News and Announcements
| 09 July | Alert Notice 502: EE Cep observations requested for upcoming eclipse |
July 9, 2014: The AAVSO requests observations for the upcoming eclipse of EE Cephei, a long-period eclipsing variable. EE Cep has a period of 2,050 days, and shows strong variations in the eclipse light curve from one event to the next. Observations are needed to study the morphology of the upcoming eclipse, which will be used to better understand the shape of the eclipsing disk and how it precesses. Mid-eclipse is predicted to be August 23, 2014, but the early stages of the eclipse may begin as much as a month earlier. |
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| 03 July | AAVSO Newsletter for July 2014 is published |
AAVSO Newsletter 61, July 2014 is now available to members The AAVSO Newsletter is a periodic, general forum that supports our various observing programs with lists of new targets, observing programming ideas, and general information that spans a wide area of interest. Guest writers contribute pieces that can range from current events to book reviews. |
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| 30 June | Paper copies of JAAVSO v42 n1 are now available |
Paper copy from createspace.com is available for $12 plus shipping. |
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| 26 June | VStar 2.16.1 Release |
A new version of VStar has just been released! This version contains security upgrades and will re-enable the Plug-in Manager and discrepant observation reporting that were disabled in the wake of the AAVSO Security breach. (Please note that the Members-only BSM and APASS Epoch Photometry plugins are still not available until further security measures can be implemented.) In addition to the security upgrades, David Benn has also corrected several bugs and incorporated other changes based on valuable feedback from participants in his recent VStar CHOICE course. |
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| 25 June | Visual Observing Manual in Persian - 2013 edition |
The Persian (Farsi) version of the June 2013 revision of Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars - راهنمای رصد بصری ستارگان متغیر is now available for download here: http://www.aavso.org/visual-observing-manual-persian This Manual is available free-of-charge and may be reproduced and distributed as needed. |
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| 25 June | New eJAAVSO preprint: Multi-band differential photometry |
Multi-band Differential Photometry of the Eclipsing Variable Star NSVS 5750160 ejaavso273 |
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| 24 June | JAAVSO Vol. 42, No. 1, 2014, is published |
JAAVSO Volume 42, Number 1, 2014 is published. The issue can be downloaded by AAVSO members as a pdf file. The printed version of this issue will be available soon. |
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| 20 June | Special Notice #386: ASASSN-14cl New large-amplitude cataclysmic variable |
June 20, 2014: Kris Z. Stanek (The Ohio State University) et al. reported the discovery during the ongoing All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) of a bright transient (10.66V) on 2014 June 14.52 UT. Data were obtained using the quadruple 14-cm "Brutus" telescope in Haleakala, HI (hosted by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network).(ATel #6233, http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=6233) |
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| 30 May | Three new eJAAVSO preprints: Red Supergiants; Z Cam Stars; tribute to Leslie Peltier |
ej258: "Amplitude Variations in Pulsating Red Supergiants" by John R. Percy, Viraja C. Khatu ej257: "Leslie Peltier: The World’s Greatest Amateur Astronomer" by Mike Simonsen ej256: "Z Cam Stars in the Twenty-First Century" by Mike Simonsen, David Boyd, William Goff, Tom Krajci, Kenneth Menzies, Sebastian Otero, Stefano Padovan, Gary Poyner, James Roe, Richard Sabo, George Sjoberg, Bart Staels, Rod Stubbings, John Toone, Patrick Wils
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| 27 May | Charts and Sequences Update May 2014 |
The following objects have been given new or revised sequences since January 1, 2014. If you observe any of these objects, please check to see you have the latest versions of the charts and sequences for your targets. A full listing of new and revised sequences, for this year and going back to 2009, is available here on Google Drive. You can also download this list as .xlasx or .csv below. |
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| 15 May | Solar Bulletin - Volume 70, Number 04 |
The April 2014 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
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| 13 May | Special Notice #385: SBS 1108+574 HST/COS observations crucial NOW |
May 13, 2014: The HST/COS observations of the cataclysmic variable SBS 1108+574 described in AAVSO Alert Notice 501 and Special Notice #384 are scheduled for 2014 May 16 06:19:04 - 15:16:56 UT. |
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| 13 May | New eJAAVSO preprint: Multi-Longitude Observation Campaign of KV Cancri |
ejaavso254 "Multi-Longitude Observation Campaign of KV Cancri:an RR Lyrae Star with Irregular Blazhko Modulations" by Pierre de Ponthière, Michel Bonnardeau, Franz-Josef (Josch) Hambsch, Tom Krajci, Kenneth Menzies, Richard Sabo |
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| 09 May | Special Notice #384: SBS 1108+574 HST/COS obs next week |
May 9, 2014: The HST/COS observations of the cataclysmic variable SBS 1108+574 described in AAVSO Alert Notice 501 have been pushed back a few days. The new exact time of the observations is: |
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| 09 May | New eJAAVSO preprint: Seven Years of Globe at Night Data |
Analysis of Seven Years of Globe at Night Data by Jennifer J. Birriel, Constance E. Walker, and Cory R. Thornsberry ej253 |
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| 29 April | Alert Notice 501: Monitoring requested for HST/COS observations of SBS 1108+574 |
April 29, 2014: Dr. Peter Garnavich (University of Notre Dame) and Dr. Paula Szkody (University of Washington) have requested the help of AAVSO observers in monitoring the cataclysmic variable SBS 1108+574 (= CSS 120422:111127+571239) in support of upcoming Hubble Space Telescope observations. The HST COS (Cosmic Origins Spectrograph) will be carrying out far-ultraviolet spectroscopy of this target on 2014 May 12-13 UT. |
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| 17 April | Solar Bulletin - Volume 70, Number 03 |
The March 2014 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
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| 03 April | AAVSO Newsletter 60 is now published |
AAVSO Newsletter 60 (April 2014) is now available: http://www.aavso.org/aavso-newsletter The AAVSO Newsletter is a periodic, general forum that supports our various observing programs with lists of new targets, observing programming ideas, and general information that spans a wide area of interest. Guest writers contribute pieces that can range from current events to book reviews. |
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| 02 April | Alert Notice 500: Novae in Scorpius and Cygnus |
April 2, 2014 |
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| 27 March | Special Notice #383: Transient in Scorpius = TCP J17154683-3128303 |
March 27, 2014: Koichi Nishiyama (Kurume, Japan) and Fujio Kabashima (Miyaki, Japan) report (via the IAU CBAT TOCP page, http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/unconf/tocp.html) their discovery of a transient in Scorpius: |
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| 24 March | The AAVSO International Database Breaks Twenty-Five Million Observations! |
Over the weekend the AAVSO International Database (AID) hit an important milestone. We broke the twenty-five million mark! We would like to express our appreciation to each and every observer who has contributed even a single observation to that total. |
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| 17 March | Special Notice #382: SDSS J100658.40+233724.4 observations crucial now |
March 17, 2014: HST/COS is scheduled to observe the the U Gem-type dwarf nova |
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| 14 March | Alert Notice 499: Predicted occultation of Regulus |
March 14, 2014: On 2014 March 20 at approximately 02:06 a.m. EDT (06:06 UT), an occultation of Regulus (alf Leo, magnitude 1.4 V) by the magnitude-12.4 V asteroid (163) Erigone will take place. The occultation track includes Bermuda and northwest along a corridor stretching from the mid-Atlantic USA through Ontario, Canada. |
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| 14 March | Solar Bulletin - Volume 70, Number 02 |
The February 2014 Solar Bulletin is now available. Please visit the Solar Bulletin web page to download your copy: http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin |
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| 10 March | Alert Notice 498: Nova Cephei 2014 = TCP J20542386+6017077 |
March 10, 2014: |
