April 28, 2017: Dr. Gregory Sivakoff (University of Alberta) has requested AAVSO observers' assistance in monitoring Swift J1357.2-0933 (CRTS J135716.8-093238) during its current outburst.
April 25, 2017: Dr. Carlo Manara (ESA Science and Technology SCI-S, the Netherlands) and colleagues have requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring the young, disk-bearing low-mass (M type) pre-main-sequence star EPIC 204278916 (2MASS J16020757-2257467).
April 6, 2017 : Dr. Nicolas Grosso (CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg) has requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring the young eruptive star (FUOR type) V2492 Cyg from the optical to the infrared in support of X-ray observations with XMM-Newton scheduled for 2017 April 18 UT.
The XMM observations will take place: 2017-04-18 03:27:07 UT - 2017-04-18 14:17:07 UT.
April 3, 2017: Dr. Rudolf Gális (Pavel Jozef Šafárik University (Slovakia)) and colleagues have requested AAVSO assistance in observing the symbiotic variable AG Dra. Observations are requested as a follow-up to spectroscopic observations and in order to monitor the system for an anticipated outburst.
March 16, 2017: Dr. Karen Collins (Vanderbilt University) has requested ground-based, follow-up observations of recently discovered exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. This exoplanet is a suspected Earth-size planet orbiting in the habitable zone of our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri (V645 Cen). There exists a rough ephemeris of this target based on radial velocity measurements, so the predicted mid-transit times can vary +/- 6 hours. Therefore, it is requested that observations be as long as possible.
March 7, 2017 : Dr. Fred Walter (Stony Brook University) has requested AAVSO observers' assistance in monitoring NR TrA (Nova TrA 2008) in support of upcoming XMM Newton observations. The XMM observations will take place 2017 March 13 06:21 through March 14 10:34 UT.
February 15, 2017: Dr. Elmé Breedt (University of Warwick) has requested AAVSO observers' assistance in monitoring the eclipsing cataclysmic variable 1SWASP J162117.36+441254.2 (=CSS_J162117.4+441254) beginning now in support of observations scheduled with the Hubble Space Telescope for late February - early March.
February 10, 2017: Dr. Ed Sion (Villanova University) and colleagues have requested AAVSO observers' assistance in monitoring the symbiotic-type recurrent nova IM Nor in support of observations with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph scheduled for 2017 February 13 - 17 UT.
These observations are part of a study on short orbital period recurrent novae as Supernovae Type Ia progenitors.
January 31, 2017 : The BRIght Target Explorer-Constellation (BRITE-Constellation) satellite suite is obtaining high-precision photometry of selected very bright (mv < 4) stars. Its purpose is to investigate the "stellar structure and evolution of the brightest stars in the sky and their interaction with the local environment." The AAVSO is part of the BRITE-Constellation Ground Based Observations Team (GBOT), supporting cutting-edge science from the BRITE-Constellation satellites and coordinating with BRITE-Constellation scientist Dr.
