in memoriam: members, observers, colleagues richard crowe, ph.d. astronomer and co-founder of...
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In Memoriam:Members, Observers, Colleagues
Richard Crowe, Ph.D.
Astronomer and co-founder of astronomy program at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo
Extensive involvement in science education
Research in pulsating stars, stellar evolution, spectroscopy
Roy A. Mimna, Ph.D. (MMA)
AAVSO member/observer in 1980-84, contributed 664 observations to the AAVSO database
Comet hunter
Former president of the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society
Vi Royer
Mother of AAVSO member/observer Msgr. Ron Royer (RR)
Frequent and cheerful AAVSO meeting attendee
Award-winning dancer, swimmer, and golfer
In Memoriam:Members, Observers, Colleagues
Romano Vivaldi (VRM)
AAVSO observer since 2003
Owner of Astronomical Observatory Val Pellice (OAVP)
President of Italian amateur observers group OAVP Associazione Astrofili Urania
Carl E. Feehrer (solar initials FEEC)
AAVSO member and solar observer since 1998
Chair of the AAVSO Solar Division from 2000-06
In Memoriam:Members, Observers, Colleagues
J. Robert Buchler
Astronomer and professor at the University of Florida
Contributions to research on supernovae, pulsating stars, and fluid dynamics
Dr. Frank Kameny (KFE)
Former astronomer fired for revealing sexual orientation
Gay rights activist
Ph.D. thesis housed in AAVSO’s MacAteer Library
Minor Planet 40463 discovered by Gary Billings (BGW) was named Frankkameny in his honor; citation written by AAVSO staff member Doc Kinne (KQR)
Existing Grants
• Citizen Sky (DSLR workshop)
• Sokoloski nova
• MOST Orion YSOs no-cost extension
• Miras no-cost extension
• Chandra E/PO extended 2015
• APASS Ayers operation funds, LCGOTN red extension
Upcoming Grant submissions
• November 15: APASS
• January: CHOICE
• January: Travis Rector/TUES (VPHOT, spectra)
• January: 2GSS MRI
• January: TUES AAVSOnet
Membership
887 Annual
128 Sustaining
19 Sponsored
10 Lifetime (Argelander Society and Lifetime)
4 Honorary
122 In arrears
24 Complimentary
1194 Total (1072 in good standing)
Membership Director Development Officer
• Donor relations• Donor accounting• Manage special funds:
Astronomer Travel, Solar, Sponsored Members, misc. requests
• Corporate sponsors• Support web pages• Grant Writing• Newsletter• Speakers Bureau• Writers Bureau
• New member relations• Member/observer support • Develop, administer and
teach CHOICE courses• Mentor Program
• Annual Report• Membership web pages• Facebook• Twitter• Charts and sequences
Volunteer- CV Section Leader, LPV Section Leader
Development ReportFY 2009
$188,663.91 Total Contributions
$7,320.00 Sustaining Dues (3.87%)
Major Gifts
$91,455.00 Hendens (Building Fund)
$24,000.00 Doleman (Hoffleit Bequest)
$10,000.00 Michael Kran (Photometrica)
$9,000.00 Tom Williams (Archive plus other)
$8,000.00 Menkes (AAVSOnet)
$7,898.85 Hodgson Bequest
FY 2010
$125,100.29 Total Contributions
$7,495.00 Sustaining Dues (5.99%)
Major Gifts
$25,000.00 Garstang Bequest
$24,000.00 Doleman (Hoffleit bequest)
$14,000.00 Hodgson Estate
$5,563.81 W. Albrecht Trust
$5,000.00 Tom Williams (Archive)
FY 2011
$147,439.10* Total Contributions (*Does not include Dusa Bequest)
$7,575.00 Sustaining Dues (5.13%)
Major Gifts
$261,190.03* Eliazabeth Dusa Bequest
$35,000.00 Hendens (Building Fund)
$24,000.00 Doleman (Hoffleit Bequest)
$20,000.00 Ira Mogul(AAVSOnet)
$10,000.00 B. Staels (AAVSOnet)
$7,500.00 B. Stine (AAVSOnet BSM-CA)
$5,000.00 Tom Williams (Archive)
FY 2012
$81,699.33 Total Contributions
$5,775.00 Sustaining Dues (7.06%)
Major Gifts
$24,000.00 Doleman (Hoffleit bequest)
$10,000.00 Robert Ayers (APASS)
$5,000.00 Gordon Myers
Upcoming Meetings
• May 15-18,2013: Boone, NC (AppState)
• November 1-3 (approx): Woburn, MA (short meeting?)
• Spring 2014: AAVSO HQ
Appalachian State UniversityBoone, NC
Hosted by Lee Hawkins and Dan Caton
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Appalachian State University CAP Science Building
Lodging at the Holiday Inn
Staffing changes
• Aaron Price leaves June 30; contractor for 2E3D
• Rebecca Turner assumes management duties (also SRO, meetings coord)
• Ben Briggs works during summer, relieving Will McMain so he can work on 2E3D
• Aaron Sliski summer student helping Arne with hardware
Director’s Report to CouncilNovember 1, 2012
Arne Henden
Director, AAVSO
APASS Data Release 6
• All-sky photometric calibration, Johnson B&V and Sloan gri
• 10<V<17, 42 million stars
• Approx 98% sky coverage, 2x
• Press release at June AAS meeting
• http://www.aavso.org/apass
APASS Data Release 6
• Included in UCAC4 (52 million, including 10 million single-pass)
• Many requests for entire catalog, so put on the Cloud for downloading
• DR7 end of year
• DR8 end of 2013 (reprocessing)
• Ayers donated $10K for operations
APASS in Prompt6 clamshell
APASS current UCAC4 coverage (credit: E. Los)
APASS Images
• 194,158 images from south
• 52,949 images from north
• Doug Welch and JJ Kavelaars (CADC) archiving and making them accessible
• About halfway through data-collection
• Image access complex (optical distortion, clouds)
APASSM101 field
Sloan g
M101October 2010
APASS Epoch photometry
• North and south, all photometric survey nights from 2009-2012
• Approximately 861 million observations in database
• Also available as Vstar plug-in; placing plug-in behind membership firewall
Cepheid TZ Mon, Vband
Cepheid TZ Mon, B band
BSM Epoch photometry
• North system only for v1.0
• Only fields where decent calibration is available (approx ½ of total)
• 14 million BV or BVRI datasets
• Membership required for access
• http://www.aavso.org/bright-star-monitor-epoch-photometry-database
BSM epoch photometry database query form
Cepheid T Mon V-band phase plot
Mira S LMi
Cepheid BB Sgr phase plot
AAVSO 2nd Generation Synoptic Sky Survey
• Follow-on to APASS; prototype funded by Ayers
• Simultaneous 2-color, 10<V<17• First telescope arrived at HQ over summer• 2nd telescope due Nov 23• Trip to Lowell after Tday to install and
commission• MRI proposal due Jan24
2GSS prototype building, Anderson Mesa, Lowell
4th Janet Mattei Research Fellowship
• Ulisse Munari• Aug 23 - Sept 24 at HQ• Working on:
– RAVE-APASS paper
– Landolt-APASS comparison
– RR Lyrs in Aqr stream
– ANS amateur consortium
– Varese observatory– Expected to return
next year
Virtual Observatory
• AAS SRG 2 years ago to publish AID• NVAO grant to develop infrastructure• Matt, Doc met with programmers during
summer to work out details• APASS catalog and AID will be made
available through VO• Server components tested; databases being
populated• Poster at AAS Winter Meeting
All-Sky Cameras
• CCD School attendees donate for all-sky cloud camera for CTIO
• Sufficient funds to also purchase different all-sky camera for HQ (BSM-Berry) and 1 or 2 other locations
• Will test before upgrading other sites
HQ all-skyMoonglow
Moonglow software and
web site
Orion starshoot allsky camera for CTIO
Construction update
• Condos across street completed
• HQ parking lot repaved
• New fence and landscaping at Rosebrough Residence
Condo construction (modular units)
Finished condos
Condos from end, showing landscaping
New paving
New residence fence and landscaping
Residence side yard
CCD School
• July 30-August 3, 2012• Tufts University• Twenty 1.5hr lectures over 5 days• All aspects of CCD photometry, from
basic sensors, calibration, astrophysics, statistics, observing practices
• Will be given again 2013, but at HQ• http://www.aavso.org/aavso-ccd-school
CCD School attendees
Amazon Cloud website
New analysis computer (occam)
20TB disk spacedual quad-core
Schiaparelli Observatory
• Varese, Italy• Suggestion by Ulisse Munari that they
were looking for a mirror• Contact with Mario Motta, who had
spare 80cm mirror• Donation of mirror to AAVSO; delivery
to Varese paid by Italians; we get time on the telescope
• website: www.astrogeo.va.it/astronomia/astronomia.php
Observatory dome (Monte Rosa 4634m in background)
telescope
32-inch mirror
Astrokolkhoz - 1
• W28 donated to AAVSO by heirs of Paul Wright; was at Astrokolkhoz
• Tom takes delivery of W30; Josch Hambsch donates use of ST9
• Tom requests, gets BSM• K28, K35 use donated by Tom; AAVSO
donates STL1001E, filters, focuser, software
Astrokolkhoz - 2
• Tom wants more control over research, observing queues, makes waves
• TAC set up; procedures developed in collaboration with Tom
• Before TAC has chance to operate, Tom blows stack, issues ultimatum
• Refuses to communicate with Mike Simonsen or myself
Astrokolkhoz - 3
• Tom turns telescopes off (affecting many projects), refuses to take more data for AAVSO, requests we remove our junk from his site
• We write letter giving inventory, date on which we will pick up equipment (still no communication)
• Mike Simonsen makes plans to travel to NM and then deliver telescopes to new sites
Astrokolkhoz - 4
• Bill Stein offers to host BSM nearby
• Bill Goff offers to host W30 in CA
• Expecting Stephen Levine to host W28 at Lowell
• K28, K35 lost to our use, as is likely WH46
• Still plenty of telescopes
Stein observatory
Goff observatory
Anderson mesa roll-off
Astrokolkhoz - 5
• Will require MoU for each new site (not much protection)
• Diversify and automate to improve efficiency and prevent “hostage” situations
• Volunteers are not contractors
AAVSOnet news
• BSM-NM being relocated to Bill Stein (Stars End Estates)
• BSM-CA nearing first light
• BSM-Berry ready for HQ installation
• W30 being relocated to Bill Goff (CA)
• W28 possibly relocated to Lowell
AAVSOnet news - 2
• Arne going to NZ mid-November to work on 24-inch
• Matt working with Jon Holtzman to get NMSU 24-inch operational
• Matt working with Ido Bareket to get Bareket operational
• Decision regarding BSM-AR
Telescope Allocation Committee
• Policy and Procedures manual developed by Krajci, Starkey, Bedient, Simonsen
• Dirk Terrell (chair); Sebastian Otero, Tim Crawford, Doug Welch
• Review science, both at submission time and annually
• Work with telescope operators
Capital Campaign
• Suggestion by Matt
• Many non-profits have annual campaign
• Possible solution to budget shortfall
• Problems: must be annual; need top of pyramid donations; if tie to staffing, then what happens if goal not reached
• Matt can generate white paper