The AAVSO is working to develop a robust technology infrastructure to meet the evolving demands of modern astronomy. The latest updates bring us closer to that goal. | By Aru Bhoop
We’re excited to announce several new applications to help observers and researchers better access data at the AAVSO. These include the Global Data Search, Photometry Submission, and Photometry Search Applications.
Global Search Application
The Global Data Search Tool is a new application that provides an overview of the data from AAVSO’s databases. It allows for quickly getting observation counts for targets across our various databases. Specific data can be accessed via the magnifying glass button for each row. The application currently supports the AID, AVSpec, and Exoplanet databases, with more databases being supported in the future.
New Photometry Search & Download
The Photometry Search Tool improves WebObs Search while integrating the functionality of the Data Download tool. Some of the new functionality includes:
- Searching for multiple targets at one time
- Search for multiple observers at once
- Filter by Observing Campaigns and bandpasses
- Exporting results into CSV, JSON, and XML
- Sort results table columns
The “View More Options’ allows specifying additional parameters. Outside of these, there have also been significant performance improvements, often 10- to 20-times faster for many queries!
Data Submission Tool
The new Data Submission Tool makes it easier to upload observations to the AID. The key new feature is a preview page, which allows submitters to check their observations with that of others before submitting. We’ve also improved data validation, file submission checks, and the user interface. These changes should enhance the user experience for observers and contribute to increased data reliability.
Other Updates
Magic Date Field
To make data submission easier, you can now enter dates in common language in many of our applications! This new field accepts many common date formats:
- Natural Text (e.g. one week ago, yesterday, now)
- Standard Date Formats (e.g 11/17/2024, 17-11-2024)
- Julian Dates (e.g. 2460633.7)
Some applications with this new date input include the JD Calculator, Observing Campaigns, and the new Data Search Tool.
Variable Star Index (VSX)
We will be soon moving the endpoint for VSX from aavso.org/vsx to vsx.aavso.org. If you have applications that rely on the old URL, we recommend updating them before March-end.
Closing Remarks
We would like to thank our members and donors for making these changes possible. Some of the upcoming changes in the near future include a website redesign and a ground-up rewrite of VSX. The existing data search and submit applications will continue to remain available until the launch of the new website, but we encourage you to use the new applications and report any feedback.