American Association of Variable Star Observers facts for kids
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international group that doesn't aim to make a profit. It was started in 1911. This organization helps to collect, study, publish, and save observations of variable stars. Most of these observations are made by amateur astronomers, who are people who love astronomy but don't do it as their main job.
The AAVSO creates special records called light curves. These show how a star's brightness changes over time. They share these records with professional astronomers, researchers, and teachers.
Professional astronomers can't watch every single variable star all the time. This is why astronomy is one of the few sciences where everyday people, or amateurs, can really help with important research. In 2011, which was the AAVSO's 100th year, they received their twenty-millionth variable star observation! By 2019, their main database, called the AAVSO International Database (AID), had over thirty-five million observations.
Each year, the AAVSO gets almost 1,000,000 observations from about 2,000 professional and amateur sky watchers. Their work is often mentioned in science papers. The International Variable Star Index (VSX) website, which the AAVSO manages, listed 2,277,999 variable stars as of November 2023.
The AAVSO also does a lot to teach people about astronomy. They often hold workshops to train citizen scientists. They also publish research papers where amateurs are listed as co-authors. In the 1990s, the AAVSO created a learning program called Hands-On Astrophysics, which is now known as Variable Star Astronomy. This program got help from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In 2009, the NSF gave the AAVSO a large grant of $800,000 for a three-year project called Citizen Sky. This project was a team effort between professionals and amateurs to study the 2009-2011 eclipse of the star epsilon Aurigae.
The AAVSO's first office was at the home of its founder, William Tyler Olcott, in Norwich, Connecticut. A minor planet called (8900) AAVSO was named after the organization!
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AAVSO's Journey Through Time
After the AAVSO officially became a non-profit group in 1918, it unofficially moved to Harvard College Observatory. This observatory later became the AAVSO's official home from 1931 to 1953. After that, the AAVSO moved to different places around Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1985, they bought their first own building, which they named The Clinton B. Ford Astronomical Data and Research Center. In 2007, the AAVSO bought and moved into the building that used to belong to Sky & Telescope magazine.
As of September 16, 2022, the person in charge of the AAVSO is Brian Kloppenborg. Before him, Kathy Spirer held the role for nine months. She took over after Styliani ("Stella") Kafka, who was the director from February 2015 until late 2021. Stella Kafka followed Arne Henden. For many years before that, Janet Mattei was the director of the AAVSO. She passed away in March 2004.
Important People at AAVSO
Many people have helped the AAVSO over the years. Here are some of the key leaders:
Directors of AAVSO
- William T. Olcott (1911–1918, Founder)
- Leon Campbell (1915–1949)
- Margaret Mayall (1949–1973)
- Janet A. Mattei (AAVSO Director 1973–2003)
- Elizabeth O. Waagen (2003–2005)
- Arne Henden (2005–2015)
- Styliani ("Stella") Kafka (2015–2021)
- Kathy Spirer (2022)
- Brian Kloppenborg (2022–)
Presidents of AAVSO
Here are some of the people who have served as President of the AAVSO:
- David B. Pickering (1917–1918)
- Harold C. Bancroft Jr. (1918–1919)
- Leon Campbell (1919–1922)
- Anne S. Young (1922–1924)
- J. Ernest G. Yalden (1924–1926)
- Charles C. Godfrey (1926–1927)
- David B. Pickering (1927–1929)
- Alice H. Farnsworth (1929–1931)
- Harriet W. Bigelow (1931–1933)
- Ernest W. Brown (1933–1935)
- Harlow Shapley (1935–1937)
- Charles W. Elmer (1937–1939)
- Helen S. Hogg (1939–1941)
- Dirk Brouwer (1941–1943)
- Roy A. Seely (1943–1945)
- Charles H. Smiley (1945–1947)
- Marjorie Williams (1947–1948)
- David W. Rosebrugh (1948–1949)
- Neal J. Heines (1949–1951)
- Martha Stahr Carpenter (1951–1954)
- Cyrus F. Fernald (1954–1956)
- Richard W. Hamilton (1956–1958)
- Ralph N. Buckstaff (1958–1960)
- E. Dorrit Hoffleit (1961–1963)
- George Diedrich (1963–1965)
- Edward G. Oravec (1965–1967)
- Charles M. Good (1971–1973)
- Casper H. Hossfield (1969–1971)
- Frank J. DeKinder (1967–1969)
- Charles E. Scovil (1973–1975)
- George L. Fortier (1975–1977)
- Marvin E. Baldwin (1977–1979)
- Carl A. Anderson (1979–1981)
- Arthur J. Stokes (1981–1983)
- Ernst H. Mayer (1983–1985)
- Thomas R. Williams (1985–1987)
- Keith H. Danskin (1987–1989)
- John R. Percy (1989–1991)
- Martha Locke Hazen (1991–1992)
- Thomas R. Williams (1992–1993)
- Wayne M. Lowder (1993–1995)
- Albert V. Holm (1995–1997)
- Gary Walker (1997–1999)
- Lee Anne Willson (1999–2001)
- Daniel H. Kaiser (2001–2003)
- William G. Dillon (2003–2005)
- David B. Williams (2005–2007)
- Paula Szkody (2007–2009)
- Jaime R. Garcia (2009–2011)
- Mario E. Motta (2011–2013)
- Jennifer (Jeno) Sokoloski (2013–2015)
- Kristine M. Larsen (2015–2018)
- Gordon Myers (2018–2021)
- David Cowall (2021–2024)
Other Notable Members
The AAVSO has over 2,000 members and observers today. About half of them live outside the United States. Here are some other important members who have Wikipedia pages:
- Leah B. Allen (A founding member)
- Joseph Ashbrook
- Rosina Dafter
- Radha Gobinda Chandra
- Robert Evans (Led the AAVSO Supernova Search Committee from 1985–2005)
- Clinton B. Ford
- Russell Merle Genet
- Pamela L. Gay
- Edward A. Halbach
- Phoebe Waterman Haas
- Carolyn Hurless
- Richard Huziak
- Albert F. A. L. Jones
- Michael Koppelman
- Giovanni B. Lacchini
- Helen Lines
- Richard D. Lines
- Ben Mayer
- Ruth J. Northcott
- Arto Oksanen
- M. Daniel Overbeek
- Leslie Peltier
- Lois Tripp Slocum
- Peter Francis Williams
- Ida E. Woods
See Also
In Spanish: American Association of Variable Star Observers para niños
- List of astronomical societies
