Williamina Paton Fleming’s “Un-named” Variables and the AAVSO: A Scientific and Historical Perspective (Abstract)

Volume 46 number 2 (2018)

Kristine Larsen

Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050; larsen@ccsu.edu

Abstract

(Abstract only) Twenty years ago a JAAVSO article by Dorrit Hoffleit brought attention to the fact that fourteen of the nearly 300 variables discovered by Williamina Paton Fleming or her team at the Harvard College Observatory circa 1900 lacked permanent designations in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS). Most of these stars have now received such designations. Since their discovery, much has changed in our understanding of these variables. An exploration of this evolution provides a valuable series of snapshots in time of the state of variable star astronomy over more than a century, and illustrates the ongoing and significant impact of the AAVSO and its observers on the field.