Teams / The Mark I Eyeball Team

The Mark I Eyeball Team


Citizen Sky

Note: This team is now closed to new members. However, we'll still accept members if you can show that you are very enthusiastic about the project and have a specific skill/idea to contribute.



Lots of factors affect the precision and accuracy of visual variable star estimates. We will examine all visual data in the AAVSO International Database, including Citizen Sky data, to determine how various factors affect the precision and accuracy of visual variable star observations. Example factors are observer experience, age, lunar phase, altitude in the sky, properties of the variable star and its comparison stars, etc. This is essentially a follow up to this poster (4MB PDF) paper presented at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society and this post in our forums.

We anticipate the result being a paper submitted to a major astronomy journal with all contributing team members as coauthors. This will be an important project as visual data is the backbone of variable star research, yet it has never been systematically researched. We also anticipate this project taking 1-2 years. We need team members with one or more of the following skill sets:

  • Ability to do all-sky CCD photometry to 1% accuracy
  • Advanced skill and experience (decades) with visual observing
  • SQL database skills
  • Perl/Python or other scripting skills
  • Understanding of statistics

We're open to team members with other applicable skill sets. If you have an idea for a contribution please feel free to apply. Just be warned this is a fairly advanced project. We will likely limit team size to something around ten members. So include in your application the specific item you think you can contribute to the project.

BAAVSS database

Hello,

I'm not sure, but I might be the only member of the BAAVSS in this particular team (I stand to be corrected). I'd be happy to enquire about the possibility of using the BAAVSS data for this project. Were you thinking of data just for eps Aur, or other variables as well?

re list of possible factors affecting observations, how about apparent position angle of variable from comparison stars, and relative distances of comparison stars to variable or other stars in the field (for example, bright stars nearby could affect the perceived brightness of the star in question)?

David.

Getting Started (finally)

Hi, all. I know I'm 3 months behind our expected start date. Sorry about that. But I think I'm ready to roll on this project. I hope you are still interested. If not, feel free to sign off so you won't get all the e-mails I expect to come in the next few months. However, I anticipate this project will take about a year to complete. We will likely be collecting data until the end of this year and then dedicate the first quarter of next year to writing the paper. That's the ideal plan, at least. :) So if you don't think you have the time/knowledge to participate in the data collection but would like to work on the analysis or some other piece of the puzzle, feel free to stick around until something strikes your fancy. Not everyone has to contribute right away.Read more

Possible Research Methodology

This is just a brainstorm of some of the data sources we have available and ways we can analyze them. Please feel free to add new ideas and sources.

Archival Data
We can search the entire AAVSO International Database for many factors (such as experience, time of night, etc.). The AAVSO membership database demographic info is not reliable prior to 2004-5. We recorded some info when the person became a member, but did not update it. Info in the last few years is much better.

The BAAVSS has an impressive database, but it isn't easy to use. However, their step magnitude system may give us additional detail we could measure. Is anyone an expert in their system and willing to think of ways we could datamine it (assume we have their approval, of course)?

SurveysRead more

List of possible factors

This is a brainstorm list of possible variables to look for. Feel free to add to the list, even if you aren't sure how we would go about measuring one of the variables.

Star Factors
Color (B-V)
Position in sky at time of observation (azimuth, closeness to Moon)
Sequence (magnitude difference between comp stars = step; different colors between comp stars; position angle; distance to the variable star and other comparisons)
Magnitude (bright/faint)

Equipment Factors
Aperture
Telescope vs. binocs vs. eyeballs
Tracking mounts
Eyepiece?

Observer Factors
Experience
Age
Gender
Vision (glasses vs. contacts vs. no correction, color blindness, type of correction, type of vision (technique) used for the estimate = direct/averted)Read more

Wanted: well-observed southern Miras or other variables

Hi,

I'd like to query the observers among us to see if anyone can quickly
recommend one or more Mira or other variable stars that match the
following criteria:

- southern, so it has good ASAS coverage

- fits well within the good quality ASAS range (perhaps V=8.5 to 13)

- has an excellent visual sequence, and has had for a long time

- is very well observed visually, and

- isn't too red (i.e. not a carbon star).

What I'm looking for are stars with lots of visual data that can be
compared with ASAS (or another photometric data set with reasonably
well-defined bandpass). It will be a bit tedious to go through all of
the AAVSO/RASNZ lightcurves and compare them to ASAS, so if anyone
knows any good ones off the top of their heads, please post a reply.

The reason I'm asking is the following: the brute-force (and naive) way of
making presentable visual light curves is to do a straight averaging of Read more

A couple of questions to start things rolling.

Hello,

I have just posted a response to a question on the Visual Observing Forum, 'Avoiding Bias: a Few More Rules for Variable Star Observers'.

Alex Burda suggests that the use of comparison star magnitudes as labels, as on AAVSO charts, might bias results in some way. British Astronomical Association Variable Star Section charts which I use label stars with letters, and only list their apparent magnitudes at the bottom of the chart.

This isn't something I have thought about before, but lacking any evidence either way I'm inclined to agree with Alex. What do others think?Read more

The Mark I Eyeball Team

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