Membership Benefits
Your membership in the AAVSO has several benefits, including:
- Waiver of page charges for publication in the Journal of the AAVSO, a premier publication of variable star science (currently $100/page for non-members)
- Use of the AAVSO's Robotic Telescope Network, AAVSOnet,
- Substantial discount on CHOICE short courses and CCD School Streaming Video downloads.
- Access to exclusive members-only CHOICE courses,
- Eligibility for the Mentor Program,
- Use of the AAVSO's online photometric analysis tool, VPHOT and the VPHOT Users Guide,
- Access to the AAVSOnet and APASS Epoch Photometry data (over a billion records) through an easy-to-use VStar plugin,
- Reduced registration rates for AAVSO meetings and workshops,
- Use of the Feibelman Guest Suite, and
- Eligibility to vote in elections and serve as an AAVSO Officer or on the board.
New members of the AAVSO also receive our online New Member Kit which includes:
- New Member acceptance letter, membership certificate, and an AAVSO decal
- A copy of the By-Laws of the AAVSO, and the most recent AAVSO Solar Bulletin, Journal of the AAVSO (JAAVSO) issue, and AAVSO Annual Report
- The 10 Star Tutorial for those new to visual variable star observing
- A copy of our Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars, and Getting Started manuals for CCD and PEP observing
- A user guide to the AAVSO's Variable Star Plotter--our online chart-making utility
- A number of reference documents covering topics such as Julian Day, object naming, easy-to-observe stars, and the AAVSO Mentoring Program.
But one of the most important benefits is what your membership does for the AAVSO. By supporting the AAVSO with one of the following memberships: Supporting $500/year (in which you receive many benefits, including unlimited CHOICE courses), Sustaining ($180/year), Annual ($85/year), Teacher/Student/Limited Income ($40/year), or Developing Countries ($25/year), you show us that what we do is important to you and to the science of variable star astronomy. Your membership helps us pursue original research, provide research support to professional astronomers, enable data collection and preservation and enable us to maintain our website, and support astronomy education and public outreach. And your participation in the community--through attending meetings, participating in our discussion forums, serving on the AAVSO Council, contributing data to the AAVSO International Database, or submitting research papers to the Journal of the AAVSO --helps to strengthen the connection between observers, researchers, and educators in the variable star community. Our members have made the AAVSO what it is today and we hope that you will be one of them!
Who Are AAVSO Members?
If you are:
- A variable star observer -- amateur or professional -- who wants to support the AAVSO above and beyond your contribution of data,
- A professional astronomer who uses AAVSO data and services, and wants to support the AAVSO and our mission to encourage variable star research,
- An educator who wants to share variable star astronomy with your students,
- A student just beginning your career in the sciences, or
- Anyone interested in the science and history of variable star astronomy, or in the collaboration of amateur and citizen scientists in astronomical research
then you are a person who belongs in the American Association of Variable Star Observers! From its earliest days, the AAVSO has been made up of both amateur and professional astronomers, including some of the most important and influential astronomers of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Today, the AAVSO membership numbers over 1000 amateur and professional astronomers all over the world devoted to variable star research -- and you should be one of them! We need you to support the work that the AAVSO does in variable star astronomy, and to contribute your knowledge, skills, and expertise to further our mission. Please join today!
Please note that, by participating in all AAVSO activities, you are expected to follow our Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment Policy. Participation is taken to signify your acknowledgment that you have read these guidelines/policies and your agreement to adhere to them.