9.5 Million Variable Star Observations Coming to You by 2005! (Abstract)

Volume 33 number 1 (2005)

Elizabeth O. Waagen

Abstract

(Abstract only) The AAVSO International Database contains over 11 million mostly visual observations of over 5,000 known and suspected variable stars contributed by over 6,000 observers worldwide since 1911 (the data for some stars go back earlier, even to the late 1800s). Late AAVSO Director Janet Mattei liked to describe the AAVSO International Database as a treasure chest just waiting to be opened and explored. Not having the data validated (checked for transcription and digitization errors and quality-control checked) made accessing the “treasure” slow—and sometimes very slow—for researchers, despite our best efforts to provide the data quickly. Of the 11+ million observations, 9.5 million are being validated by AAVSO Headquarters technical staff and released for downloading from the AAVSO website, thanks to Janet’s planning and a 2-year grant from NASA. When the project (presently over 81% completed) is finished in the fall of 2004, the data will be placed on Caltech’s NASA/IPAC-IRSA site and in other NASA databases so that the data are publicly available and may be used for astronomical research, education, and public outreach. This paper addresses the questions: what is validation? why is it necessary? how is it done? and shows several examples of the “treasure” becoming available to everyone.