Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Thu, 01/06/2022 - 00:05
It appears that WebObs is accepting data uploads for star identifiers that LCG does not understand.
For instance: on Nov 7 2021, SHS reported data for star 0041+81, which happens to be RX Cep. However, LCG cannot find data for 0041+81.
I have seen this happening in other instances.
Tom
Hello Tom,
I see your point. The problem is that WebObs makes an extra effort to accept some kinds of star names (like the Harvard Designation) by manipulating the name string, while the Light Curve Generator uses exactly what is in VSX. I think you will find that if you enter "AAVSO 0041+81" into the LCG, you will see the plot of the star RX Cep. "AAVSO 0041+81" is listed in VSX as one of the alias names for RX Cep.
When this happens to you again in the future, I recommend you look up the star in VSX, then choose either the primary name, AUID, or one of the alias name to use in the LCG.
I hope this helps.
Best regards, Sara
VSX doesn't know about "0041+81" either, nor does VSP. If WebObs is attaching a prefix to a star ID, it needs to put that prefix into the actual record that goes into the AID. This is a bug in WebObs.
Tom is right.
All the AAVSO software that needs to recognize a star name should use the same facility, the same rules.
Fortunately, the data download tool recognizes 0041+81.
Another thing to add to the list of webobs fixes!
George
Agreed. This is a deficiency in WebObs. It too should also use the same API that is used by VSP and LCG and only allow alias names that match exactly what is in VSX.
My suggestion above is just a workaround until such time as WebObs can be re-written.
The only good news is that WebObs did assign the correct AUID to those observations so they can be found with the correct star.