Citizen Sky Wants You! Sep 22, 2009
So the American Association of Variable Star Observers has just launched a program that allows amateurs of all stripes to help solve this centuries-old enigma. Astronomers want to know what, exactly, is passing in front of the star Epsilon Aurigae every 27 years. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Citizens to help solve stellar mystery Aug 28, 2009
"This star is too bright to be observed with the vast majority of professional telescopes, so this is another area where public help is needed," says Arne Henden, director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). The AAVSO has been training and coordinating amateur astronomers since 1911. (Astronomy Now Online)
LOOKING UP: Watch a star and measure the Universe Aug 22, 2009
There are numerous types of variable stars, with different reasons why they change brightness ... In the early 20th century, American astronomer, Henreitta Leavitt, was studying numerous Cepheid variable stars in one of our satellite galaxies, the Small Magellanic Cloud ... One of the first of these variable stars discovered was Delta Cephei, which as was mentioned, is so bright it can be tracked with unaided eyes. (Medfield Press, MA)
Betelgeuse: A Hotheaded Superstar Aug 4, 2009
Betelgeuse has long been recognized as a variable star. In fact, a third team of observers that its diameter has shrunk by some 15% since 1993. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Solar wind blows at 50-year low Jun 27, 2009
The Sun is a variable star; activity rises and falls in cycles. "This is a whole Sun phenomenon," said Dave McComas, Ulysses solar wind instrument principal investigator, from Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, US.. (BBC News -- Science)
Building blocks: Author trails barn quilts to Iowa for book research Jun 22, 2009
Quilt patterns like "Variable Star," "Log Cabin," "Bachelor's Puzzle" and "Friendship Star" and others are painted on square boards and fastened to barns; some are painted directly on the buildings. Donna Sue Groves of Adams County, Ohio, is credited with establishing the barn quilt project. (Waterloo Courier, IO)
Betelgeuse, Red Supergiant In Constellation Orion, Has Shrunk By 15 Percent In 15 Years Jun 17, 2009
Despite Betelgeuse's diminished size, Wishnow pointed out that its visible brightness, or magnitude, which is monitored regularly by members of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, has shown no significant dimming over the past 15 years. The ISI has been focusing on Betelgeuse for more than 15 years in an attempt to learn more about these giant massive stars and to discern features on the star's surface, Wishnow said. (Science Daily)
Famous Star Is Shrinking, Puzzling Astronomers Jun 16, 2009
Betelgeuse is a type of variable star, with slight dips in its brightness every few years. (Find out why. (National Geographic)
Watch as the moon eclipses the star Antares Jun 6, 2009
For more than a century, amateurs were almost the only people tracking most of the sky's variable stars ... The American Association of Variable Star Observers, based in Cambridge since 1911, has diligently compiled 16 ... And those variable stars. (Boston Globe)
Mystery supernova may revise star theory Mar 24, 2009
"LBVs are a bit like volcanoes in the sense that these eruptions can occur over and over again, and the star can sometimes be dormant for many years," said University of California at Berkeley astronomer Nathan Smith, who previously proposed that the well-known supernova 1987A was caused by a luminous blue variable star. "By actually detecting the progenitor star as an object that appears to have been an LBV before it exploded, (Gal-Yam and collaborators) provide direct evidence that LBVs can in... (MSNBC -- Technology)
> read more Mar 1, 2009
The bright eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3. 4 instead of its usual 2. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Interactive Observing Tools Feb 8, 2009
Now you can calculate the dates and times (local and Universal Times) when the eclipsing variable star Algol should be at its dimmest (magnitude 3. 4 instead of its usual 2. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
This Week's Sky at a Glance Feb 8, 2009
The bright eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3 ... The red long-period variable stars S Virginis and R Corvi should be at maximum light (7th magnitude) around now. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
