News and Announcements
| 05 December | Admin Assistant Opening at AAVSO HQ |
When Lauren Rosenbaum came to work with us as the AAVSO HQ Admin Assistant we knew it would be for a limited number of years while she attended graduate school. Wow, has the time flown by!!! In her time with us Lauren has become a crucial member of the AAVSO family. We will be so very sad to see her go, but she will be leaving us to take the next step in her career. We all wish her the very best! |
| 03 December | Alert Notice 492: Nova Centauri 2013 = PNV J13544700-5909080 |
December 3, 2013 |
| 02 December | Special Notice #376: HST observations of U Gem scheduled for December 6 |
December 2, 2013: Further to AAVSO Special Notice #318 (M. Templeton) and AAVSO Alert Notice 475 (E. Waagen), Dr. Michael Shara (American Museum of Natural History) informs us that HST/COS observations of the dwarf nova U Gem have been scheduled for 2013 December 6 UT (one day earlier than originally indicated in the December 2 posting to the AAVSO forums). The observations will take place: |
| 02 December | Alert Notice 491: V556 Serpentis = Nova Ser 2013 = PNV J18090346-1112345 |
December 2, 2013 |
| 26 November | Two new eJAAVSO preprints: Monitoring solar activity trends; Maxima and O–C diagrams for 489 Mira stars |
ejaavso 250: "Monitoring Solar Activity Trends With a Simple Sunspotter" by K. Larsen ejaavso 251: "Maxima and O–C Diagrams for 489 Mira Stars" by T. Karlsson |
| 25 November | NEW! The Annual Adopt A Variable Star Program |
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| 22 November | Two new eJAAVSO preprints: UV-B and B optical flare search; 18 new variables in Cas |
ejaavso 248: "UV–B and B-band Optical Flare Search in AR Lacertae, II Pegasi, and UX Arietis Star Systems" by G. A. Vander Haagen ejaavso 249: "Eighteen New Variable Stars in Cassiopeia and Variability Checking for NSV 364" by R. Furgoni |
| 15 November | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 10 |
The October 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
| 15 November | New eJAAVSO preprint: Recent Minima of 199 Eclipsing Binary Stars |
ejaavso 247: "Recent Minima of 199 Eclipsing Binary Stars" by G. Samolyk |
| 13 November | Special Notice #375: Symbiotic variable AS 270 in outburst |
November 13, 2013: The symbiotic star AS 270 is in outburst, according to observations reported to vsnet-alert by Berto Monard (MLF; Calitzdorp, South Africa) and to the AAVSO International Database (AID) by Steve O'Connor (OCN; St. George's, Bermuda). O'Connor reports the star at V=11.72 +/-0.03 on 2013 November 13.405 UT (JD 2456609.905), well above its normal minimum magnitude of 14.2V. |
| 04 November | New eJAAVSO preprint: Book Review: The Life and Death of Stars (Lang) |
ejaavso 246: "Book Review: The Life and Death of Stars (Lang)" by J. B. Lester |
| 28 October | Special Notice #374: Possible Nova in Aquila = PNV J19023335+0315190 |
October 28, 2013: Koichi Itagaki (Yamagata, Japan) reports (via the TOCP page and [vsnet-alert]) his discovery of a possible nova in Aquila: R.A. 19h02m33.35s, Decl. +03o15'19.0" (J2000.0) 2013 Oct. 28.4571 UT, 13.8 mag (unfiltered) |
| 28 October | Help us pick the dates for the 2014 AAVSO CCD School! |
Please take a moment to help us pick the dates for the 2014 AAVSO CCD school. We are currently considering all weeks in July and August. If you are interested in participating in the week-long CCD School in 2014, we ask that you complete the scheduling survey. We will use the results of the survey to help us select the best week for the school. |
| 24 October | Special Notice #373: Comparison star changed for HD 15407A |
October 24, 2013: HD 15407A is one of the targets in the current observing campaign by Huan Meng and Dr. George Rieke (runs through December 2013; see AAVSO Alert Notice 482). The very nearby star marked 96 (HD 15407B, AUID 000-BKY-170) was selected as the comparison star for this target. However, it has been found that the published magnitude of this star is questionable, and the astronomers have withdrawn it as the comparison. |
| 22 October | New eJAAVSO preprint: Book review: Meeting Venus (Sterken and Aspaas, eds.) |
ejaavso 245: "Meeting Venus—a Collection of Papers Presented at the Venus Transit Conference, Tromsø 2012" (Sterken and Aspaas, eds.), by J. R. Percy |
| 15 October | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 9 |
The September 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
| 10 October | New eJAAVSO preprint: Comments on the UBV Photometric System’s Defining Standard Stars |
ej 244: "Comments on the UBV Photometric System’s Defining Standard Stars" by Arlo U. Landolt Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 |
| 09 October | The 2013 AAVSO Fall Membership Meeting! |
We will be webcasting the 2013 Fall Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 12th for those members and guests not able to make it to Woburn, MA this year. You may log into the Webcast starting at 8.45ET (12.45UT). The actual meeting will start at 9.00ET (13.00UT). Please register for AAVSO Fall Membership Meeting webcast at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6282400887527923458 |
| 08 October | Charts and Sequences Update October 2013 |
The following is a list of chats and sequences created, updated or revised since June 25, 2013. If you are observing any of these stars please check to be sure you are using the most recent version of the sequence.
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| 04 October | AAVSO Newsletter, October 2013 is published |
AAVSO Newsletter 58, October 2013, is now published: |
| 01 October | Special Notice #372: Probable new red variable IRAS 17378-3411 = PNV J17411305-3413235 |
October 1, 2013: Koichi Nishiyama (Kurume, Japan) and Fujio Kabashima (Miyaki, Japan) report their discovery of a possible nova - which now appears to be a red variable - in Sco at unfiltered magnitude 11.1 on unfiltered CCD images taken 2013 Sep. 30.44605 UT. They confirmed their discovery on images taken around 2013 Sep 30.4621 UT. Nothing was seen down to magnitude 13.5 and 13.7 on images taken 2013 Jul 11.539 UT and 12.571 UT, respectively, or on DSS or USNO-B1.0 images. A check for minor planets was carried out. |
| 27 September | VStar User Manual |
The VStar User Manual is now available for download! Thanks to a Herculean effort by VStar's creator David Benn along with some invaluable editorial and annotational help from Kristine Larsen, this long-anticipated publication has become a reality. To get your copy, please visit the VStar Overview page and click on the yellow button marked "Download VStar User Manual". You will be glad you did! |
| 24 September | Special Notice #371: BB Ari observations particularly crucial now |
September 24, 2013: HST/COS is scheduled to observe the SU UMa-type variable BB Ari: |
| 17 September | New membership classifications, benefits and dues |
There have been some changes in membership classifications, benefits and dues for the 2014 membership year. Regular Annual dues will now be $75.00. The annual Sustaining membership rate will be raised to $150.00. If you are an educator, student, have a limited income or you are on a pension, your dues will be $37.50 per year. |
| 16 September | Solar Bulletin - Volume 69, Number 8 |
The August 2013 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
We are excited to bring you a new fundraising program designed to encourage small donations to the AAVSO from a large number of donors each year. The concept is very simple and has been used by other non-profits to raise money for children, animals, and other good causes. 
