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Carnival of Space #234
This week's Carnival of Space is hosted at the Dear Astronomer Blog. The site is run by Ray Sanders, an astronomer with nearly fifteen years of amateur astronomy experience and an education in...
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Exploring Mars by Scott Hubbard (a book review)
I looked forward to reading this book after the publisher asked me if I wanted a review copy, and eagerly tore into the package when it arrived last week. As you know, I don't usually read or write...
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Carolyn Hurless
Carolyn Hurless 1934-1987From the AAVSO archivesCarolyn J. Hurless was the most active and prolific female observer in the history of the AAVSO, with a total of 78,876 observations in the International...
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The Kruta Telescope- A Labor of Love
The Kruta Telescope on display at AAVSOIf you've ever been to AAVSO headquarters, you've probably seen a small Maksutov telescope in a clear plastic case sitting on a shelf or cabinet in the front...
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Hubble's 1923 Nova in Andromeda Erupts Again!
The position of M31N-1923-12c plotted by the AAVSO chart plotterOn December 11, 1923, Edwin Hubble discovered a nova in the Andromeda galaxy. Novae occurring in our Milky Way's sister galaxy are not...
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Carnival of Space #236
This week's Carnival of Space is hosted at the AARTScope Blog by Peter Lake, aka AstroSwanny, my friend and fellow AAVSO observer from down under.The Carnival of Space is a community of interest blog...
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Chicago Astronomy Weekend
It seems like almost all the traveling I do these days is astronomy related, and this weekend was no different. I'd been invited by my friend Roger Kolman to come visit him in Glen Ellyn,...
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Orange Juice Maps
Winter Star Party - Days one and twoThe Florida keys are about 1600 miles away from our home in Michigan by car. No matter how you divide it up, that's a lot of driving, about 24 hours worth. Irene and...
View ArticleIt Was Just A Tuesday
It was just a Tuesday, not unlike any other Tuesday, except I happened to be working in my office on the first floor of AAVSO headquarters in Cambridge. I opened my email and began responding to the...
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My Favorite Double Star
Epsilon Lyrae, the Double DoubleIf you have spent any time looking through binoculars or telescopes you have undoubtedly come across a double star or two. Someone probably showed you Alberio (beta...
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Reaching Across The Great Divide
Yesterday I received an email containing pictures of an Iranian astronomy magazine cover and the article pages of an interview I gave several months ago. To be honest, I'd forgotten about the whole...
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Fireflies like little variable stars
While checking out my bedroom window for clear skies last night, I noticed the first fireflies of the season, blinking and darting in the horse pasture behind the house. And it reminded me of a Robert...
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In Praise of Paper
I have fully embraced the digital age as much as anyone. I have a smart phone, I'm on Facebook and Twitter, I write a blog, I sit in front of a computer for hours each day, and I'm nearly always...
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Koji Mukai on X-rays and Dwarf Novae
This is the second time Koji Mukai has granted mean interview. The first time we discussed magnetic CVs, intermediate polars specifically. That interview can be read here. Now Koji is back to discuss...
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Pennsylvania Star Party Adventure
I had been looking forward to this trip since last October. That is when we took a side trip on our way back from the AAVSO Centennial Celebration in Boston through the northwestern part of...
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The 12" LX200 Eyepiece Saga
If you are a visual observer, the eyepieces in your arsenal are as important as the optical tube or mount. One of my goals has always been to find the perfect combination of the fewest number of...
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Leslie Peltier: The World's Greatest Amateur Astronomer
Leslie Peltier"The world's greatest non-professional astronomer."That is what Harlow Shapley called Leslie Peltier. If that is true, then why don't more people know about Peltier? I think the simple...
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Earth Sized Planet Found Orbiting Alpha Centauri B
October 17, 2012This artist’s impression shows the planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B, a member of the triple star system that is the closest to Earth. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger...
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From France to Buffalo in Seven Hours By Car
Several months ago I was invited by French AAVSO member, Laurent Corp, to give a talk for CAPAS 2012, a pro-am astronomy conference on double stars and variable stars in Rodez, France. I was happy to...
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My First Variable Star Observation
Friday, February 15th, will be the 14th anniversary of my first variable star estimate.R Leo, 9.6, Feb 15, 1999Over 82,000 observations later, I can still recall a lot of things about my first variable...
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The third Third Charles Butterworth Award
In October 2011 the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) held its centennial celebration in Boston at the Woburn Hilton. It was the culmination of 100 years of collecting and...
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Book Review: The Life and Death of Stars
I have to start by saying I have not finished reading this book yet, but I feel compelled to write a review because I am so thoroughly annoyed by this book. Let me explain.I am extremely interested in...
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Rod Stubbings – Patience, Persistence and Purpose
In early February this year, Rod Stubbings wrote to me to tell me he had discovered a new Z Cam star. Since this was his independent discovery, he wanted to write a paper on it, and asked if I would be...
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Camelopardalids, dust up to dust
In November 2013, Quanzhi Ye and Paul A. Wiegert submitted a paper to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggesting that Comet 209P/LINEAR might produce strong meteor activity on May...
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The New Supernovae Alphabet Soup
This is an update of the Simostronomy blog “Supernovae Alphabet Soup” posted December 2011. Thanks to Brad Walter for the revised text.SN 2011fe aka PTF11klyImage: WikipediaThe International...
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