News and Announcements
| 03 June | AAVSO Special Notice #241 |
New Supernova in M51 |
| 03 June | Women in the Geosciences: Past, Present, and Future |
The following announcement is made on behalf of long time AAVSO observer/member Dr. Kristine Larsen: |
| 01 June | April Solar Bulletin | |
| 01 June | AAVSO Special Notice #240 |
Possible Nova in Scorpius |
| 01 June | AAVSO Annual Report 2009-2010 |
The revised AAVSO Annual Report 2009-2010 (with changes to the Headquarters staffing section) is now online: |
| 01 June | Minor Planet Pebble |
AAVSO member, observer and science educator Dr. Pebble Richwine has had a minor planet named in her honor - 268242 Pebble. Pebble did her PhD in science education at the University of Arizona where her dissertation was on using variable stars in elementary school science education. She's given talks at many AAVSO meetings and is currently a science educator in Georgia. Here is the official citation: |
| 01 June | New ejaavso preprint: "Edward A. Halbach 1909—2011" by G. Samolyk |
"Edward A. Halbach 1909—2011" by G. Samolyk |
| 31 May | Reporting DSLR Data |
Over in the Citizen Sky forums we have begun a discussion about how to properly report DSLR data. |
| 27 May | Alert Notice 441: Monitoring of Bright Giant Variables requested in support of ground-based spectroscopy and for long-term study |
May 27, 2011: Dr. Steve Howell (NASA) and Dr. Travis Rector (University of Alaska, Anchorage) have requested AAVSO observations of several bright giant variable stars of diverse classes. This request is for immediate support of spectroscopic observations to be made at Kitt Peak National Observatory between 2011 May 30 and 2011 June 01 (JD 2455712 - 714). However, observers are encouraged to continue long-term monitoring of these objects. |
| 26 May | New ejaavso preprint: "CI Cygni 2010 Outburst and Eclipse: An Amateur Spectroscopic Survey..." |
"CI Cygni 2010 Outburst and Eclipse: An Amateur Spectroscopic Survey—First Results From Low Resolution Spectra" by F. Teyssier
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| 26 May | David Benn Receives 2011 Director's Award |
It was announced at the AAVSO Banquet, Saturday, May 21, 2011, that the 2011 recipient of the AAVSO Director's Award is David Benn of Klemzig, South Australia. |
| 26 May | Minor planet 12789 Salvadoraguirre named for AAVSO member! |
Minor planet 12789 Savadoraguirre is named for AAVSO member/observer Salvador Aguirre, M.D. (observer code "ASA"), an avid amateur astronomer from Hermosillo, Mexico. He has conducted many observations of variable stars, asteroid occultations, meteors, and comets. He has also help popularize and coordinate amateur astronomical research within Mexico. http://www.aavso.org/minor-planet-names-honor-aavso-members-and-observers |
| 23 May | Hubble Space Telescope Campaign Results | |
| 18 May | Charts and Sequences Update May 2011 |
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| 17 May | Alert Notice 440: PEP Observing Campaign on P Cygni |
May 17, 2011: Ernst Pollmann, an active spectroscopist in Germany and leader of Active Spectroscopy in Astronomy, has requested the assistance of AAVSO photoelectric photometry (PEP) observers in a campaign to observe the S Doradus variable P Cygni through the 2011 observing season. |
| 12 May | AAVSO en Espacio Profundo Radio |
A partir del viernes 13 de mayo, la AAVSO tendrá una sección en el programa Espacio Profundo Radio, que se emite todos los viernes entre las 20 y 21 GMT. El programa es conducido por Cristina Ruffa y auspiciado por Espacio Profundo, una de los sitios web más conocidos en el ámbito latinoamericano. |
| 09 May | Chat Transcript - History of the AAVSO |
The following is a chat transcript from May 9, 2011. The topic of the chat was the History of the AAVSO and variable star observing with guests Dr. Mike Saladyga and Dr. Tom Williams. Some footnotes are at the bottom. <DocKQR> Hello Folks! |
| 29 April | AAVSO HQ Job Position: Administrative Assistant |
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is looking |
| 29 April | Mira Variables with Period Changes |
Mira variables are the longest-observed class of stars for which we have long-term quantitative data that allow us to study their behavior over centuries-long periods of time. Fortunately for us, they're also easy to observe and monitor, having some of the largest amplitudes of all variables, and hundreds of them are bright enough that they're within reach of astronomers with modest telescopes. |
| 28 April | AAVSO Joins Virtual Observatory VOEvents Stream |
Its an old story that astronomy is being drowned in data and its only getting worse. We have needed a "central clearing house" of sorts and the Virtual Observatory aims to be one solution in this vein. Astronomers have also experimented with various methods of alerting interested people as to events as they happen and when they need to be followed up on. This is the concept behind VOEvents. |
| 28 April | Alert Notice 439: Correction to AAVSO Alert Notice 438 on SN 2011by |
April 28, 2011: In AAVSO Alert Notice 438 on Supernova 2011by in NGC 3972 (issued 2011 April 28), the position was attributed to the wrong object. Here is the corrected text: |
| 28 April | AAVSO Alert Notice 438 |
SUPERNOVA 2011by in NGC 3972 = PSN J11554556+5519338 |
| 27 April | New ejaavso preprint "Leo5 is a Z Cam Type Dwarf Nova" by P. Wils, T. Krajci, and M. Simonsen |
ej 142: "Leo5 is a Z Cam Type Dwarf Nova" (P. Wils, T. Krajci, M. Simonsen) |
| 20 April | Visual Observing Manual updates |
The Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars has been updated to reflect changes to the VSP and WebObs that happened when the new website was launched last summer. This mostly affects Chapters 2 and 7. To download these and other chapters, or the entire Manual, please click on the link below: http://www.aavso.org/visual-observing-manual You will also find versions of the Manual translated into seven other languages on this page. Stay tuned for the Portuguese verson, due to be completed soon! |
| 15 April | AAVSO Newsletter 48 now online |
