AAVSO Newsletter 31: What's New at HQ

With summer upon us here in Cambridge, we're already thinking about the fall! The 94th Annual Meeting of the AAVSO is scheduled to take place this October 14-15 at the Sheraton Hotel in Newton, MA. The preliminary schedule for the meeting includes an open house at AAVSO HQ, two exciting workshops for both visual and CCD observers, scientific paper sessions, and closing night banquet. A formal meeting annoucement will be coming soon! For more preliminary information and to book a room visit:

http://www.aavso.org/aavso/meetings/fall05.shtml

Let's Talk

AAVSO Thursdays Chats

You're invited to join us for AAVSO Thursdays, where the general public is invited to join in an all-day web chat about all things astronomical (but particularly our own variable stars). Meet your fellow members, observers, staff, professionals and anyone else who decides to stop on by! Every Thursday the chat room will be opened around 00:00UT on Thursday morning and closed around 04:00 UT Friday morning. This should allow those from all over the world to join at their convenience. Stop on by!

http://www.aavso.org/aavso/chat.shtml

Asteroid Naming

AAVSO member, observer, and hardworking council member Gary Billings has been honored by Andrew Lowe with the naming of asteroid 73703 as "Billings". Our most sincere congrats to Gary for this wonderful honor!

Validation: Complete!

Nearly a Century of Variable Star Data at Your Fingertips!

We are happy to announce the completion of the two-year, NASA-funded project to validate over 9.5 million (mostly visual) variable star observations in the AAVSO International Database from the AAVSO's founding in 1911 through 2001. Thanks to the tireless work of the Data Validation Team, consisting of 8 AAVSO staff members, approximately ten million variable star observations - going back a century or more for some stars and all contributed by over 6,000 amateur astronomers around the world - are available online to the scientific community, giving you immediate access to this treasure trove of historical data. The validated data will also be placed on the NASA/IPAC-IRSA site and in other NASA databases, making the AAVSO data even more widely and easily available for astronomical research, education, and public outreach.

The AAVSO also gratefully acknowledges NASA grant NAG5-12602 for providing funding for the AAVSO Data Validation Project.

Milestones: Elizabeth O. Waagen - 25 Years

Elizabeth began her career with the AAVSO in 1979 after graduating from Smith College in Northampton, MA. She started as technical assistant to Director Janet Mattei and over the next 25 years the variety and number of her responsibilities grew. In addition to her current position as senior technical assistant, she is also associate editor of the JAAVSO, and following Janet's illness, Elizabeth served as the AAVSO's Interim Director.

In honor and recognition of Elizabeth's 25 years of dedication and hard work at the AAVSO—especially as interim director—she was presented with a special certificate by the AAVSO council and staff. Congratulations Elizabeth and Thank You!

Eyepiece Views is back!

Eyepiece Views is back! -After a long hiatus the AAVSO’s free online newsletter for visual observing has returned! Eyepiece Views is published bimonthly and is distributed via email and made available on the AAVSO website. http://www.aavso.org/publications/eyepieceviews/

The Janet A. Mattei Research Fellowship Fund

Former AAVSO Director, the late Janet A. Mattei, was dedicated to the union of professional and amateur astronomy worldwide. Following her passing on March 22, 2004 we have received many suggestions on how to memorialize her life and passion for bringing professionals and amateurs, including young amateurs, together in astronomy.

It was decided that a goal worthy of Janet's memory is to continue her work of professional-amateur collaboration. In order to continue fostering the spirit of this collaboration, the AAVSO Council created the Janet A. Mattei Research Fellowship Program. This program will fund a visiting scientist, postdoctoral researcher, or student to visit and perform research at AAVSO Headquarters. The visitor will work with the ever-growing treasure-trove of variable star observations in the AAVSO International Database, with the goal of turning these observations into scientific results disseminated among both the professional and amateur communities through professional journals and informal outlets.

Since its inception, the fund has raised over $30,000 thanks to your very generous support, and it is still growing. But, for the program fund to remain viable, healthy, and secure, a significant investment is required.

If 1,000 individuals were each to donate $60 - the same as one year's membership in the AAVSO - we would be able to sustain a visiting position at AAVSO Headquarters for three months per year. We invite you to give as generously as you can to the Janet A. Mattei Research Fellowship Program.

You may donate securely online at

http://www.aavso.org/aavso/support/janetfund.php

or you may send a check or money order (US funds) made payable to the AAVSO to: AAVSO, 25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. On the check, please be sure to designate that your donation is for the Janet A. Mattei Research Fellowship Program. Remember, all contributions are tax-deductible.

AAVSO Book Auction

Over the years many duplicate books accumulated at AAVSO Headquarters. This winter the AAVSO held a book auction to help raise money for the Janet A. Mattei Research Fellowship. Participants were encouraged to bid on the books either online at our website or by mailing or calling in their bid amounts to HQ. We’re happy to report that the auction was a great success and not only helped us make room for new material at the office but also raised over $3500 for the Mattei Fellowship. Our thanks to all those who participated and our congtatulations to all the winning bidders!

The Journal of the AAVSO: Now On the Web!

We are pleased to announce that the Journal of the AAVSO (JAAVSO) now has its electronic counterpart, the eJAAVSO. It is being posted on the web in response to the Council vote at the Spring 2005 meeting to establish an electronic journal to be edited and published in conjunction with the Journal of the AAVSO. Its purpose is to speed and broaden the dissemination of variable star research to the global astronomical community. It will be open to anyone with internet access.

The eJAAVSO can be found at:

http://www.aavso.org/publications/ejaavso/

The eJAAVSO will consist of papers that have been refereed, edited, and accepted for publication in the paper edition of the JAAVSO. While the electronic version does not constitute formal publication, authors may reference its articles with the notation "J. Amer. Assoc. Var. Star Obs., inpress."

Research papers accepted by the JAAVSO and selected for early distribution in the eJAAVSO will be posted, as soon as they become ready, with their dates of receipt, revision (if required), and acceptance. When posted papers appear in the paper version, they will be indexed by the NASA Astrophysics Data System.

The eJAAVSO web site will also provide on-line access to published JAAVSO volumes. These will be posted to the web site as time allows.