Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Wed, 01/01/2020 - 03:04

Web obs not accepting 2020 input?

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Seems ok for me around Jan 01

Seems ok for me around Jan 01 at 11:00 UT.

 

Affiliation
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC)
Errors trying to submit data for Betelgeuse

Last 2 days I cannot send my observations on Betelgeuse to AAVSO and get this error when I click submit. I am really puzzled at it as others are able to send data.

 NOW the crazy part.. I CAN send data using an old apple iPad!    it will connect and send the data! 

I tried everything here on my different PC's.. using XP, Vista, and Win7 -- they allow me to connect, add the info but when I click submit .. BOOM that error comes up. I tried putting in alf Orionis as the star and it could not find it!

Affiliation
British Astronomical Association, Variable Star Section (BAA-VSS)
Betelgeuse input error

WebObs won't accept 'Orionis'.  You have to type alf ori.  

Gary

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Problem Solved!

Turns out that there is nothing wrong with submitting observations for "Betelgeuse" or "alf Ori" - either will work. The culprit in this particular case was an apostrophe in the "Chart ID" field! Unfortunately, WebObs error messages are sometimes misleading.

If anyone has a repeatable problem submitting data via WebObs, the best thing to do is to either post to a forum or write to AAVSO HQ staff directly, making sure to attach either a screenshot showing the completed form before you click "Submit Observation" or the data file you are attempting to upload. It is much easier to troubleshoot a problem when we can see the whole picture.

Best wishes, Sara