) 
and a SBIG ST-6 CCD camera at prime focus. I also use a CCD SBIG ST-4 at 
prime focus of my piggyback  SCT telescope 4'' F10 to autoguide my Meade. 
All CCD pictures were exposed 5 minutes each. I had taken 7 exposures 
during this session. My first exposure was taken on June 22th 1995 at 
03h07 UT and my last picture on June 22th at 03h47UT. No filter was used. 
The seeing was poor (HAZY) and Chiron was near western horizon.

During this observation session, I have taken 2 dark frames of  5 minutes.
In the end, I took a flat field image. The following days, I averaged my 
dark frames and I calibrated (dark subtract and FF corrected) all my 
pictures. I haven't detected any evidence of COMA around CHIRON. 

I include images in TIFF and ST6 format. The TIFF pictures is to indicate 
where is CHIRON in the image. Finally, I include 2 ST6 images with 
HEADERS to do ASTROMETRY with ASTROMETRICA software.  This software is 
very good to determine precise positions (USE WITH GSC CD ROM) and you 
can send the final report directly to MPC by E-MAIL.

I use Chiron's ephemeris supplied by CPC. They are very precise. If you 
wish to find Chiron easily, use software with the GUIDE STAR CATALOG such 
MEGASTAR, THE SKY or others. Plot the position of Chiron on the chart and 
try to identify  stars in the area where Chiron is. Be patient!

Don't expose your images more than 10 minutes. I detect a slight shift in 
my images. It's best to take many 5mn images and add them up to increase 
the S/N. Be careful to don't saturate the pixels. If you have images of 
Chiron, please prepare the best ones and send a copy of them to CPC. I'm 
very interested to look at them.

This is my last report because Chiron is not well placed to do precise 
observation. I plan to continue my observations about it as soon that 
Chiron will be visible in the morning sky. 

See my others reports

Best regards