Chapter 6 — Submitting Observations to the AAVSO

In order for your observations to be included in the AAVSO International Database, you must submit them to Headquarters. There are several ways to produce reports and submit them to the AAVSO but it is important that you use only one method and do not send the same observations more than once.

No matter what the means of submission, reports must be in standard AAVSO format. It is essential that AAVSO formatting standards be followed in order to ensure the consistency of data in the AAVSO International Database. It also greatly facilitates the processing of the approximately 40,000 observations that come to the AAVSO each month.

Observations received at AAVSO Headquarters are handled according to the method you used to submit them. Those sent in through the AAVSO website or via email are added automatically to the "Quick Look" online data files. Observations sent by telephone or fax are digitized and added to the "Quick Look" files by an AAVSO staff member. Observations sent by postal mail are digitized at Headquarters. After the end of the month all observations received during the month are processed and added to the AAVSO International Database.

If you belong to an astronomy club or make your observations in company with another variable star observer, please note that each person should make their observations independently and submit a separate report.

Internet Data Submission — WebObs

The preferred and by far the easiest way to submit observations to Headquarters is through the AAVSO website. There, you will find a system called WebObs that takes your observations and automatically submits them to the AAVSO. All you need is a connection to the Internet and a web browser. When you submit observations online, WebObs will automatically format them to AAVSO specifications. It will also perform various error checking procedures to make sure you entered the data correctly. In addition, a complete listing of your observations is always available so you can peruse and/or download your contributions to the AAVSO database at any time.

Figure 6.1 - WebObs Online Data Entry Form

Another advantage to using WebObs is that your variable star observations will be available for use much sooner than if you submit them using a method which must undergo more processing. For example, observations of cataclysmic variables or stars exhibiting unusual behavior will appear in the "Quick Look" files and "Light Curve Generator" within ten minutes of submission. This will also make them available for publcation in MyNewsFlash at the same time.

To start using WebObs all you need to do is fill out a registration form on the AAVSO website. Within about 2-3 business days you will receive an email confirming your registration and assigning you AAVSO Observer Initials. Then you can begin using the program. There are plenty of tutorials, "frequently asked questions" (FAQs), and help menus available for you. However, most people find it simple enough that they can use it right away. If you have Internet access, visit the AAVSO website and take the "3-click Tutorial" on using WebObs.

Email Data Submission

If you do not have ready access to the Internet, but do have email, this may be the next best choice for submitting your reports to the AAVSO. Email reports can be sent to AAVSO Headquarters at any time. As with WebObs, all of your observations will be available for viewing with the "Light Curve Generator" or as part of the "Quick Look" files within ten minutes of when they were received. They will also be available for publication in MyNewsFlash whenever the next one is sent.

To send variable star reports by email, you must first create a text file version of your report in standard AAVSO format. Reports can be produced using software developed by the AAVSO or you may devise your own method of creating a report as long as the result is exactly the same. This is very important as any observations given in non-standard formats will not be accepted. If you decide to create your own data-entry program you should contact AAVSO for more details on output requirements.

Figure 6.2 - PCObs Data Entry Form

Once a text file is created, it should be sent as an email to the AAVSO "Observations" account (observations@aavso.org). The observations themselves could make up the body of the email or be sent as an attached file. Within five minutes you should receive a response. It will either be a confirmation of your observations or a note specifically explaining an error we found in the data. Fix the error and resend the data. Any additional questions or comments that are not part of the actual report should be sent as a separate email to aavso@aavso.org.

Postal Mail Data Submission

Another way to submit reports to the AAVSO is via postal mail to AAVSO Headquarters. Such reports should be sent in once per month, mailed as soon as possible after the first of the next month. The address is:

Observers with a computer but no email or Internet access are encouraged to create a text file of their observations, copy them onto a CD or diskette, and mail it to AAVSO Headquarters. As with other computer-generated reports mentioned here, the data files can be created using any report generating software as long as the output is in standard AAVSO format.

If you wish to submit your reports in handwritten or typed form, please use the standard AAVSO report forms supplied with a new member kit or available free-of-charge upon request from AAVSO Headquarters. You may copy these forms or request more when you run out. The forms are also available via download from the AAVSO website and a sample of a completed one is given in Figure 6.3.

Faxed Data Submission

The AAVSO also accepts reports by fax. The fax number of AAVSO Headquarters is: 617-354-0665 (Outside of the USA and Canada you will need to dial the country code, which is 01, as well as any additional numbers required for you to make an international call.) Since a faxed report must be typed into a computer by staff at AAVSO Headquarters, it is important that it be clear and complete, following standard AAVSO format. To produce such a report, you can either print out a file created by a data entry program or write your report by hand on an AAVSO Variable Star Observations report form. Please use black ink so that the result will be legible.

Telephone Reports

If you would like to contribute timely data on special variable star events such as outbursts of cataclysmic variables or stars showing rare or unusual behavior, and you don't have internet access, you may report your observations by telephone on the night (or the morning after) they are made. Such observations will be added to the "Quick Look" files by AAVSO Technical Staff within one business day.

AAVSO Standard Report Formatting

No matter which method you decide to use for making and submitting your variable star reports, it is required that the data adhere to AAVSO report formatting standards. With WebObs and AAVSO produced data entry software, some of these formatting requirements will be met automatically. Header Information

For proper documentation, it is important that with each report submitted, you include your name, complete address, the month of the year of your report, the time system used (GMAT), and equipment used for your observations. If you use WebObs, this is done for you from the information you supply when you fill out the registration form. The registration form need only be completed once. If some of the information on it changes, click on the button marked "Modify User Settings & Password" located at the bottom of the observation entry page. If you use AAVSO data entry software, you will be prompted for the same header information. If using the paper report forms, please fill out the front of the first sheet of your report completely. Put your name, Observer Initials, and the month and year of your report on the front and back of all subsequent sheets that have observations on them. If you do not know your initials, please leave the Observer Initials space blank.

AAVSO Observer Initials are assigned by AAVSO Headquarters technical staff upon receipt of your first report. Once your initials are assigned, you will be notified by postal mail or email, usually within 2—3 weeks.

General Layout

(Not applicable for WebObs or AAVSO data-entry program users because the software automatically accomplishes this.)

List the variables in order of right ascension from 00 to 23 hours. If you make more than one observation of a star, put them together in order of Julian Date. If two or more stars have the same right ascension, list the most northerly one first. For example: 1909+67, 1909+25, 1909-07.

(For information on variable star "designations" see Chapter 3.)

A single page should be numbered "page 1 of 1." If several pages are used, number them consecutively. Thus: page 1 of 4; 2 of 4; 3 of 4; 4 of 4. The last figure (4) is the total number of pages submitted. At the bottom of the first page of your report, please put the total number of observations.

Please use dark ink, a printer, or a typewriter with a dark ribbon to prepare your reports. If you prefer to use pencil, please use a dark, hard lead which does not smudge easily. If you write your report by hand, please print clearly! Do not leave any blank lines between stars.

Designation

The designation for each star observed should be listed in the first column of your report form. You can find the designation in the upper left corner of every AAVSO Variable Star chart if you don't already know what it is. On some of the older charts, the "+" or "-" signs have been left out in favor of an underlined designation for southern stars (e.g. 021403 instead of 0214-03). Always use the "+" and "-" signs when making your report. (See Chapter 3 for more about variable star names and designations.)

Variable Name

Please use only the constellation abbreviations approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) when reporting observations.

NOTE: For an up-to-date list of stars (designations & names) in the AAVSO observing program, please consult the AAVSO website.

Julian Date and the Decimal of the Day

The dates and times of observations must be submitted in Julian Date and decimal of the day in Greenwich Mean Astronomical Time (GMAT), not regular calendar or Universal Time dates. See Chapter 4 of this manual for more on this subject. The only exception to this rule is that if you are using WebObs, dates and times in UT will be accepted since the program will convert them automatically to JD. A Julian Day calendar may be obtained at no charge from AAVSO Headquarters or downloaded from the AAVSO website. New calendars will be sent each year by postal mail to all members and active AAVSO observers. A current calendar is included with the new member package.

The types of stars observed once a week should have the decimal of the day reported to one decimal place. The types of stars observed every clear night should have the decimal reported to four places. See Table 6.1—Precision of JD Needed, for different variable star types. Chapter 4 gives instructions on how to figure the Julian Day and Decimal.

Visual magnitudes should be reported to ONE decimal place. Any visual magnitudes reported to two decimal places will be rounded off before they are added to the AAVSO International Database. Charge-coupled device (CCD) and photoelectric photometry (PEP) observations should be reported to one to three decimal places of magnitude depending on the level of precision.

If you wish to report a "fainter-than" observation (i.e. you could not see the variable) and you are using WebObs or PCObs, please click the "Fainter-Than" checkbox and enter the magnitude of the faintest comparison star you can see. If you are making a paper report, put a "<" symbol in front of the magnitude. For example, if you observe a variable and cannot see it, but the faintest comparison star that you can see is 14.5, put "<14.5" on your report.

If there is any uncertainty in your estimate, you may denote this by clicking the checkbox marked "Uncertain" (or putting a colon ":" after the magnitude if you are making a paper report) and indicating the reason for the uncertainty in the "Comment" fields.

Comment Fields

To make the best use of the observations you submit and to help AAVSO Technical Staff evaluate the data, it is very important to know why an observation is marked uncertain, and what comments you might have that affect that observation. The "Comment Code" and "Comment Code Explained" fields may be used for explaining the cause of uncertainty in an observation, for making comments about observing conditions, or for specifying the type of equipment or filter you are using. In the paper report form, these fields are referred to as "Key" and "Remarks" respectively.

Table 6.2 contains a list of one-letter abbreviations for comments and their meanings.

Comparison star magnitudes

The magnitudes of the comparison stars that are used to make the observation should be included in the "Comparison Stars" field of the report. It is very important to include this information for each observation. It is not necessary to put the decimal point in the comparison star magnitude. (e.g. 98, 101, 106). If there is more than one comp star of the same magnitude in a variable field, include a compass direction with the magnitude so it will be clear which star you used (e.g. 83, 88NE, 92).

Charts

To avoid confusion in the data arising from revisions of AAVSO finder charts and comparison star sequences, and from any non-AAVSO charts/sequences which may be in use, it is essential that you indicate in the Charts field the source and date of the chart(s) you used in making an estimate for every observation in your report. When there is more than one date given on a chart, please use the most recent one. If you report observations of a star not in the AAVSO's observing program, you must send a copy of the chart and comparison star sequence you used. Your observations cannot be added to the AAVSO International Database without this information.

Please double-check your report before sending it to AAVSO Headquarters!