[Aavso-photometry] YZ And

[arne]

Gordon Myers wrote:
> SZ And is on the list of targets needing observation published July 1.  The
> observing chart from VSP does not show any comp stars within about 1.5
> degrees.  Any chance to identify closer comp stars, or do we need to use all
> sky photometry techniques?
> 
We have an observing program at Sonoita Research Observatory (SRO)
to calibrate every Mira field that is in the AAVSO Validation List.
YZ And is one of those, and a 4-night BVRI calibration is available.
There are two steps in using this.  First, someone on the Sequence
Team needs to look at the calibrated stars and pick out a sequence.
Then someone needs to load that sequence into VSP/VSD.  Then, whenever
observers access the field through VSP, they will have comparison stars
showing and available through the photometry table option.

When will this happen?  That is the tougher question.  We have a
Sequence Team that is too small right now, and the few active
members are involved in updating the existing comparison star
database in preparation for the next release in a couple of weeks.
We have about a hundred corrections that observers have made
through CHET to existing fields that need to be addressed.
Then, a plan of attack for the new calibrations needs to be in place.

Right now, SRO is in the Arizona monsoon, and so we have a 2-month
lull in new photometry.  I'm waiting for some tools to become
available for the compDB update process.  But I'm expecting some
large changes in how comparison stars are handled in the near future.
If you feel ambitious, I've posted the YZ And calibration at:
ftp://ftp.aavso.org/public/calib/yzand.dat
There is a README file there that tells you the format of each of
these calibration files.
Arne