100th Anniversary Edition

278 Pages·2012·24.07 MB·English

J A AVS O
Volume 40
Number 1
2012
The  Journal  of  the  American  Association 
of  Variable  Star  Observers
Part A
of two parts
pages 1–266
100th Anniversary Edition
•  History
•  Associations
•  Science
•  Review Papers
49 Bay State Road
Cambridge, MA 02138
U. S. A.
The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
Editor   Editorial Board
John R. Percy  Geoffrey C. Clayton Matthew R. Templeton
University of Toronto Louisiana State University AAVSO
Toronto, Ontario, Canada Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Douglas L. Welch
Associate Editor Edward F. Guinan McMaster University
Elizabeth O. Waagen Villanova University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Assistant Editor  David B. Williams
Matthew R. Templeton Pamela Kilmartin Whitestown, Indiana
University of Canterbury
Production Editor Christchurch, New Zealand Thomas R. Williams
Michael Saladyga Houston, Texas
Laszlo Kiss
Konkoly Observatory Lee Anne Willson
Budapest, Hungary Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Paula Szkody
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
The Council of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
2011–2012
  Director  Arne A. Henden
  President  Mario E. Motta
  Past President  Jaime R. García
  1st Vice President  Jennifer Sokoloski
  Secretary  Gary Walker
  Treasurer  Gary W. Billings
       (term ended May 2012)
  Treasurer  Timothy Hager
Councilors
Edward F. Guinan John Martin
Roger S. Kolman Donn R. Starkey
Chryssa Kouveliotou Robert J. Stine
Arlo U. Landolt David G. Turner
ISSN 0271-9053
J A AV S O
The  Journal  of
The  American  Association
of Variable Star Observers
Volume 40 
Number 1
2012
Part A
of two parts:
pages 1–266
100th Anniversary Edition
History
Associations
Science
Review Papers
49 Bay State Road
Cambridge, MA 02138
ISSN 0271-9053
U. S. A.
The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers is a refereed scientific journal 
published by the American Association of Variable Star Observers, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, Massachusetts 
02138, USA. The Journal is made available to all AAVSO members and subscribers.
In order to speed the dissemination of scientific results, selected papers that have been refereed and accepted 
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Assoc. Var. Star Obs., in press, until they appear in the concatonated electronic issue of JAAVSO. The 
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Unsolicited papers by non-Members will be assessed a charge of $15 per published page.
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The Journal welcomes papers from all persons concerned with the study of variable stars and topics specifically 
related to variability. All manuscripts should be written in a style designed to provide clear expositions of 
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        Thomas, K. 1982, Phys. Report, 33, 96.
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© 2012 The American Association of Variable Star Observers. All rights reserved.
Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
Volume 40, Number 1, 2012
100th Anniversary Edition
100th Spring Meeting of the AAVSO, in conjunction with the 218th 
Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, held in Boston, 
Massachusetts, May 21–25, 2011
100th Annual Meeting of the AAVSO, held in Cambridge and Woburn, 
Massachusetts, October 5–8, 2011
Table of Contents
About This 100th Anniversary Issue
  John R. Percy  1
Key to the Cover Photographs  3
Group Photograph Taken at the 100th Spring Meeting  4
List of 100th Spring Meeting Participants  6
100th Spring Meeting Schedule  8
Group Photograph Taken at the 100th Annual Meeting  9
List of 100th Annual Meeting Participants  11
100th Annual Meeting Schedule  15
The Paper Sessions—photographs of the presenters  16
History session papers presented at the 100th Spring and Annual
Meetings of the AAVSO
Introduction to the History Paper Sessions
  Thomas R. Williams  20
Women in the history of Variable star astronomy
Anne S. Young: Professor and Variable Star Observer Extraordinaire
  Katherine Bracher  24
The Stars Belong to Everyone: Astronomer and Science Writer 
 Helen Sawyer Hogg (1905–1993)
  Maria J. Cahill  31
Variable Stars and Constant Commitments: the Stellar Career of Dorrit Hoffleit
  Kristine Larsen  44
Table of Contents continued on following pages
Reminiscences on the Career of Martha Stahr Carpenter: Between a Rock and 
 (Several) Hard Places 
  Kristine Larsen  51
Guiding Forces and Janet A. Mattei
  Elizabeth O. Waagen  65
The AAVSO Widow—or Should We Say Spouse? 
  Thomas R. Williams  77
The Legacy of Annie Jump Cannon: Discoveries and Catalogues of Variable Stars 
 (Abstract)
  Barbara L. Welther   92
Margaret W. Mayall in the AAVSO Archives (Abstract) 
  Michael Saladyga  92
history of Variable star astronomy in theory and Practice
Twenty-Eight Years of CV Results With the AAVSO
  Paula Szkody, Anjum S. Mukadam, Boris Gaensicke, Janet A. Mattei, Arne A. Henden, 
   Mike Simonsen, Matthew R. Templeton, Elizabeth O. Waagen, Gary Walker, Edward M. Sion, 
   Steve B. Howell, Dean Townsley  94
The Development of Early Pulsation Theory, or, How Cepheids Are Like 
 Steam Engines
  Matthew Stanley  100
The AAVSO Photoelectric Photometry Program in Its Scientific and 
 Socio-Historic Context
  John R. Percy  109
John Goodricke, Edward Pigott, and Their Study of Variable Stars
  Linda M. French  120
Frank Elmore Ross and His Variable Star Discoveries
  Wayne Osborn  133
Illinois—Where Astronomical Photometry Grew Up
  Barry B. Beaman, Michael T. Svec  141
Stellar Pulsation Theory From Arthur Stanley Eddington to Today (Abstract)
  Steven D. Kawaler, Carl J. Hansen  150
King Charles' Star: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Dating the Supernova Known as
 Cassiopeia A (Abstract)
  Martin Lunn  150
The History of Variable Stars: a Fresh Look (Abstract)
  Robert Alan Hatch  151
Table of Contents continued on following pages
history of Variable star organizations
British Astronomical Association Variable Star Section, 1890–2011 
  John Toone  154
The “Werkgroep Veranderlijke Sterren” of Belgium 
  Patrick Wils, Eric Broens, Hubert Hautecler, Frans Van Loo  164
The RASNZ Variable Star Section and Variable Stars South
  Albert Jones, Stan Walker  168
The RASNZ Photometry Section, Incorporating the Auckland Photoelectric 
 Observers’ Group (Poster abstract) 
  Stan Walker  177
Introduction to BAV (Abstract)
  Franz-Josef Hambsch, Joachim Hübscher  177
The GEOS Association of Variable Star Observers (Abstract)
  Franz-Josef Hambsch, J. -F. Le Borgne, E. Poretti, the GEOS association  177
History of Amateur Variable Star Observations in Japan (Poster abstract)
  Seiichiro Kiyota  178
history of aaVso obserVers, Programs, and suPPorters
The Visual Era of the AAVSO Eclipsing Binary Program 
  David B. Williams, Marvin E. Baldwin, Gerard Samolyk  180
Walking With AAVSO Giants—a Personal Journey (1960s)
  Roger S. Kolman, Mike Simonsen  189
Variable Star Observers I Have Known
  Charles E. Scovil  196
An Appreciation of Clinton B. Ford and the AAVSO of Fifty Years Ago 
  Tony Hull  203
An Overview of the AAVSO's Information Technology Infrastructure 
 From 1967 to 1997
  Richard C. S. Kinne  208
20 Million Observations: the AAVSO International Database and Its 
 First Century (Poster abstract)
  Elizabeth O. Waagen  222
Professional Astronomers in Service to the AAVSO (Poster abstract)
  Michael Saladyga, Elizabeth O. Waagen  223
The Variable Star Observations of Frank E. Seagrave (Abstract)
  Gerald P. Dyck  223
Apollo 14 Road Trip (Poster abstract)
  Paul Valleli  223
Table of Contents continued on following pages
Scientific session papers presented at the 100th Spring Meeting of
the AAVSO, in conjunction with the 218th Meeting of the American
Astronomical Society
Introduction to the Joint AAS-AAVSO Scientific Paper Sessions
  Matthew R. Templeton  226
astroPhysics With small telescoPes
Long-Term Visual Light Curves and the Role of Visual Observations 
 in Modern Astrophysics
  John R. Percy  230
Contributions by Citizen Scientists to Astronomy (Abstract)
  Arne A. Henden  239
Lessons Learned During the Recent e Aurigae Eclipse Observing 
 Campaign (Abstract)
  Robert E. Stencel  239
Cataclysmic Variables in the Backyard (Abstract)
  Joseph Patterson  240
Planet Hunting With HATNet and HATSouth (Abstract)
  Gaspar Bakos  241
The Z CamPaign Early Results (Abstract)
  Mike Simonsen  241
Variable stars in the imaging era
Variable Stars and the Asymptotic Giant Branch: Stellar Pulsations, 
 Dust Production, and Mass Loss
  Angela K. Speck  244
Interferometry and the Cepheid Distance Scale
  Thomas G. Barnes, III  256
Imaging Variable Stars With HST (Abstract)
  Margarita Karovska  265
Probing Mira Atmospheres Using Optical Interferometric Techniques
  Sam Ragland (Abstract)  265
Spots, Eclipses, and Pulsation: the Interplay of Photometry and Optical 
 Interferometric Imaging (Abstract)
  Brian K. Kloppenborg  266
Table of Contents continued on following pages
Papers and posters presented at the general and
scientific paper sessions of the Spring and Annual Meetings
Secular Variation of the Mode Amplitude-Ratio of the Double-Mode RR Lyrae Star 
 NSVS 5222076, Part 2
  David A. Hurdis, Tom Krajci  268
The Pulsational Behavior of the High Amplitude d Scuti Star RS Gruis
  Jaime Rubén García  272
RS Sagittae: the Search for Eclipses
  Jerry D. Horne  278
Intensive Observations of Cataclysmic, RR Lyrae, and High Amplitude 
 d Scuti (HADS) Variable Stars
  Franz-Josef Hambsch  289
A Study of the Orbital Periods of Deeply Eclipsing SW Sextantis Stars
  David Boyd  295
Hubble's Famous Plate of 1923: a Story of Pink Polyethylene
  David R. Soderblom  321
Things We Don’t Understand About RR Lyrae Stars
  Horace A. Smith  327
The Usefulness of Type Ia Supernovae for Cosmology—a Personal Review
  Kevin Krisciunas  334
Amateur Observing Patterns and Their Potential Impact on Variable Star Science
  Matthew R. Templeton  348
The Acquisition of Photometric Data
  Arlo U. Landolt  355
Digital Archiving: Where the Past Lives Again
  Kevin B. Paxson  360
The Effect of Online Sunspot Data on Visual Solar Observers
  Kristine Larsen  374
Adverse Health Effects of Nighttime Lighting
  Mario Motta, M.D.  380
Star Watching Promoted by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan
  Seiichi Sakuma  391
Progress Report for Adapting APASS Data Releases for the Calibration of 
 Harvard Plates
  Edward J. Los  396
Flares, Fears, and Forecasts: Public Misconceptions About the Sunspot Cycle
  Kristine Larsen  407
Table of Contents continued on following pages
AAVSO Estimates and the Nature of Type C Semiregulars: Progenitors of 
 Type II Supernovae (Abstract)
  David G. Turner, K. Moncrieff, C. Short, Robert F. Wing, Arne A. Henden  415
Preliminary Analysis of MOST Observations of the Trapezium (Abstract)
  Matthew R. Templeton, Joyce Ann Guzik, Arne A. Henden, William Herbst  415
High School Students Watching Stars Evolve (Abstract)
  John R. Percy, Drew MacNeil, Leila Meema-Coleman, Karen Morenz  416
Eclipsing Binaries That Don’t Eclipse Anymore: the Strange Case of the Once 
 (and Future?) Eclipsing Binary QX Cassiopeiae (Abstract)
  Edward F. Guinan, Michael Bonaro, Scott G. Engle, Andrej Prsa  417
High Speed UBV Photometry of e Aurigae's 2009–2011 Eclipse (Poster abstract)
  Aaron Price, Gary Billings, Bruce L. Gary, Brian K. Kloppenborg, Arne A. Henden  418
d Scorpii 2011 Periastron: Visual and Digital Photometric Campaign (Poster abstract)
  Costantino Sigismondi Sapienza  419
Bright New Type-Ia Supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101): Physical Properties 
 of SN 2011fe From Photometry and Spectroscopy (Poster abstract)
  Sai Gouravajhala, Edward F. Guinan, Louis Strolger, Andrew Gott  419
The World’s Strangest Supernova May Not Be a Supernova At All (Abstract)
  Caroline Moore  421
An Amateur-Professional International Observing Campaign for the EPOXI Mission: 
 New Insights Into Comets (Abstract)
  Karen J. Meech  422
Light Curve of Minor Planet 1026 Ingrid (Poster abstract)
  Shelby Delos, Gary Ahrendts, Timothy Barker  423
Membership of the Planetary Nebula Abell 8 in the Open Cluster Bica 6 and 
 Implications for the PN Distance Scale (Poster abstract)
  David G. Turner, Joanne M. Rosvick, D. D. Balam, Arne A. Henden, Daniel J. Majaess, 
   David J. Lane  423
What Mass Loss Modeling Tells Us About Planetary Nebulae (Abstract)
  Lee Anne Willson, Qian Wang  424
Stars, Planets, and the Weather: if You Don't Like It Wait 
 Five Billion Years (Abstract)
  Jeremy J. Drake  425
The Hunt for the Quark-Nova: a Call for Observers (Abstract)
  David J. Lane, R. Ouyed, D. Leahy, Douglas L. Welch  425
Collaborative Research Efforts for Citizen Scientists (Poster abstract)
  Brian K. Kloppenborg, Aaron Price, Rebecca Turner, Arne A. Henden, Robert E. Stencel  426
Exploring the Breadth and Sources of Variable Star Astronomers’ Astronomy 
 Knowledge: First Steps (Abstract)
  Stephanie J. Slater  427
Table of Contents continued on following pages