General AAVSO Discussion

Friends,

A new paper on T CrB appeared on arXiv today: https://arxiv.org/abs/1607.06804 It discusses optical (photometric and spectroscopic) and x-ray observations aiming at investigating flickering and periodicities in active phases of the system. AAVSO data is used for the study of long-term variability of the system.

I hope you enjoy the paper – and thank you to all who took data supporting this work!

Best wishes – clear skies,

Stella.

As mentioned in a previous forum discussion, we will have a meet and greet for current and new AAVSO Observers and Members at this year's Stellafane Convention on Breezy Hill in Springfield, VT [www.stellafane.org]. I will be giving a talk on the Observing Programs of the AAVSO in the Pavillion on Saturday, August 6 at 4:30 PM. Directly after the talk we will linger (there is nothing else scheduled for the Pavillion directly afterwards) and socialize. You do have to be registered at the convention to attend.

Hi,

I noticed since a while that the Who is online is empty.

Is this a bug or a feature after the update of the website?

Josch

Friends,

An excellent gift for a recent high school graduate, a niece/nephew/son/daughter/grandchild, a friend or a peer, is the adoption of a variable star, especially one whose history is well recorded in our AID! To enhance this program, we decided to provide certificates of adoption, so that your gift will be proudly displayed on one’s wall, as a reminder of your precious gif and of the dynamic phenomena variable stars exhibit.  

John Percy has written that longtime and very active observer Geoff Gaherty (GHT) passed away on July 7, 2016. Below is a message John forwarded to me from James Edgar, Past President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. We join in extending deepest condolences to Geoff's family and friends.  ---  Elizabeth Waagen

Hi! I've created an Android application called Variable Stars as a simple resource to provide a clean interface to access basic information about variable stars that can aid in planning observing sessions or just general knowledge. 

This is my first app, and I'm looking for beta testers to take a look at the application and let me know what you think. 

Earlier this week we posted the Annual Report of the AAVSO for 2014-2015 to the AAVSO website. This report is available to everyone, and gives a good overview of the past year. I encourage everyone to read it!

Good reading and observing,

Elizabeth

Friends,

Friends,

I am at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society (San Diego, CA), and had the privilege of attending the announcement of new gravitational wave detection from two black holes merging. The discovery was made by the LIGO/VIRGO collaboration. You can read more abou those detections at:

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160615

It was a particular pleasure to see this issue published, with its large number and wide assortment of papers and abstracts.  Although I am the Editor-in-Chief, Mike Saladyga and Elizabeth Waagen do most of the work.  And others at HQ contribute either directly or indirectly.  The AAVSO Council and the JAAVSO Editorial Board also play a role.  Thanks to all of them!  And thanks to the authors for preparing and submitting the papers.  Each paper represents a lot of work.  As I note in my editorial, the authors come from around the world.  They range from students publishing their first paper