For researchers: support and data access

Support that AAVSO provides researchers:

Founded in 1911, AAVSO continuously furthers the science of variable star astronomy and astrophysics, and fosters world-wide collaboration between the variable star research community of amateurs and professionals. Researchers are important members of the AAVSO community, and they utilize AAVSO's extensive data archives to develop new and better understandings of stars and how and why they change. 

Although you, as a researcher, can access data from a number of AAVSO sources without being a member, more sources and support methods are available to you when you become a member.

The following data sources and active research programs are available to both non-members and members, unless noted:

  • AAVSOnet, AAVSO's network of remote, robotic observatories, for which you can reserve personal telescope time (member-only; become a member for access)
  • MyNewsFlash, a tool that monitors stars of your choosing 
  • Alert Notices for Observing Campaigns, which give observers rapid notification of important astrophysical events and time-critical observing opportunities.
    • Observing campaigns increase the data collected for short- and long-term observing programs (observations of single stars or lists of targets over a period of time) and target-of-opportunity coverage.
      • Target-of-Opportunity Observations: the monitoring of novae, flaring stars, etc. for star events. AAVSO distributes the time-sensitive need for event-based observations to AAVSO observers and ground- and space-based observatories (e.g. Hubble Space Telescope observations of CVs) so that data can be collected and recorded from anywhere in the world where our observers can see the given star at the time of the event.
    • As a researcher, you can request that certain stars be observed
      • To request an alert notice stating the need for observations on a particular star be sent to observers, send an email to the AAVSO Campaign Coordinator, Elizabeth Waagen, at eowaagen@aavso.org, including a description of what you want.
  • The Journal of the AAVSO (JAAVSO), a bi-annual peer-reviewed collection of scientific papers focused on variable stars. 
    • Content: free to all 
    • To submit a paper for publishing: 
  • AAVSO's databases of verified data:
  • The data from the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS
  • For additional data collection tools and more detailed information on our online content, visit the data access portal
  • Historical research: the AAVSO Archive
    • AAVSO maintains its Thomas R. and Anna Fay Williams AAVSO Archives, the repository for all non-electronic historical charts, publications, correspondence, records, and other material that document the history of the AAVSO from 19th Century to the present day.
    • Your free access to these paper archive materials is available in person only at AAVSO Headquarters, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Please contact Elizabeth Waagen for more information or to schedule an appointment. 

Please note: any data(e) must be used in accordance with our data usage guidelines