How to reduce eShel spectra and publish on BeSS database

Last night, I took several Be stars spectra with the optical fiber fed echelle spectrograph (Shelyak Instruments eShel).

Acquisition was done with PRISM v9 (as it does control everything), but it doesn't reduce spectra. I could use ISIS software provided by Christian Buil but I wanted to test the new 3.0.0b1 version of AudeLA with the v2.4 eShel module.

First I have to define my environment/session in AudeLA and group all my image in coherent series. I have 49x bias, 21x dark of 600sec, 3x thorium-argon of 15sec, 19x flat (LED+Tungsten) of 2.5sec & 31x tungsten of 3sec calibration frames. And of course my series on bet Lyr, P Cyg, lam Cyg (reference), bet Psc, pi Aqr.

I start by crrating my master bias & dark; I also define my "hot pixel" list for the camera (very noisy as it was cooled only at 0°C that warm night). And I look for the grating angle with just one flat & one thorium-argon, and only order 34 to start with. Once I have the parameters ok, I extend to the full thorium-argon, flat & tungsten series which of course take more processing time.

I reduce lambda Cyg and use the MILES spectrum (HD198183) to do my instrumental response. I then reduce all my spectra using that instrumental response. This could be improved by setting up better margin but result seems ok.

I looked at a recent spectrum (still couple of months old, so visible changes are certainly real) of Olivier Garde with his eShel, around Halpha:

OK, here are the eShel parameters I used to reduce the spectra:

And the outcome (resolution table & calibration line position on the thorium-argon spectrum) is satisfactory for a first night; I shoulmd be able to improve the resolution overall by improving the Canon lens focusing position (ie the extension tube between the ST1603XME & the lens); note also that I focused the spectrograph on Halpha:

Now, going into BeSS database (http://basebe.obspm.fr/basebe/) was a little bit more cumbersome as I already used the eShel there but with the observatory/dome. So I had to reuse the names (BSS_Inst, Instrument, Camera...) as the database didn't want me to recreate new ones. Smart but frankly annoying. Anyway, I had to redo all my BeSS export in AudeLA using the proper names this time:

 And last but not least, here my 80 spectra (4 targets, 20 orders per target):

See BeSS and ARASBeAm front end, as well as Shelyak Instruments article on what are Be stars:
http://basebe.obspm.fr/basebe/
http://arasbeam.free.fr/
http://www.shelyak.com/dossier.php?id_dossier=24


One issue to mention... I also have a spectrum from P Cygni and unfortunatly no database for this spectrum yet... Hope we will come up with an ARAS database sometime! :-)

There is a manual database but LBV (Luminous Blue Variables) and P Cygni are not in yet (but others campaigns are very actives there):
http://www.astrosurf.com/aras/Aras_DataBase/DataBase.htm

Anyway, I sent my spectrum to Ernst Pollmann who is studying this star and somehow coordinates the amateur effort in terms of spectroscopical observations:
http://www.astrospectroscopy.de/

I also sent a note on ARAS forum as this is key in terms of pro/am collaboration:
http://www.spectro-aras.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17