News and Announcements
| 23 May | AAVSO observers help solve a mystery about an important variable star |
A group of astronomers led by Dr. James Miller-Jones of Curtin University and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have published a revised distance to the famed variable star SS Cygni, solving a major mystery surrounding this star and its behavior. Their work was made possible due to the dedication of dozens of observers worldwide who monitor SS Cygni and report their observations to the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). |
| 23 May | New eJAAVSO preprint: Period Analysis of AAVSO Visual Observations of Semiregular (SR) Variable Stars. II |
ej233: "Period Analysis of AAVSO Visual Observations of Semiregular (SR) Variable Stars. II" by J. R. Percy and T. Kojar |
| 23 May | New eJAAVSO preprint: Recent Maxima of 61 Short Period Pulsating Stars |
ej232: "Recent Maxima of 61 Short Period Pulsating Stars" by G. Samolyk |
| 22 May | Special Notice #354: DT Oct obs crucial now, GW Lib and V1108 Her next targets |
May 22, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #353 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-353), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the SU UMa-type cataclysmic variable DT Oct TOMORROW: |
| 22 May | Two new eJAAVSO preprints: Simultaneous CCD Photometry of Two Eclipsing Binary Stars in Pegasus |
ej230: "Simultaneous CCD Photometry of Two Eclipsing Binary Stars in Pegasus—Part 1: KW Peg" by K. B. Alton ej231: "Simultaneous CCD Photometry of Two Eclipsing Binary Stars in Pegasus—Part 2: BX Peg" by K. B. Alton |
| 19 May | Second Annual AAVSO CCD School |
Once again the AAVSO will be holding a week-long CCD School taught by AAVSO Director, Arne Henden! The school will run July 8-12, 2013 and all classes will take place at AAVSO HQ.
|
| 17 May | Alert Notice 483: AH Her Observing Campaign |
May 17, 2013: AAVSO assistance has been requested by Dr. Juan Echevarria (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and colleagues in a campaign on the Z Cam-type cataclysmic variable AH Her being carried out 2013 May 29 - June 18. They will be making photometric and spectroscopic observations of AH Her using the 2.1m and 0.84m telescopes at San Pedro Martir Observatory (SPM). |
| 16 May | Events from the AAVSO Spring Meeting Broadcast Online! |
For those who could not attend the AAVSO 2013 Spring Meeting in person but wish to take part, we will be broadcasting the following 2 events via GoToWebinar: |
| 16 May | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 4 |
The April 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. |
| 16 May | Kepler planet-finding mission may be ending |
NASA officials have announced that the spacecraft stabilizers on the Kepler satellite can no longer keep the spacecraft pointed accurately. Plans are being developed to address the problems, but if they are unsuccessful, Kepler's extended mission to search for exoplanets may be ending. For more information, see this article in SpaceflightNow. |
| 14 May | Two new eJAAVSO preprints |
ej 229: "Book Review: Scientific Writing for Young Astronomers"(C. Sterken, ed.) reviewd by E. Broens ej 228: "V1820 Orionis: an RR Lyrae Star With Strong and Irregular Blazhko Effect" by P. de Ponthière et al. |
| 13 May | Special Notice #353: SDSS J153817.35+512338.0 obs crucial now and DT Oct is next |
May 13, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #351 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-351), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the dwarf nova SDSS J153817.35+512338.0: |
| 09 May | AAVSO Councilor Dr. Chryssa Kouveliotou elected to National Academy of Sciences |
|
| 08 May | Special Notice #352: Correction to target name in Special Notice #351 |
May 8, 2013: In AAVSO Special Notice #351 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-351), one of the upcoming HST/COS targets was referred to as ASAS1600-48. The name of this system as found in VSX is ASAS J160048-4846.2. Please use this name when reporting observations to the AAVSO International Database. Many thanks. |
| 08 May | Special Notice #351: 1RXS J105010.3-140431 obs crucial now and upcoming targets |
May 8, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471)and AAVSO Special Notice #350 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-350), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the eclipsing WZ Sge-type cataclysmic variable 1RXS J105010.3-140431: |
| 06 May | Three new JAAVSO preprints |
ej 225: "Two New Cool Variables in the Field of NGC 659" by Steven P. Souza ej 226: "The Interesting Light Curve and Pulsation Frequencies of KIC 9204718" by Garrison Turner and John Holaday ej 227: "Nine New Variable Stars in Cygnus and Variability Type Determination of [Wm2007] 1176" by Riccardo Furgoni |
| 30 April | Special Notice #350: 1RXS J105010.3-140431 and SDSS J153817.35+512338.0 next HST/COS targets |
April 30, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the eclipsing WZ Sge-type cataclysmic variable 1RXS J105010.3-140431: |
| 30 April | Special Notice #349: HST/COS Observations CANCELLED for SDSS J154453.60+255348.8 |
April 30, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice 348 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-348), HST/COS was scheduled to observe the eclipsing dwarf nova SDSS J154453.60+255348.8 tonight: |
| 30 April | New VStar Release |
VStar version 2.15.1 has just been released. If you have been using VStar already, the new version will be automatically downloaded next time you open it. If you have never used VStar before (or don't know what it is) then you can learn about it and download the latest version from this page: http://www.aavso.org/vstar-overview There are also a lot of fantastic plugins available for VStar which you can get here: |
| 28 April | Optical observations of GRB 130427A |
We're pleased to note that GCN Circular #14490 has been published, detailing time-series photometry of the bright GRB 130427A by Patrick Wiggins. His observations provide a comprehensive record of the three hours of the early evolution of this incredibly bright afterglow. Congratulations to Patrick on his observations! |
| 22 April | Special Notice #348: QZ Lib observations critical now for HST/COS and SDSS J154453.60+255348.8 next target |
April 22, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the eclipsing WZ Sge-type cataclysmic variable QZ Lib: |
| 18 April | Data Usage Guidelines |
Data usage guidelines
Revised 2013 April 17
Jump to Formal policy: Acknowledgement for Using AAVSO Data |
| 17 April | Spring Meeting Hotel Deadline Extended! |
The deadline for hotel reservations for the upcoming spring meeting has been extended to April 22nd! It is not too late to decide to join us at Appalachian State University for this unique meeting. Please visit the Meeting Information Page for details and the registration link. |
| 17 April | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 3 |
The March 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. |
| 16 April | Annual Report for 2011-2012 is published |
The AAVSO Annual Report for FY 2011-2012 is now available online. |
