Hi!
I'm new to this so probably I am missing something obvious....
I'm trying to learn VPhot and to upload my first observations to the database. I do this:
Load an image in VPhot. Load catalog of variables and comparison stars. CHoose a check star. Go to photometry results, and uncheck stars that are read. When it looks good, I click on Keep this. Then to Analysis log, choose the star, and Create AAVSO Report. I get the report, download to my computer. Then I click on WebObs, and there choose the report file and upload. Then I get this error message:
The star ASASSN-V J214334.94+430426.7 cannot be found in our database under that name. If you think the star might be listed under another name, do a positional search in VSX to find it. If the star is not in VSX, please follow the procedure given here. If the star is in VSX but does not have an AUID, please log in to VSX and click on the "Request AUID" button. For questions please contact us at vsx@aavso.org.
So, what is happening here? I created the file through VPHot but now it cannot read it... ?
Report file is attached. Grateful for any advice on this.
Magnus
VPhot can access all the stars in VSX. But to submit via webobs the star must also have an AUID designation. This is the problem you are running into.
Easily fixed:
- find the star in VSX www.aavso.org/vsx
(you will need to log in, and that involves creating a user id/psw which is different the the general website credentials)
- If an AUID is not listed there is a button for requesting it. Just click that and the VSX team will message you when it is available. Should be a day or so.
George
Hi!
Thanks! Actually, I just managed to upload a file by removing all stars indicated with an * in the VPhot image... There was about 10 of them.
But, to follow up on this:
When I submitted the file, my idea was that this was a report on SSCyg. But there is now 14 observations. You can see if you search for my identifier LMN in the database. Have I done something wrong, or is this the way it should look?
Magnus
Hi Magnus,
I don't see a problem with what you submitted. Your observation of SS Cyg seems reasonable. The other stars you reported are apparently other variables that happened to be in the same field as SS Cyg. VPhot will put them in your report automatically. If you think that they are OK, you can leave them in your report. If they don't seem like good observations, for example, if they have a very low S/N (less than 100) or are contaminated by close companions, then you should remove them before submitting your report. It is always a good idea to check your data after submission by looking at the light curves of each star using LCGv2 or VStar.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Sara
Thanks! I was quite surprised... I thought those were comparison stars... Maybe good thing to go back and check them again.
Best,
Magnus
Hi Magnus:
As you have learned and George mentioned, variables that are obtained from the VSX database but appear with a red * on your image page do not have an AUID yet. VPhot will place them in your AAVSO Report BUT WebObs will not allow you to upload such targets, so the entire report gets ignored. A bit annoying but a fact you need to deal with. BTW, it is always appropriate to open your AAVSO Report and check it out before you upload it with WebObs!
You went back to your image page and removed these variables (red *) from your list and then saved an AAVSO report. This report was subsequently accepted by WebObs with no problem.
BTW, there is no absolute requirement to ensure that all your targets have an SNR > 100. It is a good goal but again not a requirement. A very low SNR is closer to 10. An SNR of 100 may have an error about 0.01 mag. An SNR of 10 may have an error about 0.1 mag. Again, try to use an exposure that gives you an SNR > 100, if possible, but don't obsess over it.
Ken