News and Announcements
| 19 July | Week of Online Chats for Beginners: July 25-29 |
We will be hosting three online chat sessions for beginners to the AAVSO during the week of July 25, 2011. Below are the list of the chat topics. However, feel free to bring up any topic at any chat. The chat room can be accessed by pointing your browser here. Details about how to use dedicated chat clients are here. |
| 19 July | AAVSO 100th Annual Meeting |
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| 19 July | Pro-Am White dwarf Monitoring (PAWM) Pilot Project |
Bruce Gary has announced a one-month pilot project to evaluate the feasibility of observing exoplanet transits of white dwarfs. The advantage of looking at white dwarfs is that the eclipses will be deeper. The disadvantage is they will be very short (on the order of minutes). So there is considerable challenge here! |
| 11 July | The Chart Error Reporting Tool (CHET) is back online | |
| 08 July | Alert Notice 443: Long-term monitoring of four AGN in support of ground-based spectroscopy |
[Edited 2011 July 12 to indicate that the apertures and annuli are radii rather than diameters. -- M. Templeton, AAVSO] |
| 08 July | Delta Scorpii: el nacimiento de una estrella Be |
This is also available in English Las estrellas BeEl estadio Be no es sólo una etapa evolutiva en las vidas de algunas estrellas calientes de tipo B de rápida rotación sino también un fenómeno transitorio que puede ir y venir con el paso de los años en la misma estrella. Varias razones se han propuesto para explicar el comportamiento de estas estrellas y aun están en debate. |
| 07 July | Delta Scorpii: the birth of a Be star |
The Be starsBe-ness is not only an evolutionary stage in the lives of some rapidly rotating hot B-type stars but also a transient phenomenon that may come and go over the years for the same star. Several reasons have been proposed to explain the behavior of these stars and are still in debate. |
| 07 July | Charts and Sequences Update July 2011 |
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| 06 July | Variable Star iPhone App Now Free |
The Variables Stars and AstroClock iPhone apps are now available for free. Thanks, Diatom software! |
| 05 July | Arne Henden Receives Leslier C. Peltier Award |
Arne Henden received the Leslier C. Peltier Award from the Astronomical League last weekend at their annual meeting in Utah. Click here for Sky & Telescope's coverage of the meeting. Arne joins fellow AAVSO staffer Elizabeth Waagen and current member/observer Gerry Samolyk as past winners. |
| 30 June | Special Notice #244: Continued close monitoring of T Pyx requested |
Continued close monitoring of T Pyx requested |
| 29 June | Variable Star Astronomy TOC in Belorussian |
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| 28 June | New eJAAVSO: Light Curve of the Eccentric Eclipsing Binary GSC 3152-1202, by R. K. Buchheim |
Abstract A complete light curve of this eccentric (~2.094d) eclipsing binary system has been determined, in B, V, and R bands. The primary and secondary minima are slightly different in depth, and the color index does not change during either primary or secondary eclipse. Newly-determined times of minimum confirm the previously-suspected rapid change in the orbital phase of the secondary minimum, implying significant apsidal motion. |
| 28 June | Minor VSP upgrades |
Hi, all. Today we rolled out some relatively minor upgrades to VSP. There is nothing groundbreaking here. It's mostly minor tweaks and bug fixes. But I'm outlining them here for your information: Additions |
| 24 June | New eJAAVSO: The Ross Variable Stars Revisited. I. by W. Osborn, O. F. Mills |
Abstract Better magnitudes and epochs have been determined for 189 of the 379 confirmed and suspected variable stars discovered by Ross from 1925 to 1931. Accurate positions have been determined for those objects for which unambiguous identifications had been lacking. |
| 15 June | New Observing Section Created to study Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) |
Michael Poxon has taken it upon himself to head a new AAVSO section on his favorite class of variable star: Pre-Main Sequence Stars (YSO/PMS). The AAVSO has had a long history of working with such objects, especially the "Orion variables" that were monitored by many visual observers for years. |
| 15 June | New Logo Contest Deadline is Close |
As part of the AAVSO's Centennial Celebrations we are holding a contest to design a new logo for the organization. This is just a quick reminder that the deadline for submission to the contest is July 1. As of this posting we have five submissions. Click here for more information on the logo contest and instructions on how to submit a design. |
| 14 June | The Cepheid Variable M31_V1: Hubble's First Cepheid |
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| 08 June | 20% Discount on New Centennial Book (updated) |
July 21 Update: The books are here! The AAVSO has 100 copies of the book that we are selling at the same Cambridge Press discounted rate of $80. So please order from the AAVSO store and help support the organization. We have the books in stock for immediate shipment. But wait, there's more! If you add an order for one of our limited edition Centennial T-Shirts, we will take $15 off your total order at checkout. |
| 08 June | JAAVSO vol. 39, nr. 1, is published |
The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (JAAVSO), Volume 39, Number 1, 2011, is now available for downloading and for hardcopy purchase. |
| 07 June | AAVSO Eclipsing Binary Ephemeris for 2011 available |
The 2011 AAVSO Eclipsing Binary Ephemeris, prepared by Gerry Samolyk, is now available online at http://www.aavso.org/eclipsing-binary-ephemerides Good observing! |
| 07 June | Special Notice #243: Pre-SN 2011dh images of M51 requested |
Pre-SN 2011dh images of M51 requested |
| 06 June | Margaret Mayall Assistantship Open for Applications for Summer 2011 |
(update: this position has been filled.) |
| 03 June | AAVSO Special Notice #242 |
SN 2011dh = Supernova in M51 = PSN J13303600+4706330 |
| 03 June | Alert Notice 442: Nova Scorpii 2011 = PNV J16551100-3838120 |
June 3, 2011 |
Galina Miklosic has recently 