News and Announcements

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:

http://www.aavso.org/vstar-plugin-library

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:

QZ Lib  2013 Apr 26 14:37:44 through 21:23:30 UT

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.

The AAVSO Annual Report for FY 2011-2012 is now available online.

http://www.aavso.org/annual-report

April 9, 2013:  In AAVSO Special Notice #346 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-346), IU Leo was said to have a close companion about 2 arcsec to the NE. This is not correct - it is IY UMa that has this close companion.

We extend sincere apologies to Dr. Szkody for misquoting her and to our readers for the error.


This AAVSO Special Notice was compiled by Elizabeth O. Waagen.

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The following charts (listed in order by constellation) have new or revised sequences since December 20, 2012. This list is quite long. A .csv file is available as an attachment here at the bottom of the page as well.

If you observe any of these stars please update your charts as soon as possible. 

April 4, 2013: Huan Meng and Dr. George Rieke (University of Arizona) have requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring three bright stars with developing planetary systems. The stars have been observed with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to have varying levels of dust in the circumstellar disk. These varying levels are thought to be produced through collisions among the asteroid-size debris in the disk.

Scanned copies of the AAVSO Solar Bulletin Vol. 1 (1945) through Vol. 9 (1953) are now online. These first nine volumes were edited and produced by the first Solar Division Chairman, Neal J. Heines (1892-1955).

Our thanks to volunteer Anna Hillier for making these scans at AAVSO Headquarters.

http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin

March 19, 2013:  The AAVSO solicits participation in an online survey from our member and observer communities. The survey is being conducted in advance of an upcoming long-term observing campaign that will be launched in mid-April 2013.  We are seeking participation in this survey from as broad a sample of the AAVSO community as possible, and your responses will help us gauge the effectiveness of the campaign and serve the observer community better.

March 18, 2013:  Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the SU UMa-type dwarf nova PU CMa:

PU CMa   2013 March 22 00:00:43 through 02:36:08 UT

The HST observations of PU UMa may be cancelled/postponed, as PU CMa is currently in outburst, according to observations reported to the AAVSO:

March 14, 2013:  Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #340 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-340), HST/COS is scheduled to observe the dwarf nova V485 Cen on 2013 March 16:

    V485 Cen  2013 March 16 03:02:56 through 09:44:57 UT

The Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars (in English) has just been updated. To download this new and improved version, please visit http://www.aavso.org/visual-observing-manual.

Many thanks to Mike Simonsen, Elizabeth Waagen and Matthew Templeton for their input and helpful suggestions.

Sara Beck
AAVSO Technical Staff, Science Team