Blogs

 One of the things I enjoy doing most is acting as a spokesperson for the AAVSO and sharing my knowledge, experience and enthusiasm about variable stars, observing and the AAVSO with other people. I write blogs, newsletter pieces and articles that reach a lot of people, but there is nothing like the experience of meeting new people face to face and watching their eyes light up as you explain variable stars and stellar evolution, or the seeing light go on as they realize, "Hey, I could do this too!"  Continue Reading

There are hundreds of astronomy clubs and astronomical societies in the world, and one thing almost all of them have in common is they produce a monthly newsletter. Not too surprisingly, a lot of them have very similar names, like 'Prime Focus' or 'The Reflector'. Put together by volunteers, some of these newsletters are first rate publications. I've seen some that have full color layouts and typesetting like a magazine you could buy off the rack. Continue Reading

In my life away from HQ I am, among many other things, a competitive chess player. (Now, before anyone gets any ideas, remember, I never said I was good!) If anyone has been following me on any social media outlets you can't help but know this because my activities tend to have the same curves as a cataclysmic variable, and right now my chess activity is in outburst.

What does this have to do with astronomy? Well, at the risk of being stereotypical, chess is seen as a smart person's game. Astronomy is seen as being a smart person's activity as well. If Stephanie Slater's research is any indication AAVSO members tend to be even moreso "smarter than your average bear."

On the evening of 7 December this year the world of Astronomy and Chess collided in a rather nice and educational fashion. Continue Reading

I am currently checking the data on about 500 long period variables - Miras and semiregulars - for a project spearheaded by Matthew Templeton. Many of these stars average more than 30,000 observations in the AAVSO International Database and cover an interval of approximately 90-170 years.
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In October, the Council elected Dr. Mario Motta the first President of the second century of the AAVSO. In November, I interviewed Mario to find out more about the man who will be presiding over the Council for the next couple years. Continue Reading

I first met Roger at the AAVSO meeting in Rockford in 2006. He joined Aaron Price, a few of my closest AAVSO friends, and me, in my hotel room one night and regaled us with stories of the good ole days and Clint Ford’s ‘hospitality suite’ at AAVSO meetings in the 60’s and 70’s until the wee morning hours. 

I met up with him again at the Citizen Sky meeting in Chicago in 2009, and shortly after we began corresponding and keeping up with each other through email and Facebook. Recently, we partnered up to co-author a paper about some of the giants in AAVSO history for the Centennial Edition of the JAAVSO. In October, I was able to visit Roger on the way back from a speaking engagement in St. Louis, and there is no better way to get to know someone than to spend a day with him in his castle, with his family, cats and memories. Continue Reading

I spent October 13-19 in Baltimore at the annual conference of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC). A few years ago a colleague suggested that I attend this conference and present a talk on our Citizen Sky planetarium show. That never happened due to timing and cost issues. But this year we had both the time and funding to attend. Continue Reading

This picture, taken in 1994, is not what it seems at first glance. The AAVSO staff here are not comparing and contrasting studies of the fire hydrant in front of the former 25 Birch Street Headquarters, they are observing the annular solar eclipse of May 10! Continue Reading

Entre el 4 y el 8 de octubre de 2011 tuvo lugar en Woburn y Cambridge el Encuentro Anual Nº 100 de la AAVSO. Debido a la conmemoración del centenario de la institución, fue un evento muy especial, con récord de concurrencia, más días de actividades y presencias internacionales. Hubo representantes de Alemania, Argentina, Australia, Bélgica, Canadá, Estados Unidos, Japón y el Reino Unido. Continue Reading

Wow! We are still catching our breath from last week's fantastic meeting, but I just wanted to share with you a few photos illustrating some of the highlights... Continue Reading