AAVSO Alert Notice 725 announces an observing campaign on 13 Northern T Tau stars beginning now. Please see the Notice for details and observing instructions.
There are threads for this campaign under the following forums:
- Campaigns and Observation Reports: https://www.aavso.org/northern-t-tau-stars-campaign
- Young Stellar Objects: https//www.aavso.org/northern-t-tau-stars-campaign-01
Please subscribe to these threads if you are participating in the campaign so you can be updated by the astronomer and by HQ. Join in the discussion or ask questions there! HST observations are planned for these objects and the dates of those observations will be posted in this forum (they will not be announced in new Alert Notices).
Many thanks, and Good observing,
Elizabeth O. Waagen, AAVSO HQ
I was wondering if you can use dslr photometry TG data for this campaign.
Mike
Good day.
I just observed CVSO-58 (one target included in this campaign) for the past 2 nights (Nov 19-20, 2020). but I can't find any finder charts for this object. I think it has not yet been registered into the VSX yet.
Thank you very much. Clear skies.
CVSO 58 entry in VSX.
You are probably searching for CVSO-58 (with a dash) in VSP.
You will find it in VSX but not in VSP if you don't use the proper name.
Cheers,
Sebastian
You're right. My bad. Thanks for the correction.
Aldrin
Below is a status report provided by Dr. Walter on the 13 Northern T Tau stars in this campaign. Please note the HST times as well as the Notes that follow the table.
Thank you for your observations to date! Please remember that all of the targets, including those already observed by HST, need a few observations throughout the TESS window (see the Alert Notice for full instructions).
Many thanks, and good observing,
Elizabeth
updated 3 December 2020; 7 December 2020
Table 1: Scheduled Northern Targets
HST observations completed
Not yet scheduled with HST
Notes
Western hemisphere observers are encouraged to observed these targets as follows:
TX Ori Nov 29: anytime, Dec 01 0:53 - 2:01 UT (Nov 30 civil). Dec 01: anytime.
V505 Ori Nov 29: anytime. Nov 30 20:07 - 00:13 and Dec 01 2:28 - 3:36 UT (Nov 30 civil). Dec 01: anytime.
CVSO-58 Nov 30: anytime. Dec 01 23:07 - Dec 02 0:14 UT (Dec 01 civil). Dec 02 anytime.
CVSO-36 Dec 02: anytime. Dec 03: anytime, Dec 04: anytime.
CVSO-107 Dec 03: anytime. Dec 05: 00:11-01:19 UT (Dec 04 civil). Dec 05 anytime.
CVSO-17 Dec 04: anytime. Dec 05: 23:00 - Dec 06 02:31 UT (Dec 05 civil). Dec 06: anytime.
V510 Ori Dec 06: anytime. Dec 07: anytime, Dec 08: anytime, Dec 09: anytime. CVSO-146 Dec 08: anytime. Dec 09: anytime, Dec 10: anytime.
Notes:
In the above, a date without a UT attached refers to the civil date at the start of the night for an observer in the western hemisphere.
The first few scheduled minutes of each observation are used for target acquisition, so it is better to start a few minutes after the start of the HST observations than right at the stated start time.
Remember also to obtain occasional images of all targets between Nov 19 and Dec 17, simultaneously with the TESS observations, to monitor the longer-duration color varia- tions. TESS will obtain broadband red (600-1000 nm) colors on a 10 minute cadence.
This campaign on Northern T Tau stars is now concluded. Dr. Fred Walter, the Principal Investigator of this campaign, sends the following summary report and a thank you to the AAVSO:
Report on AAVSO Alert Notice 725: Campaign on Northern T Tauri Stars
F.M. Walter (Stony Brook University)
1. INTRODUCTION
On 12 November 2020 we issued Alert Notice 725, requesting photometric obser- vations in support of an HST program to obtain UV spectra of a sample of T Tauri stars in the Orion OB1b star forming region. The HST observations were planned to occur while the TESS spacecraft was imaging these regions.
The aim of the ground-based program is to obtain supporting optical and near- IR photometry and spectroscopy. TESS will return light curves with a 10 minute cadence nearly continuously for 27 days. The ground-based photometry will not be able to beat this, either for cadence or S/N, but will yield colors that will be indispensable for interpreting the TESS light curves (TESS operates in a single band, from approximately 600 to 1000 nm). We can also use calibrated R and I data from the ground to “calibrate” the TESS instrumental magnitudes.
The plan was to obtain good photometric coverage around the time of the HST observations, and to sample the light curves at other times during the TESS observa- tions. To supplement the Alert Notice, I requested observations from the AAVSOnet robotic telescopes during this time. We have also arranged for photometric coverage from HOYS, and from the Konkoly and Universita di Catania and other observatories in Europe.
Since the HST is scheduled without regard to ground-based considerations, and a given target is typically observable for about 1/3 of the night, the hope was that by getting many eyes on the targets we would obtain both simultaneity and a good record of the photometric behavior leading up to the time of the HST observations. This is important because the T Tauri stars vary irregularly for many reasons, in- cluding variable obscuration by circumstellar dust, brightening by accretion events, and magnetic flaring.
2. DATA AND RESULTS
It seems that the program has been successful. I thank the eleven observers (listed below) who have submitted data to the AAVSO (as of December 29). A summary of the number of observations made from November 6 through December 26 is given ’in Table 1 (the campaign formally ran 19 November through 17 December 2020). Unfortunately winter weather largely precluded getting observations simultaneously with the HST, at least from the western hemisphere.
Table 1. Observation summary
A summary of methods and results, including some figures, is posted at http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/SMARTS/Odysseus/.
The HST data were obtained successfully. The TESS data should be on the ground and being processed. Analysis is proceeding on this and other ground-based data. Complete results will eventually be forthcoming.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank the AAVSO and their crew of volunteers and observers. We should all be grateful for their dedication to variable star science, and for filling in this niche which professional astronomers have largely abdicated. I thank Elizabeth Waagen for working with me on the AAVSO Alert Notice. Mostly I wish thank the eleven of you (BSEC DSN HBB HMB KSLA MGW OAAA PDM PJAD RZD SDM) who submitted observations to the AAVSO. It take a lot of observations to construct complete light curves of irregularly-variable stars, and your data will prove invaluable.
AAVSO Alert Notice 728 reports on the scheduled re-observation by HST of V510 Ori, one of the targets in Dr. Walter's Northern T Tau campaign. Please see the notice for details and observing instructions.
There are threads for this campaign under the following forums:
- Campaigns and Observation Reports: https://www.aavso.org/northern-t-tau-stars-campaign
- Young Stellar Objects: https//www.aavso.org/northern-t-tau-stars-campaign-01
Please subscribe to these threads if you are participating in the campaign so you can be updated by the astronomers and by HQ. Join in the discussion or ask questions there!
Many thanks, and Good observing,
Elizabeth O. Waagen, AAVSO HQ