Getting Started
Getting Started
5-Star Analysis Tutorial
This 5-Star Analysis Tutorial is meant to introduce you to basic ways of data processing and inspection. It does not assume a background in astrophysics, statistics or anything similar. However, all good researchers need to understand what their data actually mean. So if you have never made a variable star estimate before, we strongly recommend first reading our 10-Star Observing Tutorial. That will give you an idea of where these data come from and what it means to actually observe a variable star.
Click here to download the 5-Star Analysis Tutorial (5MB PDF)
The tutorial links to a few online tools and web sites. For your convenience, below is a list of some of the links.Read more
Epsilon Aurigae Simulator Tutorial
Here we offer a quick introduction to the epsilon Aurigae orbit simulator, written by Mark SubbaRao, a research scientist at the University of Chicago and an Astronomer at the Adler Planetarium. This visualization is meant to provide you with the tools to see how well various parameters recreate the photometric light curve observed during the past and current eclipses.
At the top is the location where the resultant light curve will be plotted when the simulator is executed.
The controls region lets you run, pause and reset the light curve generator.
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Submit Your Data
Revised Submit Your Data
Lastly you need to submit your data to the AAVSO database. To do this, select the “Data” tab at the top of this page and choose the “Submit” and “Non-Visual” buttons. A form will appear allowing you to request your official AAVSO Observer Initials (an unique code that identifies data as yours - it will stay with you forever). These initials are a required part of your submission. Once you have your observer initials, proceed to the data form. Fill in this form and submit your observation.
Calibration: Intermediate
Below you will find instructions on how you can complete your analysis of photometric data. We will guide you through the process of converting your instrumental magnitudes into calibrated magnitudes while accounting for the presence of the atmospheric extinction. We assume that you have completed the Beginner tutorialRead more
Calibration: Beginner
Below you will find instructions on how you can complete your analysis of photometric data. Below we will guide you through the process of converting your instrumental magnitudes into calibrated magnitudes that can be submitted to the AAVSO for long-term storage.
What you will need:
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A list of instrumental magnitudes for your variable star
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A list of instrumental magnitudes for at least two comparison stars (six preferred)
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An internet connection (to lookup catalogue values)
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Excel or OpenOffice Calc
Computing Calibrated MagnitudesRead more
Finishing Analysis
Now that you have obtained instrumental magnitudes for the variable and comparison stars the next step is to perform the analysis to get calibrated magnitudes.
Calibration Tutorials
Beginner
If you downloaded the Beginner data set, this is the tutorial for you. In this tutorial you will calculate calibrated Visual or V-magnitudes without any air mass correction. This method is suitable for comparison stars no more than 10 degrees away from the variable star and for zenith angles less than 35 degrees.
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MaximDL Beginner
This tutorial provides a step-by-step procedure for processing digital images obtained in raw format to yield insturmental magnitudes which are used in the next step in our tutorial, processing the data using Excel. This process assumes that, in addition to a series of sequential star field images, dark frames, flat frames and flat-dark frames have been taken. This tutorial also assumes that you have already copied the images from your camera to some directory on your computer (this greatly speeds up processing).
After these steps, the instrumental magnitudes are entered into an spreadsheet which will yield calibrated magnitudes which can then submitted to AAVSO.
This tutorial was entirely written by Nick Long, an undergraduate at the University of Denver, whose contribution we greatly appreicate.
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IRIS-Beginner
This tutorial provides a step-by-step procedure for processing digital images obtained in raw format to yield insturmental magnitudes which are used in the next step in our tutorial, processing the data using Excel. This process assumes that, in addition to a series of sequential star field images, dark frames, flat frames and flat-dark frames have been taken. This tutorial also assumes that you have already copied the images from your camera to some directory on your computer (this greatly speeds up processing).Read more
AIP4WIN: Beginner
This tutorial provides a step-by-step procedure for processing digital images obtained in “Raw” format to yield insturmental magnitudes. The instrumental magnitudes will be used in the “Finishing Analysis” portion of our tutorial. You will need AIP4Win 2.4.0. If you don’t have this version, a free update is available from Willmann-Bell at: http://www.willbell.com/aip4win/AIP.htm. The tutorial assumes that, in addition to a series of sequential star field images, you also have dark frames, flat frames and flat-dark frames. If your camera has automatic noise reduction, you can use this feature when taking your star and flat images and eliminate the need for darks and flat-darks. Before you begin the tutorial the images from your camera (or tutorial data files) should be copied to a directory on your computer.Read more
