spectroscopy

7 November 2012: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 473 (www.aavso.org/aavso alert-notice/473), Principal Investigator Darryl Sergison (University of Exeter) requests that spectroscopists planning to observe the targets RY Tau, DN Tau, and/or DR Tau image the corresponding telluric standards below at the same time:

Telluric standard for RY Tau
HD 283567     B9     Vmag = 10.38   RA 04 20 33.072  Dec +28 39 08.55

Telluric standard for DN Tau

November 6, 2012:  Darryl Sergison (University of Exeter) has requested AAVSO assistance with a campaign he is organizing on six T Tauri stars. He writes: "In Autumn 2013 I [and my PhD supervisor Tim Naylor of Exeter University are] undertaking a new study into the nature of pre-main-sequence low mass stars, using time series optical spectroscopy and UV-Visual-IR photometry...to build a clearer picture of the environment around young solar-type stars and characterise their various disc, accretion, and outflow structures.

October 10, 2012: Dr. Boris Gaensicke (leader of the consortium observing CVs with the HST COS instrument; see AAVSO Alert Notice 471 and AAVSO Special Notice #297 for details and instructions) writes with an urgent message:
 
"STScI would like an update on SDSS J164248.52+134751.4 by ~16UT TODAY (2012 October 10), when the star is not easily visible for most of our observers. Any observations from Europe early this evening will be most welcome."

September 20, 2012: Drs.

September 20, 2012:  The symbiotic variable V4018 Sgr is undergoing an outburst, according to observations reported to the AAVSO and confirmed by spectroscopy by Ulisse Munari et al. Prompted by an observation and comment from John Bortle (Stormville, NY) (16 June 2012, visual magnitude 12.2) about a possible outburst, Steven O'Connor (St. George's, Bermuda) obtained an observation (10 August 2012, 11.44V) that confirmed V4018 Sgr was bright.

August 25, 2012: Dr. Nikolaus Vogt (Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile) has requested photometry and spectroscopy of the novalike (VY Scl subtype) cataclysmic variable TT Ari in support of upcoming observations with the Canadian Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) satellite.

July 5, 2012:  Scotty Degenhardt (Santa Fe, NM), a pioneer in the use of video for timing eclipses of solar system and stellar objects and a research member of the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA), has informed the AAVSO of a research project he and colleagues are working on: modeling the Jovian dust field, moon atmospheres, and Io’s Torus through Jovian Extinction Events (JEE). He has invited AAVSO observers to participate by observing these Jovian extinction events and reporting their observations.

May 9, 2012: We have been informed by Dr. Noel Richardson, Georgia State University, that the UV spectroscopy observations of S Dor to be made with the Hubble Space Telescope have been scheduled for

2012 MAY 11 from 21:21:55 UT to 23:55:04 UT.

April 10, 2012:  Dr. Michael Rupen (National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM) has informed us that he and his colleagues of the EVLA (Expanded Very Large Array) Nova Team are carrying out a multiwavelength campaign on the Fe II-type nova Nova Oph 2012 [V2676 Oph]. They have triggered observations with Swift, JVLA (Jansky Very Large Array), SMA (Submillimeter Array), and high-resolution optical spectroscopy. He is requesting AAVSO observations in support.

March 15, 2012:  As announced in AAVSO Alert Notice 454 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-454), Dr. Margarita Karovska, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has requested multiband photometry (all possible bands), high-speed photometry, spectroscopy, and visual observations of the symbiotic variable CH Cyg in support of HST and Chandra observations. She is studying the central region of CH Cyg and its jet.