Photoelectric Photometry Newsletter

A Cautionary Note about RZ Ari

Howard Landis, chair of the AAVSO Photoelectric Committee, sends the following: "Please be cautious in locating the check star for RZ Ari. It is a bit tricky; every now and then, even experienced observers will look at the wrong star.'7 The correct delta(mag) for the check star is -0.25 - JRP.

Southern SARV's from South Africa

R.W. Jones and his colleague Fanie de Villiers continue to accumulate interesting new results on southern small-amplitude red variables. They have sent observations of four "winter" (their winter) stars: HR7045 shows a variable amplitude of 0.1 to 0.2 mag, and a time scale of a month or more; the comparison stars HR7038 and HR7046 appear to be constant. HR7023 (V3879 Sg) also shows a variable amplitude, of at least 0.3 mag; the period may be a couple of months. The comparison stars are the same as for HR7045. HR6861 shows an amplitude of 0.2 mag or more, and a time scale of two months; the comparison stars HR6801 and HR6846 (one of which was suspected to be slightly variable) appear to be constant to within 0.01 mag. HR6055 shows a small amplitude of 0.1 mag, and an apparent time scale of a month (though this needs to be confirmed); the comparison stars HR6024 and HR6073 (one of which was suspected to be slightly variable) appear to be constant to within 0.01 mag. We thank these dedicated observers for extending our reach into the southern sky, and for helping to "clean up" our comparison stars!

Hands-On Astrophysics

The AAVSO's education project Hands-On Astrophysics is now available; see the AAVSO web site (www.aavso.org) for more information. The purpose of HOA is to support science and math education in the schools and colleges, by developing and integrating science, math, and computer skills. Students experience the excitement of doing real science with real data. We hope that some of them will take up variable star observing as a serious interest, and swell the ranks of our visual observers.

HOA is also an excellent way for amateur astronomers of all ages to learn about variable stars and other aspects of astronomy. The HOA software and videos are available separately from the main "package". The software can be used on any variable star data - visual, photoelectric, or CCD. For more information, please contact either me or Janet Mattei at AAVSO HQ.