News and Announcements

NOVA SCORPII 2011 = PNV J16551100-3838120

The following announcement is made on behalf of long time AAVSO observer/member Dr. Kristine Larsen:

Possible Nova in Scorpius

AAVSO member, observer and science educator Dr. Pebble Richwine has had a minor planet named in her honor - 268242 Pebble. Pebble did her PhD in science education at the University of Arizona where her dissertation was on using variable stars in elementary school science education. She's given talks at many AAVSO meetings and is currently a science educator in Georgia.

Here is the official citation:

Over in the Citizen Sky forums we have begun a discussion about how to properly report DSLR data.
Click below to read the guidelines:

http://www.citizensky.org/forum/report-dslr-data

"CI Cygni 2010 Outburst and Eclipse: An Amateur Spectroscopic Survey—First Results From Low Resolution Spectra" by F. Teyssier

http://www.aavso.org/ejaavso

Minor planet 12789 Savadoraguirre is named for AAVSO member/observer Salvador Aguirre, M.D. (observer code "ASA"), an avid amateur astronomer from Hermosillo, Mexico. He has conducted many observations of variable stars, asteroid occultations, meteors, and comets. He has also help popularize and coordinate amateur astronomical research within Mexico.

http://www.aavso.org/minor-planet-names-honor-aavso-members-and-observers

A partir del viernes 13 de mayo, la AAVSO tendrá una sección en el programa Espacio Profundo Radio, que se emite todos los viernes entre las 20 y 21 GMT. El programa es conducido por Cristina Ruffa y auspiciado por Espacio Profundo, una de los sitios web más conocidos en el ámbito latinoamericano.

Sebastián Otero comentará las noticias más

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is looking
for an administrative assistant with immediate availability. The ideal
candidate will work well in a team environment, but demonstrate
initiative and perseverance. The AAVSO is a small non-profit in the
Fresh Pond area of Cambridge, serving a membership of amateur
astronomers across the world who wish to contribute scientific
observations of stars that vary in brightness. We are celebrating our

Its an old story that astronomy is being drowned in data and its only getting worse. We have needed a "central clearing house" of sorts and the Virtual Observatory aims to be one solution in this vein.

Astronomers have also experimented with various methods of alerting interested people as to events as they happen and when they need to be followed up on. This is the concept behind VOEvents.