AAVSO On the Web

The past six months have seen many improvements to the AAVSO’s online resources. We have installed a secure server to accept credit card orders online, upgraded our Internet access to a T1, and released new data entry software packages for visual and solar observers.

Ordering AAVSO Publications & Renewing Memberships Online
We have recently installed a secure server that allows us to take credit card numbers via the Internet. In the past one had to call, fax, or postal mail their credit card info to us after placing an order online. This created lots of delays and meant many orders went unfulfilled because credit card information was never sent following the initial order. Now that we can take credit card information online, an order can be placed and paid for at the same time. This saves time for everyone involved.

The secure server uses a 128bit certificate issued by Thawte Consulting. This is the same level of encryption available through major online vendors such as Amazon.com. In order to place a secure order simply go through the AAVSO website using a web browser that supports SSL encryption. This includes about 95% of the web browsers currently in use. Don’t worry, if your web browser does not support encryption then the order will not go through. You won’t even be allowed to see the order web page!

When membership renewals are mailed out later this year a URL to a special renewal web page will be listed in the mailing. By using this URL to renew your membership you will save yourself time and postage and also save the staff time with processing your application. Consider it a donation of time to the AAVSO. (If only the IRS would allow that as an exemption!)

If you have any questions about secure ordering or anything concerning computing at the AAVSO please e-mail aavso@aavso.org.

T1 Access
Last year at this time the AAVSO’s Internet servers operated off a 56K line. This line was graciously donated by NASA Astrophysics Division in 1995 and has held a vital role in the growth of the AAVSO in the past 6 years. We very much thank NASA for the grant.

In January of this year we upgraded to a DSL line. The speed of this line was 3 times greater than the 56K line. However, as soon as we upgraded we discovered that demand was even greater than this. The DSL line was near capacity almost all day long. In March we decided to take the next step up and order a T1 line. This new service will provide us with 10-20 times the speed of the original 56K line, depending on how we have it set up. After many months of delays, the T1 was finally installed by our local phone company in July. The AAVSO switched over to the T1 the weekend of the 21st. We are now operating at 512K with an option to upgrade to 1024 when demand warrants.

What this means to you is that accessing the AAVSO web and our FTP sites should be much quicker. This is especially true when you are using a high speed connection such as DSL, a cable modem (broadband), or an LAN at work. We will also be able to leverage this new bandwidth by providing multimedia services. One idea we plan to test in the coming year is the rebroadcast of AAVSO meetings on the Internet for those who cannot attend in person.

New Software
We have continued to improve upon existing tools and to add new ones for our observers to use while making observations. Here is a quick breakdown of new items we have to offer from the AAVSO web site at http://www.aavso.org/cdata/software.shtml .

SolObs 1.0
This is a Windows package that automatically formats sunspot observations for submission to the Solar Division Chair. It also has a customizable Stonyhurst Template generator.

TSOL
“The Simple Observing Log” is a Macintosh program for use in logging astronomical observations of various types. It is very simple to use and was well reviewed in the June 2001 issue of Sky & Telescope. The author has been kind enough to work with us to add support for AAVSO data entry to the program. Please note that TSOL is not owned nor written by the AAVSO and so we can provide no support for it.

OBsrep
These are Microsoft Excel and Lotus spreadsheets donated by Chris Jones to take observations and format them to both the AAVSO and BAAVS standards.

PerlObs
A command line interface data-entry tool that automatically formats your observations into the official AAVSO format. Written in Perl for Linux, UNIX, and Mac OS X systems. PC Obs 1.2

This latest version was issued in April. It now supports conversion to and from VSNET format plus many other features.

In addition, the July 2001 edition of Sky & Telescope magazine gave a positive review of the new version of Xephem, the free UNIX planetarium software. With the review it posted an image of an AAVSO light curve that was generated from within the software!

And finally, Chuck Pullen has written two PowerPoint presentations that are available on our web site. One is the “Variable Star Telescope Simulator,” which takes one on a sample observation of a variable star. The other is a presentation on the Gamma Ray Burst network. Both have been well received and would be good tools for anyone involved in teaching others about these areas. HTML versions of both are also available on our web site for those who do not own a PowerPoint viewer.

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