December 20, 2012: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #315 (www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-309), HST COS is scheduled to observe the U Gem-type cataclysmic variable HS 0218+3229 on December 22:
News and Announcements
| 04 January | Alert Notice 476: Multicolor photometry of triple system b Per requested |
January 4, 2013: Dr. Bob Zavala (U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff) has requested AAVSO assistance in obtaining multicolor photometry of the bright triple system b Per in order to prepare for and detect a possible eclipse of the AB components by the C component predicted for 2013 January 23. At 4.5V, b Per, which is also a radio source, is an excellent target for photoelectric photometrists and DSLR observers. |
| 04 January | Special Notice #319: HST COS observing SDSS J093249.57+472523.0 2013 January 11-12 |
January 4, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #317 (www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-317), HST COS is scheduled to observe the U Gem-type cataclysmic variable |
| 03 January | Paper copies of JAAVSO 40.2 (epsilon Aur) are now available |
Printed copies of the epsilon Aurigae special edition of JAAVSO (vol. 40, nr. 2, 2012) are now available. Buy a paper copy from createspace.com for $13 plus shipping. Or, go to the JAAVSO 40.2 page using the link below, then click on the createspace.com link |
| 23 December | Special Notice #318: SN 2012hr, a Type Ia supernova prior to maximum |
December 23, 2012: SN 2012hr was discovered by Peter Marples (Loganholme, QLD, Australia, Backyard Observatory Supernova Search (BOSS)) [not by Colin Drescher (Calamvale, QLD, Australia; BOSS) as originally reported in AAVSO Special Notice #318; Drescher reported Marples' discovery to CBAT as announced in CBET 3346] on 2012 December 16.53. The object was discovered at a red magnitude of 14.8. Subsequent spectroscopy by Milisavljevic et al. and Morrell et al. |
| 22 December | Alert Notice 475: Monitoring of the dwarf nova U Geminorum in support of HST observations |
December 22, 2012: As announced by Dr. Matthew Templeton (AAVSO) in AAVSO Special Notice #316 (www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-316), Dr. |
| 21 December | JAAVSO special epsilon Aurigae issue is published! |
The special epsilon Aurigae issue of the Journal of the AAVSO is published as Volume 40, Number 2. |
| 20 December | Special Notice #317: HST COS observing HS 0218+3229 2012 December 22 and SDSS J093249.57+472523.0 is probable next target |
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| 20 December | Charts and Sequences Update December 2012 |
The following charts (listed in order by constellation) have new or revised sequences since September 28, 2012. This list is quite long and includes all the stars in the new Binocular Program. 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. |
| 18 December | Solar Bulletin - Volume 68, Number 11 |
The November 2012 Solar Bulletin is now available! |
| 17 December | Special Notice #316: Monitoring of the dwarf nova U Geminorum in support of HST observations |
December 17, 2012: The AAVSO requests enhanced nightly monitoring of the dwarf nova U Gem in support of target-of-opportunity observations with HST's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. These observations were requested by Dr. |
| 14 December | Alert Notice 474: Multiwavelength campaign on delta Ori (Mintaka) |
December 14, 2012: An international team of astronomers, including Drs. |
| 11 December | Special Notice #315: HST COS observing SDSS J075507.70+143547.6 December 13-14 and HS 0218+3229 is next target |
December 11, 2012: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #309 (www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-309), HST COS is observing the WZ Sge-type cataclysmic variable SDSS J075507.70+143547.6 December 13-14: |
| 10 December | Citizen Sky Workshop to Produce a DSLR Photometry Manual |
The Citizen Sky Project - Workshop III
Sponsored by: When and Where:The 3rd Citizen Sky Project Workshop will be held Friday-Sunday, March 22-24 at AAVSO Headquarters in Cambridge, MA. We will kick-off the 3-day workshop with a meet-and-greet the evening of Thursday, March 21st. |
| 07 December | New Chinese Visual Observing Manual |
I am very pleased to announce that we now have TWO Chinese translations of the AAVSO Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars available for downloading. The newest addition to our collection of Manual translations is in "Traditional Chinese" which is used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and parts of southeast Asia. This beautiful translation was done by Tao Fan-Lin (陶蕃麟) who is the Director of the Taipei Association of Astronomy Now. You can get both versions of the Chinese Manual here: |
| 05 December | Special Notice #314: HST COS scheduled to observe V405 Peg December 7 |
December 5, 2012: As announced in AAVSO Special Notice #313 (www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-313), HST COS is scheduled to observe the UG-type dwarf nova V405 Peg |
| 03 December | 2013 JD Calendar |
The 2013 JD Calendar is now available. Go to the JD Calendar page and scroll down to the bottom where you will be able to view or download the new calendar. Clear Skies! |
| 03 December | New eJAAVSO preprint: Variable Stars South EB Database |
ej224: "The Variable Stars South Eclipsing Binary Database" by T. Richards |
| 30 November | Special Notice #313: HST COS observing CW Mon tonight and V405 Peg is next target |
November 30, 2012: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #311 (www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-311), |
| 27 November | Special Notice #312: Supernova 2012gx in MCG -02-2-72 = PSN J00380175-1351395 |
November 27, 2012: IAU Central Bureau Electronic Telegram 3314 (Daniel W. E. Green, ed.) announces the discovery by A. J. Drake, S. G. Djorgovski, M. J. Graham, A. Mahabal, and R. Williams (California Institute of Technology); R. H. McNaught (Australian National University); J. L. Prieto (Princeton University); M. Catelan (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile); and S. M. Larson and E. |
| 24 November | Solar Bulletin - Volume 68, Number 10 |
The October 2012 Solar Bulletin is now available! |
| 20 November | Special Notice #311: HST COS to observe CW Mon 2012 November 30 - December 1 |
November 20, 2012: The HST COS far ultraviolet observations of the dwarf nova CW Mon will be taking place 2012 November 30 20:54:49 through 2012 December 1 02:26:15 UT (AAVSO Special Notice #309, www.aavso.org/aaso-special-notice-309). |
| 19 November | Eye candy from Bright Star Monitor South |
At the moment, I'm taking a short break from doing some programming and beta testing for our latest AAVSOnet telescope to come online, Bright Star Monitor - South. This is a twin of the Bright Star Monitor that ran in New Mexico for the past few years, but installed on the opposite side of the world. BSM-South is hosted by Peter Nelson (NLX) a few dozen miles east of Melbourne, Australia, and has been operating in a "hands-on" capacity for several months now. |
| 15 November | Special Notice #310: Continued observing of V452 Cas requested |
November 15, 2012: As announced in [baavss-alert] on 15 November 2012, Dr. Chris Lloyd (University of Sussex) has requested that the SU UMa-type dwarf nova V452 Cas continue to be observed in order to maintain the good historical coverage of its superoutbursts. He writes: "Over the past several years we have accumulated enviable coverage of V452 Cas' superoutbursts but the general monitoring has dropped off recently as people have moved on to more interesting objects. |
| 13 November | Special Notice #309: Next Set of HST COS targets announced |
* revised November 20, 2012: CW Mon - scheduled observation dates and times are 2012 November 30 20:54:49 through December 1 02:26:15 UT; see details in AAVSO Special Notice #311. |
| 13 November | Special Notice #308: Observations crucial starting tonight for FL Psc (ASAS J002511+1217.2) |
November 13, 2012: The HST COS far ultraviolet observations of the WZ Sge-type cataclysmic variable FL Psc (ASAS J002511+1217.2) will be taking place 2012 November 15 22:48:37 UT through November 16 04:49:58 UT (AAVSO Special Notice #305 www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-305). |
