One of the features of VStar is that it is set up so that you, the user, can think up new and interesting new ways to use the basic program. You can do this by creating your own plug-in or by using ones that others have created to extend the power of VStar. If you are interested in creating your own, please read the documentation [1] on how to do this. If you would like to see some plug-ins that others have created, you have come to the right place.
This page contains a list of VStar plug-ins which we feel might be of use to you. If you are looking for general information about VStar or would like to find out how to get it, please go to the the VStar overview and download [2] page.
How to Use VStar Plug-ins
-
Create a folder called vstar_plugins. This folder must be located in your home directory which varies depending on your operating system:
- Windows Vista and 7: C:\Users\<username>
- Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>
- Mac OS X: /Users/<username>
- Linux, or Unix: /home/<username>
- Select a plug-in from the list below and download it to your computer.
- Place the .jar file into the folder you created in Step 1.
- For the SuperWASP and Kepler source plug-ins, download the file tamfits.jar [3] and put it in a folder called vstar_plugin_libs in your home directory.
If you have placed the plug-in correctly, you should be able to see it listed in the appropriate menu next time you run VStar. Just which menu will show the plug-in depends on the plug-in type:
- Observation source - will appear in the File menu
- Observation tool - will appear in the Tool menu
- General tool - will appear in the Tool menu
- Custom filter - will appear in the View => Custom Filters sub-menu
- Analysis - will appear in the Analysis menu
Available Plug-ins
Click here to download a .zip file
containing the complete set. [4]
Observation Source:
-
AAVSO upload file format
-
ASAS data New!
-
Catalina Sky Survey
-
Kepler data
-
SuperWASP data
- APASS & BSM Epoch Photometry plugins (AAVSO Members-only) [5]
Observation Tool:
General Tool:
Custom Filter:
Analysis:
Name: AAVSOUploadFileFormatObservationSource.jar [6] (10K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin will allow you to open files that are either in the "AAVSO Extended File Format [7]" or "AAVSO Visual File Format [8]". It is hoped that this will be useful to anyone wishing to view, analyze, or check their own data files. It is also the same format as that exported from VPHOT [9]. Please note that this plugin currently only accepts files with a date format of the JD type (not EXCEL or HJD).
Author: David Benn working with Ken Mogul and Alan Plummer
Date of last revision: 11 April 2011
Name: ASASObservationSource.jar [10] (8K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin allows you to open text files in the format of the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) [11]. Data files can be downloaded from the ASAS website or by using the AAVSO's VSX in the following manner:
1. Search for a star, then click on its name to get details.
2. Scroll down to the "External Links" section and select "ASAS light curve" from the drop-down list. Click "Go".
3. Click the "GetData" button to view the data used, then copy and paste that into a text file.
Author: Mark Blackford & David Benn
Date of last revision: 20 May 2013
Name: CatalinaSkySurveyObservationSource.jar [12] (10K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin allows you to open files in the format of the Catalina Sky Survey (http://crts.caltech.edu/index.html [13]).
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 17 December 2012
Name: KeplerFITSObservationSource.jar [14] (8K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin will allow you to import FITS file format (Version 2.0) data from the NASA Kepler mission [15] into VStar.
Sample Data: kplr007198959-2009166043257_llc.fits [16] (168K) - Click here to get the form for downloading Kepler data [17].
Notes: To use this plug-in you must also download tamfits.jar [18] (131K) and place it in your vstar_plugin_libs folder in your home directory. The code was developed using the Topcat FITS library. For an example on how to download and use Kepler data in VStar see this post from David Benn's blog. [19]
Author: David Benn working with Doug Welch
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010
Name: SuperWASPFITSObservationSource.jar [20] (9K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin will allow you to import FITS file format data from the SuperWASP [21] program into VStar.
Sample Data: 1SWASP+J235014.28%2B512358.8.fits [22] (233K), 1SWASP+J185717.70-380829.6.fits [23] (119K)
Notes: To use this plug-in you must also download tamfits.jar [18] (168K) and place it in your vstar_plugin_libs folder in your home directory. The code was developed using the Topcat FITS library.
Author: David Benn working with Doug Welch
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010
Name: PeriodLuminosityDistanceCalculator.jar [24] (8K)
Type: Observation Tool
Description: This plugin will compute the absolute magnitude and distance to a Cepheid variable based on the Period-Luminosity relationship. You can input the average apparent magnitude and the period to the equation.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 30 April 2013
Name: ObservationCounter.jar [24] (3K)
Type: Observation Tool
Description: This plugin will count and display the number of observations in the plot.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010
Name: JDToDateTool.jar [25] (4K)
Type: General Tool
Description: This plugin will give you the calendar date for any JD you type in.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010
Name: MeanTimeBetweenSelectionTool.jar [26] (12K)
Type: Observation Tool
Description: This plugin will record the mean JD and magnitude between selections you make on the plot.
Author: David Benn (as requested by Mike Simonsen)
Date of last revision: 22 March 2011
Name: ObserverListFilter.jar [27] (2K)
Type: Custom Filter
Description: A filter tool plugin that will allow the user to enter a group of observer codes so that they can be highlighted. Ideal for showing the contributed observations from a paticular club or group of people.
Author: Sara Beck (by slightly modifying the CustomFilterTest.jar [28] plugin by David Benn)
Date of last revision: 21 February 2011
Source code: ObserverListFilter.java [29]
Name: ApacheCommonsLowessFitter.jar [30]
Type: Analysis
Description: This plugin creates a locally weighted scatterplot smoothing fit of the specified series. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_regression [31] for more information about the algorithm. The Loess interpolator in the Apache Commons Math library (already used by VStar to implement ANOVA) is used.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 17 November 2012
Name: ApacheCommonsPolynomialFitter.jar [32]
Type: Analysis
Description: This plugin creates a polynomial fit of the specified series. The polynomial fitter in the Apache Commons Math library [33] (already used by VStar to implement ANOVA) is used. Note that this is an alternative implementation to the already existing one in VStar.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 17 November 2012
Additional Resources
- If you would like to write your own plug-in, please visit the VStar Source Forge plugin documentation [1] page to find some useful "How-to" material available for download
- View the source code [34] for the plug-ins created by David Benn.
- Discuss techniques and results of data analysis on the Data Analysis Forum [35].
- For general help with VStar, please post your questions or comments on the VStar Forum [36].
Last Updated: May 20, 2013 - 12:26pm
- analyze data [37]
- vstar [38]
