[Aavso-photometry] The New HOA == Variable Star Astronomy (VSA)

[Jim Jones]

Arne

Very good stuff.

The occupational hazards section would have been a lot funnier if I
hadn't taken a nasty fall on the pavement about 3 weeks ago when I was
walking backwards looking up at the sky and stepped in a hole.

Jim

arne wrote:
> Hands On Astrophysics was a major initiative of the AAVSO
> during the 1990's.  It was funded by a grant from NSF, and
> resulted in a great package that taught astrophysical
> concepts through the study of variable stars.  The package
> contained an excellent manual in a 3-ring binder; a VHS
> tape; 35mm slides, hardcopy photos and finding charts of
> stellar fields, and even a complete software package that
> could display light curves and do basic period searches.
> The package was geared towards the educator, though many
> copies were sold to individuals.
>
> This package was very expensive for the AAVSO to produce.
> We had depleted most of the stock about the time that I
> became Director.  Donna Young and I sat down together,
> and she expressed interest in bringing this package into
> the modern world.  This made perfect sense to me - she was
> one of the primary authors of the original HOA manual,
> and was willing to perform the work as a volunteer.  She
> began the process by converting a few chapters to use on
> her Chandra site, and slowly worked through the remaining
> chapters with the help of several of her coworkers (especially
> Pamela Perry).
>
> I am proud to announce that the entire manual and most
> of the supporting material is again available through the
> AAVSO website, this time for free.  As linked through
> the home page:
> http://www.aavso.org/education/vsa/
> you can download individual chapters or supporting material.
> The software, VSTAR, has yet to be converted from its original
> DOS roots (we are looking for a grant to cover this cost), but
> we hope that it will happen sooner than later.  Note also
> that Donna was unhappy with the original "Astrophysics" title,
> as she felt that it frightened away some potential readers,
> and so has renamed the curriculum "Variable Star Astronomy."
> It is the same manual and material, though updated with
> modern links.
>
> I hope you enjoy the final product as much as I have, and
> use it frequently in your classrooms and club activities.
> Arne
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