Affiliation
Vereniging Voor Sterrenkunde, Werkgroep Veranderlijke Sterren (Belgium) (VVS)
Wed, 02/13/2013 - 08:32
Hi,
I'm a frequent user of this web tool. I have made charts for a lot of the LPVs and use outprints for each constellation of the Bulletin to check "in the field" if a variable could be visible in my binocular or small telescope. When can we expect the 2013 edition?
regards,
BBI
Hello Bruno,
Thank you for the feedback -- I'm glad you find it useful!
Our target date is always on or before March 1 of the year of the Bulletin, since the prior year's bulletin is valid through February 28 (Bulletin 75 is still valid until February 28, 2013).
Those of you who knew Janet Mattei and know Elizabeth Waagen know that they spent a lot of time at this time of year looking at paper light curves on a light box to measure maxima and make predictions. The process has been greatly simplified and shortened with some great software by our former webmaster Kate Davis, but it still takes some careful work on Elizabeth's part to maintain consistency with past years. We try to issue the bulletin as far in advance as possible, since we know observers may want to plan observing sessions well in advance. She and I are actively working on it now, and we're still on target for the 28th.
Clear skies,
Matthew
Matt's explanation of the status of the AAVSO Bulletin on LPVs is correct - the current AAVSO Bulletin 75 runs through February 28, 2013. I'm working on determining last year's observed dates of maxima and minima from your observations, and will use those dates to predict the maxima and minima dates for 2013-February 2014. AAVSO Bulletin 76 will be online by March 1 and as soon as I can finish the work.
Without your continuing observations of these LPVs, we cannot continue the decades-long light curves and maxima/minima information so important to researchers of these stars today and in the future. You are absolutely essential to this ongoing research!! If you have been observing the LPVs on the Bulletin list, thank you and please keep up your valuable observations. If you have not been observing them, please consider adopting some of them and add them to your regular program (one observation every ~10 days is all that is needed!). You'll find them fascinating friends and researcher today and tomorrow will thank you.
Good observing - Elizabeth Waagen, AAVSO HQ
I use three types of binders with charts: for every occasion a different set.
1) One binder with binocular maps (most from the AAVSO Binocular Program), for fast observations or holidays. Great new feature in VSP!
2) Two binders with LPVs from the Bulletin. For each star a chart for searching (15°) and one in detail (3°, limiting mag.11.5). In front of each constellation is an out-print from the Bulletin for that constellation. That way I can very fast see if a star is probably brighter than mag.11 and visible in my 20x80 or my small 4" scope. For fast observations, holidays and variation...
3) Two binders with all the rest (all types: YSOs, LPVs, CVs, ...), for use with the 12" dobson and long sessions.
So I observe lots of LPVs and plan to do that even more :-).