The "Werkgroep Veranderlijke Sterren" of Belgium

Volume 40 number 1 (2012)

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Patrick Wils
Vereniging voor Sterrenkunde, Belgium; address correspondence to P. Wils, Aarschotsebaan 31, B3191 Hever, Belgium; patrickwils@yahoo.com
Eric Broens
Vereniging voor Sterrenkunde, Belgium; address correspondence to P. Wils, Aarschotsebaan 31, B3191 Hever, Belgium; patrickwils@yahoo.com
Hubert Hautecler
Vereniging voor Sterrenkunde, Belgium; address correspondence to P. Wils, Aarschotsebaan 31, B3191 Hever, Belgium; patrickwils@yahoo.com
Frans Van Loo
Vereniging voor Sterrenkunde, Belgium; address correspondence to P. Wils, Aarschotsebaan 31, B3191 Hever, Belgium; patrickwils@yahoo.com

Abstract

The “Werkgroep Veranderlijke Sterren” (Working Group on Variable Stars) of the Belgian “Vereniging Voor Sterrenkunde” (Society for Astronomy) was founded in 1969. The group and its individual members have been among the pioneers in several areas of amateur variable star astronomy: CV alert bulletin boards and telegrams, CCD observing, automatic handling of observations and online availability of the data, collaboration with professional astronomers, telescope automation, remote observing, and data-mining. Realizing the importance of international collaboration for a small group, there has always been a close contact with other variable star organisations. As a result also the first European meeting of the AAVSO was hosted in Brussels in 1990.