observing aids

Predicted Dates of Maxima and Minima of 380 Long Period Variables for 2015

The AAVSO maintains several lists of stars for which observations are strongly encouraged.  These are primarily stars for which the AAVSO already has well-covered light curves spanning several decades or longer, and for which we deem there is value in continuing observations indefinitely.

The following is a list of stars present in the VSX catalog as of 2013 March 7 that are known or suspected of being constant and have been visually observed in the past.  You should not observe these stars anymore; if they are a part of your visual observing program, please remove them immediately.

The list is divided into three parts: named variables first, followed by NSV stars, and then a small number of GSC stars.  In the case of the GSC stars, these are primarily previously used comparison stars suspected of being variable at some time in the past.

I am very pleased to announce that we now have TWO Chinese translations of the AAVSO Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars available for downloading. The newest addition to our collection of Manual translations is in "Traditional Chinese" which is used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and parts of southeast Asia. This beautiful translation was done by Tao Fan-Lin (陶蕃麟) who is the Director of the Taipei Association of Astronomy Now.

You can get both versions of the Chinese Manual here:

The Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars is now available in Persian (Farsi).

http://www.aavso.org/visual-observing-manual-persian

This translation would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of volunteers Fatemeh Bahrani and her colleagues, Ali Honarmand, Fateme Kayanikhoo, Mozhde Mohamadi, Sajad Safari, and Arezoo Saleki of the Dr. Hesabi Institute in Shiraz, Iran (http://www.dr-hesabi.org).

Complete Manual:
(4.5 MB) راهنمای رصد بصری ستارگان متغیر
Sections:
(257 KB) مقدمه
(1.1 MB) فصل 1 – آماده سازی