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AnnouncementsVariables at High Altitude - Summer 2001Are you interested in learning more about CCD observing of variable stars from America’s highest observatory? Denver University cordially invites AAVSO members to apply for a limited number of guest observer slots open in summer 2001, at DU’s Meyer-Womble Observatory, located atop 14,268 ft Mt.Evans, Colorado (yes, 300 + feet higher than Mauna Kea).These volunteer opportunities involve scheduled 5 day-4 night observing runs using the twin 0.7- meter telescopes and University-furnished CCD equipment, training, and tutorials. Further information and application forms can be found at the website: www.du.edu/~rstencel/MtEvans. Deadline is March 15th. Robert Stencel AAVSO & Xephem: Xceptional!The AAVSO has worked closely with Elwood Downey of the Clear Sky Institute to incorporate information from the AAVSO International Database into his popular astronomical software package called Xephem. Those who use version 3.4 or later of his software will be able to plot light curves automatically from inside the program with just the click of a mouse.Xephem is a very powerful and popular astronomical software package available for various UNIX platforms, including Linux. It is also completely free. Xephem is the de facto standard for astronomy packages on UNIX and it is fast becoming the standard to which all programs, commercial or not, are compared. The February 2000 issue of Sky & Telescope included a glowing review of Xephem titled “Xceptional Software”. When using the program, you simply right click on an area of the sky and choose “Search For Variables." The five closest variables to the area are displayed. Simply select one and a light curve will be generated from the AAVSO International Database. You can then tweak the lightcurve by plotting for other time periods. The only requirement is that you need to be online while running the program. Xephem is available for free if you download it from the interent at http://www.clearskyinstitute.com. For more information on Xephem visit http://www.aavso.org/xephem. New Policy on Submitting ObservationsSubmitting observations to the AAVSO has become alot easier. You now only have to submit observations to the AAVSO once!
Beginning officially on February 1, 2001 observations should be submitted any time you want using the Official AAVSO Format, (the old SUM file). That's it! No more nightly vs monthly files. No more RAW, SUM, and Nightly formats. No more multiple files. You submit your observation one time and it immediately will be pulled into the AAVSO database and can be plotted via the light curve generator the very next business day. Ways you can now report observations:
Here is a detailed description of the Official AAVSO Format. You can still use the KSOLO program to generate reports if you wish, but please only send us the monthly SUM file. There is no need to send the RAW file anymore. There is a brand new Windows version of WebObs that will replace KSOLO in the works. It is currently in a beta testing phase, if you would like to help beta test it please e-mail aaronp@aavso.org. The AAVSO Manual for Visual Observing of Variable StarsUpdated for the first time in thirty years, the AAVSO Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars is a comprehensive and valuable tool for observers of all skill levels. The Manual features up to date information on basic observing techniques, equipment, charts, and ways to submit your observations to the AAVSO International Database, including WebObs - the new AAVSO online data submission program.A special thanks to AAVSO member Gene Hanson for his generous technixal and financial support of this publication. |
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