AAVSO Target Tool: A Web-Based Service for Tracking Variable Star Observations (Abstract)

Volume 46 number 1 (2018)

Dan Burger, Keivan G. Stassun

Vanderbilt University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235; dan.burger@vanderbilt.edu

Chandler Barnes

Vanderbilt University, Department of Information Technology, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235

Sara Beck, Stella Kafka

AAVSO Headquarters, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, MA 02138

Kenneth Li

Vanderbilt University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235

Abstract

(Abstract only) The AAVSO Target Tool is a web-based interface for bringing stars in need of observation to the attention of AAVSO’s network of amateur and professional astronomers. The site currently tracks over 700 targets of interest, collecting data from them on a regular basis from AAVSO’s servers and sorting them based on priority. While the target tool does not require a login, users can obtain visibility times for each target by signing up and entering a telescope location. Other key features of the site include filtering by AAVSO observing section, sorting by different variable types, formatting the data for printing, and exporting the data to a CSV file. The AAVSO Target Tool builds upon seven years of experience developing web applications for astronomical data analysis, most notably on Filtergraph (Burger, D., et al. 2013, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXII, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, 399), and is built using the web2py web framework based on the python programming language. The target tool is available at http://filtergraph.com/aavso.