Giant Stars, Astrophysics, and Amateur Astronomy

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Giant Stars, Astrophysics, and Amateur Astronomy

• Matthew Templeton
• AAVSO

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The AAVSO and other Variable Star Data Archives

• Organized data archives span 1890s to present
• Amateur data archives about 20M obs. total
• Instrumental photometry is increasingly common
• Instrumental photometry is increasingly
  sophisticated (calibrated optical, IR)
• Amateurs are active research participants

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New technology

• Low-cost, reliable CCDs
• Low(er) cost photoelectric detectors optical and
  now IR for amateur telescopes
• Online data submission and retrieval -- real-time
  reporting
• Pro-Am interaction E/PO, and scientific
  collaboration

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AAVSO recent developments
The AAVSO has implemented several recent changes
to our website, our data archive structure, and
our chart distribution system, and have placed
online some previously offline archives. Our
goal is to improve the ease of data submission by
the observing community, and the ease of data
acquisition and use by the research community.

• PEPV CCD BVRI
• IR (J H) PEP
• New projects, new stars

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AAVSO PEPV Program

• 45000 observations spanning 40 years
• About 200 stars currently in program
• Offline processing now moved online ( is done
  in real-time!)
• Observations are entered directly into the online
  database for immediate access
• Archival reports have been reprocessed with
  accurate comparison star V magnitudes

PEPV data are now available within minutes,
rather than months!
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PEPObs
The AAVSO PEP-V observers are already putting
this feature to good use. We can also add new
observers and new stars quickly (and have already
done both!)
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rho Cas
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R Lyr
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P Cyg
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alpha Ori
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BVRI Program

• Hipparcos collaboration
• Originally, very red LPVs
• Limited number of stars/observers

The BVRI Program has expanded to all variables
with BVRI calibration photometry (USNO/Sonoita
90 to -35). We also encourage observers to
transform their multiwavelength data, so that
CCD V is standard V.
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RU Vir
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AAVSO IR PEP Program

• AAVSO Collaboration with Optec, Inc.
• IR Photodiode detectors (J,H bands)
• IR-bright stars bright giants
• Currently in development few targets,
  observers
• Expanding program, refining photometry

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omi Cet
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rho Cas (IRVisual)
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New variables
Amateurs are finding new variables in published
data (like ASAS), and in their own data archives.
We encourage all observers to save their frames
(like Save the Bits) for future use and follow
up on their serendipitous discoveries.
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AAVSO services

• Archives
• Campaigns T.O.O. monitoring
• Recent activity and observation planning

If you would like data on a particular target,
just ask! Work with us to develop charts and
E/PO materials, and we can coordinate observing
campaigns and even new observing programs.
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Web services information

• http//www.aavso.org
• http//www.aavso.org/data/download/
• http//www.aavso.org/publications/alerts/
• http//www.aavso.org/news/campaigns.shtml
• http//www.aavso.org/publications/jaavso/
• Contact aavso_at_aavso.org

We need you! Consider becoming a member (and
councilor). Develop a campaign, observing
programs, E/PO materials, and grants with us!