We are very happy to invite our members, observers, and friends to join us for the 87^th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. This meeting will be held on the banks of the Charles River at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from October 29^th to November 1^st, 1998. The AAVSO Annual Meeting gives both newcomers and longtime attendees the opportunity to share ideas, experiences, and tips on variable star observing. The meeting also provides AAVSO Headquarters staff with the opportunity to keep the members and observers informed of the many activities and accomplishments of the Association.

We have many interesting events planned for this meeting, including: a Thursday night dinner and open house at AAVSO Headquarters, a lecture on gamma-ray bursts given by Dr. Gerald J. Fishman of NASA/ Marshall Space Flight Center, a field trip to the Boston Museum of Science, the membership meeting and scientific paper session, the annual banquet and special after-banquet program, and a field trip to the observatories of our President, Gary Walker, and Council Member, Mario Motta.

October is a wonderful time to visit New England! This time of year brings comfortable temperatures as well as the brilliant autumn foliage that New England is so famous for. We have a full schedule planned for this meeting, so you may want to stay a few extra days to do some sightseeing and take in the beautiful scenery. Also, you may want to arrive several days early to attend the Annual Convention of the Antique Telescope Society (ATS), which will be held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from October 23^rd to 26^th, 1998. The program includes many lectures, tours, and displays that are of astronomical and historical interest. The registration deadline for the ATS convention is October 1^st, 1998. For more information, please contact Walt Breyer (whbreyer@mindspring.com or 1275 Poplar Grove Lane, Cumming, GA 30041, USA) or click here for a complete schedule.

Whether you have attended dozens of AAVSO meetings or are a first-time attendee, we hope to see you and your family in Cambridge for the 87^th Annual Meeting of the AAVSO.

Dinner and Open House: All attendees are invited to attend an open house and buffet dinner at AAVSO Headquarters on Thursday night, October 29^th. Those who wish to attend should meet in the Howard Johnson lobby at 5:45pm to carpool. Guests will have the opportunity to view the recently completed Hands-On Astrophysics educational materials and web site, and access the AAVSO International Database. Staff members will be present to answer questions and assist with the use of the Database. The charge for the buffet will be $15 and should be paid in advance. Those who do not wish to have dinner are welcome to come for the open house. Please note that this evening will be the only time AAVSO Headquarters will be open during the meeting.

Field Trip to Boston Museum of Science: We will be taking a group to the Boston Museum of Science on Friday, October 30^th, between 1:30pm and 5:30pm. The Boston Museum of Science is home to the Charles Hayden Planetarium, the Mugar Omni Theater, and over 400 exhibits. More than 1.6 million people visit this state-of-the-art museum each year. Attendees may choose to visit the exhibit hall and the planetarium OR the exhibit hall and the Omni theater. The planetarium will be presenting "Life and Death of the Sun", a program that examines the Sun’s lifecycle. The Omni theater will be showing "Everest", a highly-acclaimed film about an expedition to the summit of Mt. Everest. The charge will be $20.00, which will cover the cost of transportation, admission to the exhibit hall, and Omni theater OR planetarium ticket. A bus will depart from the Howard Johnson parking lot at 1:30pm. For more information on the Boston Museum of Science, see their web page at http://www.mos.org.

Guest Lecture: Dr. Gerald J. Fishman of NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center will be presenting our guest lecture, titled "The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts", on Friday night, October 30^th, at 8:00 pm. Dr. Fishman is the Principal Investigator of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory Satellite and the head of the gamma-ray astronomy research group at Marshall Space Flight Center’s Space Sciences Laboratory.

Gamma-ray bursts remain one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics in spite of recent observational advances and intense theoretical work. Although some of the basic properties of bursts were known 25 years ago, new and more detailed observations have been made by the BATSE experiment on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in the past five years. Dr. Fishman will present some of the recent observations of bursts and will discuss the proposed models.

Membership Meeting: All attendees are invited to this gathering, which will be held from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on Saturday, October 31^st. The purpose of this meeting is to inform attendees of the activities of the Association, and will include reports from the Secretary, Treasurer, Committee Chairs, and the Director.

A group photo will be taken immediately following this meeting.

Meeting attendees may order the lunch buffet (see registration form) which will take place immediately following the group photo.

Scientific Paper Session: Members and friends are invited to present papers on variable stars and related topics. Papers will be presented on Saturday afternoon, October 31^st. Paper presentations should be approximately 10 minutes each, including time for questions. Those planning to present papers during this session should indicate so on their registration forms, and complete and return the enclosed abstract form no later than October 2, 1998. Those authors with email access are welcome to send their paper title, abstract, and list of AV equipment needed electronically to: meetings@aavso.org

Annual Banquet: The Annual Banquet will be held in the Howard Johnson Ballroom on the evening of Saturday, October 31^st. Preceded by a cash bar and followed by a special program, the banquet will feature a choice of chicken marsala, roast sirloin of beef, or vegetarian pasta.

Observatory Field Trip: We have been invited by Gary Walker (AAVSO President) and Mario Motta (AAVSO Council Member) to tour their observatories on Sunday, November 1^st.

Vans will depart from the Howard Johnson at 8:30 am on Sunday and will return at approximately 4:00pm. The charge for this trip will be $20, and includes transportation to both observatories and lunch.

A block of rooms has been reserved for AAVSO meeting attendees at the Cambridge Howard Johnson Hotel. This hotel is located on the Charles River between MIT and Harvard, and features beautiful river views, free parking, an indoor pool, and free cable. The Cambridge Howard Johnson is home to Dionysos Greek/American Bistro and Bisuteki Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. The following group rates have been obtained for meeting attendees:

$140.00 (US funds) per night, single or double occupancy

Please make reservations by calling the Howard Johnson at (617-492-7777) or by mailing the enclosed room reservation form to the Howard Johnson (777 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139). You must indicate that you will be participating in the AAVSO Meeting to receive the group room rate. October is a very popular time to visit the northeast and there are a limited number of rooms available, so please make your reservations early. The room reservations cut-off date is September 29, 1998. After this date the remaining rooms in the AAVSO block will be released for general use.

If you do not wish to stay at the Howard Johnson and would like information on other area hotels and bed & breakfast facilities, please indicate so on your registration form.

A registration form for this meeting is enclosed. Please return the form along with payment in US funds no later than October 2, 1998. After this date the early registration rate will no longer be available. Please send your form and payment to: AAVSO, 25 Birch St., Cambridge, MA 20138, USA.

A map with driving directions will be mailed to all meeting registrants.

The Cambridge Howard Johnson is located 6 miles from Boston’s Logan International Airport. There are several ways to reach the hotel from the airport:

Alamo 800 327-9633 Budget 800 527-0700 Hertz 800 654-3131

Allstar 800 722-6928 Dollar 800 800-4000 National 800 227-7368

Avis 800 331-1212 Enterprise 800 325-8007 Thrifty 800 367-2277

During the Meeting: several times on Saturday, October 31^st, a van/car will transport interested spouses and other guests to and from the Kendall Square subway station. From there one can catch a free shuttle bus to the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall, or take the subway to downtown Boston for shopping or sightseeing.