From the Director

We have just passed the Winter solstice. It is a beautiful winter day outside - cold, sunny, and bright, with nature covered in snow.

As we are getting ready to welcome the new year and the new millenium, I send each of you warm greetings and best wishes for a wonderful New Year.

I am happy to share with you some highlights from my Annual Report, which will appear in full in the Journal of the AAVSO, Vol. 29, Number 2. Among our accomplishement at Headquarters this year we have:

• designed a new, faster, more extensive, better organized, easily-browsed website;
• upgraded our light-curve generator to make it much faster;
• placed on the web downloadable data of 400 long-period variables (1963-2000);
• upgraded our computer network;
• developed a software program for submission of observations through the web;
• developed a version of ZAP plotting software for Windows;
• together with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, organized the first-ever High-Energy Astrophysics Workshop for amateur astronomers;
• developed a global GRB network;
• started to computerize the chart-making process;
• responded to a record high number of special requests;
• observed a cataclysmic variable with the EUVE satellite using the EUVE Director's discretionary time;
• provided vital information for the scheduling of observations with NASA's FUSE, HST, and Chandra X-ray satellites;
• completed the revision of the Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars.

The AAVSO Internet presence continues to expand, thanks to the efforts of Kate Davis, our webmaster, and Aaron Price, our system administrator. Here are some of our web highlights:

• AAVSO data on any star can now be plotted more efficiently and faster (by 75%) with our improved light-curve generator on the website. The data available for this plotting are the observations from 1963 to the present. The new light curve generator recognizes calender dates in addition to JD, adds Quick Look file data, identifies evaluated data, offers more color and size choices for the plots, and contains a magnitude filter;
• we have added more educational tools, such as "Variable Star of the Month" and the "Variable Star Simulator" - a Powerpoint presentation prepared by our member Chuck Pullen;
• we have enhanced AAVSO-interest pages by adding AAVSO history and "AAVSO on the Road";
• we have enhanced chart selection by including more charts (both reversed and regular), charts for new observers on easy to observe stars, more charts for CCD observing, the ability to search for recent chart updates, and a "Help" feature for using charts;
• we have set up a completely automated Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) Network and developed the online tools for creating two sets of finder charts for reported GRBs, automatic notification of GRB detection via e-mail and wireless devices, and archival of GRB specific circulars and discussions.

We continue to expand, improve, and update our website. We are working on increasing the bandwidth of our connection to the Internet in order to improve the time it takes to access our website. So please make sure you visit our website often!

OBSERVATIONS:

This year we received a record high number of observations - 440,099 from 708 observers from 42 states in the US and 43 countries. This brings our grand total of observations to 9,957,086. Individual listings by observer, country, and state are given in this Newsletter beginning on page 15.

Our top 6 observers for fiscal year 1999-2000 are: Georg Comello (The Netherlands), 10,059 (1,212 inner sanctums); Gene Hanson (USA), 10,728 (7,093 inner sansctums); Gary Poyner (England), 11,091 (7,583 inner sanctums); Lewis Cook (USA), 19,842 - all CCD (48 inner sanctums); Rod Stubbings (Australia), 25,736 - 18 months' data, (17,416 inner sanctums), Albert Jones (New Zealand), 26,181 - 27 months' data.

In addition, we have had very productive contributions to our various committees: Eclipsing Binary + RR Lyr stars: 31,625 observations by 78 observers; CCD: 47,863 observations by 47 observers; PEP: 2,884 observations by 23 observers; Supernova Search: 6,130 searches by 4 observers, Nova Search: 13,086 searches by 6 observers.

My sincerest thanks to all our observers for their untiring effort and dedication.

Hawaiian Mililani High School Students and teachers with the Hawaiian flowers they brought to the AAVSO. From L-R: Tiffany Llenos, Lee Anne Willson, Mark Daranciang, Janet Mattei, Robert and June Asato (teachers).

REQUESTS FOR AAVSO DATA:
We responded to 278 electronic and postal requests that came directly to AAVSO Headquarters. In addition, 140 requests were filled by downloading evaluated data (1963 - 2000) on nearly 400 long period variables through our website. Those who requested data were professional astronomers [and graduate students] 37%; amateur astronomers, 14%; teachers, 5%; students, 42%; newspaper and magazine reporters, 2%.

We-mailed a questionaire to those who requested AAVSO data or services electronically in the past three years. Below are the results of this survey.

AAVSO Data User Survey Results

1. During the past three years, how many times have you received data from the AAVSO? [48%] 0-1 times [28%] 2-3 times [4%] 4-5 times [20%] >5 times
2. How did you use AAVSO data in your research?
   [27%] scheduling observations
   [27%] data correlation
   [35%] data analysis
   [11%] other
3. How important was AAVSO data to those specific research projects for which data was requested?
   Very Important [60%]5 [25%]4 [11%]3 [2%]2 [2%]1 Not Very Important
4. How satisfied are you with the quality of the AAVSO Data?
   Very Satisfied [58%]5 [34%]4 [4%]3 [2%]2 [2%]1 Very Dissatisfied
5. How satisfied are you with the process of requesting data from the AAVSO?
   Very Satisfied [61%]5 [22%]4 [15%]3 [2%]2 [0%]1 Very Dissatisfied
6. How quickly was your data request fulfilled?
   Very Quickly [39%]5 [41%]4 [10%]3 [8%]2 [2%]1 Very Slowly
7. If you have used our new online data request feature, how useful have you found it to be?
   Very Useful [63%]5 [27%]4 [7%]3 [0%]2 [3%]1 Not Useful At All

"Keep up the truly outstanding work that you do. I, and I know many of my colleagues, **really** appreciate it. It's nice to have the chance to say so."

"I congratulate you on maintaining a huge database of variable stars and providing it to all absolutely free of charge."

"The AAVSO database is extremely important and should receive as much funding as possible."

"Without the support from the AAVSO, especially some of our space observations (HST, ROSAT) could not have been carried out in a meaningful way."

"Most of my research on variable stars using ground- and space-based observations could not be done without the data and the input from the AAVSO. Thank you very much for all the work and care you take so the variable star research continues to live."

"I am not a researcher, but a serious amateur regularly involved in public outreach and education. It is a joy to be able to talk about ways in which the amateur community contributes to the science. Thank you much for the service and the example."

"It would be nice if you had an (automatic) request queue monitor which could inform the users periodically of the status of their requests."

"Please encourage the CCD owners to concentrate on the fainter targets."

"It would always be nice to have smaller error bars and more coverage for some objects."

To give you an idea of some of the ways in which the AAVSO data which our observers contribute are used, let me list some publications in which I, representing the AAVSO, am listed as a co-author (the complete citation will be listed in Vol. 29, No. 2 of the JAAVSO):

1. "The Light Curve and Evolutionary Status of the Carbon Star V Hya", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 351, 97; 1999.
2. "Hands-On Astrophysics: Variable Stars in Math, Science, and Computer Education", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 31, 5, 1528; 1999.
3. "Orbital Light Curve of the Peculiar Binary V Sagittae in Extended High States of Brightness", Astrophysics and Space Science, 272, 333; 2000.
4. "Changes of the Physical State in Semiregular Variables", Impact of Large-Scale Surveys on Pulsating Star Research, ASP Conference Series 203 (also IAU Colloquium #176), L. Szabados and D. Kurtz, eds., 117; 2000.
5. "Trend Analysis of Long Period Variables", Variable Stars as Essential Astrophysical Tools, C .Ibanoglu, ed., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 485; 2000.
6. "Flickering in FU Orionis", Astrophysical Journal, 531, 1028; 2000.
7. "Amateur-Professional Collaborations in the AAVSO," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 32, 2, 688; 2000.
8. "Partnership in Variable Star Research from Ground and Space", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 32, 2, 690; 2000.
9. "EUVE TOO Helps Reveal Stages of Optical, X-ray, and EUV Emission Observed in SS Cygni Observations", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 32, 2, 692; 2000.
10. "Outburst Characteristics in the Dwarf Nova SU Ursae Majoris", Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, 112, 632; 2000.
11. "Multiperiodicity in Semiregular Variables. II. Systematic Amplitude Variations", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 145, 283; 2000.

We are almost up-to -date with the publication of the Journal of the AAVSO. Vol. 28, No.2 was mailed out several weeks ago; Vol. 29, No. 1 is ready to go to the printer, and Vol. 29, No. 2 (which contains the papers and Annual Reports from our recent Annual meeting in October) will be published in April. In addition, we are in the process of putting the Journal of the AAVSO online on NASA's Astrophysics Data Sytems (ADS) site.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:
At the AAVSO Spring Meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, we presented the following Observer Awards: to Warren Morrison, who has made over 100,000 observations; to Jose Ripero Osorio who has made over over 50,000 observations; 3 awards to observers who have made over 25,000; 12 awards to observers who have made over 10,000; and to Raymond Thompson, who has made over 5,000 photoelectric photometry observations.

The Director's Award was presented to Ronald Zissell for his valuable contributions to special observing programs, particularly with satellites, and for his work in chart revision and extension of comparison star magnitudes.

From L-R: Robert Steward, Ray Berg, and Ray Thompson with their AAVSO Observer Awards.

At our Annual meeting this year we presented AAVSO Nova Awards to Gary Nowak and Alfredo Perreira, for their independent discoveries of Nova Aql, 1999 No. 2 (V1494 Aql), and to Robert Evans for his discovery of a Supernova 2000cj in NGC 6753.

Also at our meeting we presented the first AAVSO William Tyler Olcott Award to David H. Levy for his promotion of variable star astronomy through his many writings and public lectures.

In addition, Charles E. Scovil received the Astronomical League's Leslie C. Peltier Award, Dorrit Hoffleit was inducted into the 1999 Connecticut State Register and Manual, and John Percy was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Recently, minor planets have been named in honor of Danie Overbeek of South Africa (more about this appears on page 7) and Reinder Bouma of The Netherlands.

As we enter the 90th Anniversary of the AAVSO, we feel privileged and proud to be serving you, our members, observers, and colleagues who make the AAVSO such a unique and special organization. We thank each and every one of you for your contributions and support, and wish you and your loved ones a wonderful New Year.

—Janet

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