News and Announcements
| 06 March | Annual Report for 2012-2013 is now online |
Annual Report of the AAVSO for 2012-2013 |
| 05 March | Special Notice #381: HST/COS observations of SDSS J100658.40+233724.4 |
March 5, 2014: HST/COS are being scheduled for the U Gem-type dwarf nova SDSS J100658.40+233724.4, the 40th and final target of the major CV observing campaign organized in 2012 by Drs. Boris Gaensicke, Joseph Patterson, Arne Henden, and 13 other astronomers (see AAVSO Alert Notice 471 and note below). A precise time will be announced later, but the scheduled HST observing window is: |
| 27 February | AAVSO Bulletin 77 for 2014 |
Predicted Dates of Maxima and Minima of 381 Long Period Variables for 2014 |
| 21 February | Asteroids Mikesimonsen and Mariomotta |
Congratulations to AAVSO staff member Mike Simonsen, and to AAVSO Past President Mario Motta who each have had an asteroid named in their honor by the IAU Minor Planet Center. |
| 18 February | New CHOICE courses offered for spring |
Registration is now open for three CHOICE courses being offered this spring. CHOICE: How To Use VPHOT (March 17 - April 11) CHOICE: Variable Star Classification and Light Curves (April 14 - May 9) CHOICE: How To Use VStar (May 12 - June 6)
Courses are $30 for members and $50 for non-members. |
| 11 February | Alert Notice 497: Nova Sagittarii 2014 = PNV J18250860-2236024 AND Erratum |
February 11, 2014 |
| 07 February | Alert Notice 496: Outburst of the recurrent nova V745 Sco |
February 7, 2014 |
| 06 February | Aviso Especial #380: Erupción reportada de la nova recurrente V0745 Sco | |
| 06 February | Special Notice #380: Reported outburst of the recurrent nova V0745 Sco |
February 6, 2014: Rod Stubbings (observer code SRX; Tetoora Road, Victoria, Australia) reports an outburst of the recurrent nova V0745 Sco (aka Nova Sco 1937). Stubbings reports the nova at a visual magnitude of 9.0 on 2014 February 6.694 UT (JD 2456695.194). He previously observed the field on 2014 February 5.696 and found the star fainter than 13.0, indicating that this outburst began within the past 24 hours. |
| 03 February | La IAU le asigna a asteroides el nombre de importantes observadores de AAVSO |
El Minor Planet Center del Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory en Cambridge, Massachusetts, homenajeó recientemente a los observadores de AAVSO Edward A. Halbach y William B. Albrecht nombrando dos planetas menores en su honor en la Circular de Planetas Menores de enero. |
| 31 January | IAU Names Asteroids for Prominent AAVSO Observers |
The Minor Planet Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently honored AAVSO observers, Edward A. Halbach and William B. Albrecht, by naming two minor planets in their honor in January's Minor Planet Circular.
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| 22 January | Alerta de AAVSO 495: Brillante supernova de tipo Ia PSN J09554214+6940260 y campaña de observación |
22 de enero de 2014 |
| 22 January | Alert Notice 495: Bright Type-Ia Supernova PSN J09554214+6940260 and Observing Campaign |
January 22, 2014 |
| 14 January | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 12 |
The December 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
| 14 January | Almost Twenty-Five Million! ... and Counting |
We are approaching a milestone in the AAVSO International Database. Are you counting?
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| 13 January | AAVSO Newsletter 59 is published |
AAVSO Newsletter 59 - January 2014 |
| 07 January | Program stars in need of observation |
The AAVSO maintains several lists of stars for which observations are strongly encouraged. These are primarily stars for which the AAVSO already has well-covered light curves spanning several decades or longer, and for which we deem there is value in continuing observations indefinitely. |
| 31 December | Visual Observing Manual in Spanish - 2013 edition |
The Spanish version of the 2013 edition of the Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars - Manual para la Observación Visual de Estrellas Variables - is now available for download here: |
| 26 December | The Final Adventures of an Administrative Assistant |
I have been with the AAVSO for two and a half years as the Administrative Assistant. And what an adventure it has been! I've been to three fall meetings, including the Centennial. I’ve experienced the introduction of CHOICE courses, the Adopt A Variable Star Program (AAVSP), and the move to the online forums. I’ve worked with our publications, our store, our website, and our social media. I’ve biked to HQ in pouring rain and slippe |
| 19 December | Charts and Sequences Update December 19, 2013 |
The list below are stars whose sequences have been created or revised since October 8, 2013. If you currently observe any of these stars, please update your charts to the latest version of the sequence. You can also check the list for all of 2013 and previous years here. |
| 19 December | Special Notice #379: Supernova 2013hn in IC 4329 = PSN J13485917-3017265 |
December 19, 2013: IAU CBET 3762 (Daniel W. E. Green, Ed.) announces the discovery of Supernova 2013hn in IC 4329 by Ella Sanders Kot and R. Kot (Truth or Consequences, NM) and D. Coffin (University of Iowa) at unfiltered magnitude 15.2 on 2013 December 13.544 UT using the 0.37-m f/14 Rigel telescope at the Iowa Robotic Observatory near Sonoita, AZ. E. S. Kot adds that a follow-up image taken on December 16.53 shows SN 2013hn at mag 14.8 U (position end figures 59.19s, 26.9"). |
| 19 December | Alert Notice 494: T Tauri stars observing campaign |
December 19, 2013: Darryl Sergison (University of Exeter) has requested AAVSO assistance with a campaign he is carrying out on five T Tauri stars. This study is the one for which AAVSO observers carried out a preliminary campaign last year (see Alert Notice 473 and Special Notice #306). The star list is revised and expanded from last year's list of targets. This campaign will run from now at least through the end of the 2013-2014 observing season. |
| 18 December | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 11 |
The November 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
| 18 December | Special Notice #378: BP Tau Chandra observation times set - time-series observations needed |
December 18, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 493, Dr. Hans Moritz Guenther (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) has been given the precise times of the Chandra X-ray observations to be made of the T Tauri star BP Tau: |
| 18 December | Alert Notice 493: Request to monitor BP Tau in support of Chandra X-ray observations |
December 18, 2013: Dr. Hans Moritz Guenther (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) has requested nightly observations of the classical T Tauri star BP Tau in support of upcoming Chandra X-ray observations in his study of the accretion processes underway in this star. |
If you take a look at the observation total in the Recent Activity section of the 
