AAVSO

One of the folks from the American Association of Variable Star Observers made a comment about their organization in response to one of my posts this week about gift-giving. If you’re feeling extra generous and would like to support some really terrific science, consider giving these guys a donation. Or, give a gift membership to an avid observer you know (or even yourself).

AAVSO focuses the considerable attention of its members around the world on the observation of variable stars. It’s an international non-profit, and its members’ work is the basis of a great deal of professional AND amateur research into variables these days. Professionals depend on data from AAVSO, for example, when they need long-term observations of a specific star’s variability. AAVSO members also do directed observations that supply data to be correlated with data from such satellites as HST, Chandra, and others.

If you’re interested in AAVSO, please take a gander at their web page. They’re a great organization, and as a former research team  member who often relied on amateur observers for observations, I am in awe of the work these guys do.  Check ’em out!