Epsilon Aurigae and Citizen Sky

It's back! The AAVSO podcast for 365 Days of Astronomy is here.

In this episode, I interview Rebecca Turner, project manager for Citizen Sky to find out all about the strange star epsilon Aurigae and the AAVSO�s citizen science project to study it. This will be the largest citizen science research project in history, and the goal is to understand one of the most enigmatic stars in the sky.

Carnival of Space #133

The 133rd Carnival of Space is hosted this week at Next Big Future. Next Big Future is a blog featuring articles about nanotechnology, nuclear and energy technology, quantum computers, life extension, space technology and AI. Proposing and tracking the best societal, business and technical choices to the next big things that will shape our future. Check out the passenger configuration video for current aircraft and future space flight. I would kill for a nice big seat with the option to lay down on those long trans-oceanic flights.

I guess I was in more of a look at the pretty pictures mood as I read through the Carnival this week. My favorites were:

The exploration of Eddington crater, from the authors own telescope to views retrieved and produced online gives you an idea of all the tools amateur astronomers and citizen scientists have at their disposal these days. Two big thumbs up from the Simostronomer.

Bad Astronmer, Phil Plait, actually did a blog about astronomy last week, covering the mosaic image of galaxies from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey Deep Field #1. I'll give him props for showing me the cool 'zoom in to freak out' tool from CFHT. Hubble has a zoom in tool online now too you can find here.
Check these and the other great pieces out at Carnival of Space 133.

Astronomy.FM Every Day-and Friday Night!

From modest beginnings, Astronomy.FM has begun to really gain traction in the online astronomy community. If you haven't heard the buzz you can tune in any time to see what is happening. Astronomy.FM Radio has astronomy related programming running 24 hours a day. Note: the Radio Schedule is in Universal Time.

Some well-known favorites are on the air each week- Astronomy Cast, 365 Days of Astronomy, Are We Alone?, Skepticality, The Naked Scientists, and if you haven't heard Space Pirate Radio! you are missing some real fun.

Friday night at 9PM EST (Sat 02:00UT) I will be on the air LIVE with Marty Kunz on the Event Horizon show. We'll be talking about the AAVSO, variable stars, cataclysmic variables, Citizen Sky, epsilon Aurigae, and whatever else we can squeeze into an hour show. If you miss the live show because you're on a hot date or out at the telescope, the taped show will run every four hours Saturday UT.

I'm looking forward to joining Marty, and I hope you tune it to check out the show. But you don't have to wait until Friday. There is something cool going on at Astronomy.FM all day, every day. Check it out!

Timothy Ferris Narrates Epsilon Aurigae Video

This is a new planetarium show trailer developed for the Citizen Sky project, narrated by Timothy Ferris and developed by the California Academies of Sciences Morrison Planetarium, directed by Ryan Wyatt.

The Workshop Continues

Aaron Price began his talk explaining the Citizen Sky website and how visual observers will upload their observations to the database. Once we got to the light curve display the talk turned into more of a town hall meeting. There were many, many, questions and comments about Julian Dates, light curves, the value of teaching the science ad making things simpler or more complicated. One thing is for sure, the audience is into it!

I'm pretty sure we missed out on a lot of material Aaron planned to present, but I think the points and questions raised will go a long way to making this whole project better.

Rebecca is introducing the 'team' concept behind some of the activities of Citizen Sky. The flagship team is the team currently developing VSTAR, the educational and analytical software being developed for Citizen Sky.

My talk with Aaron on Education and Outreach is after the next coffee break. This will be my last blog from Adler today.Tomorrow I am back on the road, driving to New York for the Astronomical League Convention.

Dr. Bob Stencel at Adler

'Dr. Bob' is explaining to the crowd here at Adler what is so interesting about epsilon Aurigae.

Thankfully, all these talks will be posted online at Citizen Sky. Dr. Bob's talk is going into a great deal of depth regarding the history and mystery of epsilon Aurigae. His overview of the evolution of the theories and models of eps Aur shows how the observations drove the theory. Lots of ideas fell by the wayside because they didn't match the observations.

Another interesting set of infrared data was taken during daylight! If you have the right equipment you don't have to stay up late or get up early to take data...cool. That should make a lot of people happy.

Epsilon Aurigae Workshp LIVE

Today we are at the Adler planetarium in Chicago, attending the Epsilon Aurigae/Citizen Sky workshop.

You can follow my Tweets on this workshop today at Simostronomy on Twitter.

The official welcome was handles by Dr. Arne Henden, Director of the AAVSO. Jennifer Borland explained how participants and their EPO activities will be evaluated. Evaluation is always an important part of the grant process. Since this project is funded by the National Science Foundation, everyone participating will be required to report their successes and results so that the impact of this project on science and education can be effectively evaluated.

Rebecca Turner (AAVSO) is now giving an overview of the Citizen Sky project.

Citizen Sky is the largest citizen science project ever attempted. 2009 happens to be the International Year of Astronomy, and it also happens to be the year that the mysterious star epsilon Aurigae will go into eclipse. An event that only happens every 27.1 years. There is a lot to learn about this mysterious star. For more information on epsilon Aurigae see http://www.citizensky.org/content/star-our-project.

Citizen scientists will be recruited and trained to observe, collect and analyze data, and ultimately publish their results as we try to understand this enigmatic object.
I'll report back ater some of the morning sessions have concluded.

Science Made Fun

In case you haven't seen this yet, you've got to see the Lite Brite video on the Citizen Sky website. It's a humorous and fun explanation of what the epsilon Aurigae eclipse and Citizen Sky are all about.

Reach For The Citizen Sky

The press release for Citizen Sky came out yesterday. It was picked up on right away by WIRED magazine. Here is the official version, complete with awesome illustrations.



This fall a bright star will begin a puzzling transformation that only happens every 27 years. To help study this event, astronomers have launched a new citizen science project called �CitizenSky� at www.citizensky.org.



Epsilon Aurigae is a bright star that can be seen with the unaided eye even in bright urban areas of the northern hemisphere from fall to spring. This Fall it is predicted to gradually lose half its brightness until early winter. It will remain faint during all of 2010 before slowly regaining its normal brightness by the summer of 2011.

--> An artistic representation by Citizen Sky participant Brian Thieme of the epsilon Aurigae system as seen at high inclination and from within the system. Image credit: www.citizensky.org and Brian Thieme


Since its discovery in 1821, the cause of this dip in brightness has remained a mystery to astronomers. But this time they have a powerful new resource to help study the upcoming event: thousands of citizen scientists.



�This star is too bright to be observed with the vast majority of professional telescopes, so this is another area where public help is needed,� said Dr. Arne Henden, director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).



Supported by a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation, CitizenSky will recruit, train, and coordinate public participation in this project. What makes this project different from previous citizen science projects is its emphasis on participation in the full scientific method. Participants are not being asked simply to collect data. They will also be trained to analyze data, create and test their own hypotheses, and to write papers for publication in professional astronomy journals. Participants can work alone on all phases of the project or they can focus on one stage and team up with others.



�Citizen science can be much more than data collection. Participants often have real-world experience and/or advanced degrees in areas that can be applied to astronomy. Our goal is to introduce the public to authentic science and at the same time use this talent to help astronomers,� Henden said.



The lead astronomer for this project is Dr. Robert Stencel, the William Herschel Womble Professor of Astronomy at Denver University. Dr. Bob, as the amateur astronomy community knows him, studied the last event in 1982-84 while working at NASA. �This is truly an amazing star system. It contains both a supergiant star and a mysterious companion. If the supergiant was in our solar system, its diameter would extend to Earth, engulfing us,� Stencel said. �The companion only makes its presence known every 27 years and is a type of �dark matter� in that we indirectly detect its presence but don�t know what it is.



�To make things even more fun, we also have some evidence of a substantial mass, perhaps a large planet, spiraling into the mysterious dark companion object. Observations during the upcoming eclipse will be key to understanding this and predicting what will happen if the putative planet does eventually fall into the star,� Dr. Bob added.

--> An artistic representation by Citizen Sky participant Nico Comargo of the epsilon Aurigae system as seen at low inclination. Image credit: www.citizensky.org and Nico Comargo


CitizenSky is a collaboration of the AAVSO, Denver University, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Johns Hopkins University, and the California Academy of Sciences. The United Nations and the United States Congress have both endorsed 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). CitizenSky was developed as part of the coordinated United States� IYA effort.



The AAVSO (www.aavso.org) is one of the oldest citizen science organizations in the United States. It has been training and coordinating amateur astronomers since 1911. Their database of variable star brightness estimates includes over 18 million observations of over 8,000 stars. They currently have around 1,200 active observers located in 45 countries. They also publish the Journal of the AAVSO, a professionally-reviewed publication in which amateur astronomers can publish research papers.

Simple, Exquisite Beauty

Making naked eye and observations for the Citizen Sky project has put me back in touch with the night sky on a level I didn�t realize I was missing.

Image credit: Rob Beaird http://robsreflections.wordpress.com/

On a typical clear night, I�ll spend anywhere from two to eight hours racing from one variable star field to another with the visual scope, under the protection of an observatory dome, or at the controls of my CCD telescope slewing and centering targets and watching images download on a computer screen from inside a warm room. I only see a small portion of the sky through the dome slot, eyepiece or on the monitor.

When a bright meteor flashes through the sky I rarely see it, unless I happen to be standing outside taking a break. I often don�t even know the weather is changing until the images in the eyepiece or on the screen start to deteriorate. Then I walk outside and look up to see if it�s a total wash out or just a passing cloud or two.

Now I find myself taking longer breaks from the telescope and spending some quiet time alone with the Universe. Just me and the night sky I fell in love with long ago. I�ve come to appreciate the simple majesty of those bright stars shining down on Earth just as they have for thousands of years. And over the course of the last year I�ve become familiar with several naked eye variables that I now keep track of.

I�ve followed an eclipse of Algol through the course of an evening. The first time I ever did it was at the AAVSO spring meeting in Nantucket, on the night we had the star party and tour of the Maria Mitchell Observatory. It was already halfway to minimum when I first noticed it, but I was able to follow it every half hour or so as it faded to minimum and then rose back to maximum. Clouds rolled in over the island in the early morning hours, so I didn�t get to see it back at full strength until the following night, but it made a lasting impression on me.

I�ve begun tracking the changes of delta and mu Cephei. Delta Cephei is the prototype of an entire class of astronomically significant variables. Cepheid variables are used to calibrate distances to far off stars and galaxies. Mu Cephei is also known as Herschel�s Garnet Star. It�s an orangish semi-regular variable that has been observed by variable star observers for over one hundred years.

As autumn approaches, the winter constellations are beginning to make their presence known again before dawn. I�ve spent a lot of time admiring the fiery bright winter constellations of Orion, Taurus, Gemini, and Auriga as they rise to fill the pre-dawn sky. I find myself fixing my gaze on eta Geminorum, Betelgeuse, Algol and epsilon Aurigae now, instead of racing from sideways �Y� of Taurus, through the Pleiades, up the curve of stars that is Perseus� lower branch through Auriga and on to Cassiopeia. Now I have little rest areas along the way.

A calmness and sense of satisfaction comes over me when life slows down and fills these moments with the perfect silence that is 5 o�clock in the morning. The sound of a hoot owl in a nearby tree reminds me I am not alone, and we share the view as dawn begins to break in the east. Swiftly and silently, a meteor streaks across the sky and I smile to myself, because I didn�t miss that one.

Avoiding Bias: Simonsen's Rules for Variable Star Observing

There has been some recent discussion on the Citizen Sky website about looking at the light curve or checking the quick look data of a star you are observing. The main concern revolves around observers having too much information, or a preconceived notion, before making an observation. We call this bias. The term biased is used to describe an action, judgment, or other outcome influenced by a prejudged perspective. In variable star observing, or any scientific investigation, bias is a bad thing.

Half the fun of variable star observing for me is precisely the fact that I don�t know what my favorite variable star is doing at any given moment for sure. It�s why I climb out of bed in the middle of the night in the winter to go observe them. I can�t wait to see what they are up to. If I already knew, or thought I knew, there would be no reason to lose sleep.

So the first part of my advice is simple- don�t look at the light curve or recent data on a variable star you plan to observe before you observe it. You risk biasing your observation, and you�re missing out on the fun. The science is usually the reason people start doing this, and the fun they discover along the way is why they keep doing it for years and years. To risk either is, well�stupid!

By all means, when you are done, and have reported your observation, go look at how it compares to other observers� data and see where it fits in the light curve. This is valuable feedback, you�re probably going to be quite happy with your result, and you can be proud of your contribution to science for the night.


If your observation looks different than other observers, don�t worry too much about that either. Don�t assume the other guy is a better, more experienced, more correct observer than you, even if he used a CCD or the Binford 9000 photometry device. He could be a half-blind, one-eyed village idiot for all you know. The other guy or gal might not even have been looking at the same star you were.

I was taught some basic rules for observing (a very long time ago) when I started out. These rules have been passed down from generation to generation, so they are not specifically mine, or necessarily original, but we shall hereby refer to them as �Simonsen�s Rules for Variable Star Observing.�

Rule #1- Be sure you are measuring the right star. Always be very conscientious when identifying the variable. There is nothing more useless than an observation of the wrong star!

Rule #2- Report exactly what you see, not what you think you should be seeing�period.

Rule #3- Bias is your enemy; avoid it. (see rule #2)

This may be difficult for some people, so here are some tips for overcoming your preconceived notions.

If you see the observations of some other observer(s) beforehand-
1. Assume they are lying to deceive you!
2. Know they are bad observers, so their opinion is worthless!
3. They could be, and probably are, completely crazy. How many variable star observers have you met? I rest my case.

If the bias is some personal belief, based on your own preconceived notion, realize that-
1. You are lying to yourself! (and now you are talking to yourself�hmm)
2. You are a bad observer (you should know!) and your opinion is worthless.
3. You are obviously schizophrenic � you are in fact crazy!

Rule #4- We never know for certain what a variable star will do from moment to moment. Therefore, you can never be certain what your star is doing at any given moment, that�s why we do this. This can be added to the reasons bias should be avoided.

Rule #5- Make every observation as if you are the only one looking at your star at this moment. You may not have to pretend. The number of variable star observers worldwide is so small this is often the case. You are special; don�t forget that.

Rule #6- Have fun.
For astronomers, the universe is our laboratory. It�s beautiful, mysterious, impressive, awe-inspiring, and humbling, and it�s ours. Enjoy it.