Question

An astronomer wants to study a pulsar at right ascension 06 h 17 m 05.3 seconds , declination +22 deg 21 minutes 27 seconds. They are observing this pulsar at the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory in southern Arizona, latitude 31.68, longitude -110.86. VERITAS can only look at night. The best observations are those taken when the altitude of the source is higher than 55 degrees, and the telescope cannot observe sources at an altitude lower than 20 degrees.

1) Will you be able to observe this pulsar at optimal altitude in December? February? July? (Hint: you want to work out the maximum altitude achieved by the source, which happens when it transits, or crosses VERITAS' meridian. You'll also want to work out roughly what time of day or night it crosses the meridian).

If you put a similar telescope in space, would it have the same limitations as to when the source could be observed? Why or why not?

Answer 1