Can u pls raise my interest in Binary/Variable Star observing?

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Hey,

Was wondering what are peoples interests and reasons for Binary/Variable star observing? What are best methods/stars to observe for a beginner?

Thanks alot guys for your help.

[Ian Robinson]

Irregulars and flare stars and novae are more interesting than binaries.

If you are in a club , there will likely be a few people who can show you the ropes and might be willing to take you under their wing and get you started with some comparison charts, and who will happily collect your observations and send them on.

You don't need a big telescope to observe variables , I did most of my observing with a pair of binoculars, only using my telescope to view the fainter variables.

Good starters this time of year are RY Sgr, Eta Car, any novae or recurrent novae or WRS or accessable supernovae, bsst to start off with only a few targets , and as you get more into it, build it up. You'll get to the point that you no longer need to refer to the comparison chart to know the brightness of the comparison stars and where there they are.

Best to observe 2 or 3 times a weeks max (unless something dramatic is happening - ie a flare up or an novae or supernovae - be great to be the person who first detected the supernova of Eta Car !!!

AAVSO , BAA are good places to visit to find out what's happening and to get hold of comparison charts.(downloadable now a days).

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Variables are something I'd also like to get into. Try visiting the AAVSO website http://www.aavso.org/ or the RASNZ variable star section http://www.rasnz.org.nz/vss/vss.htm. I believe that if you contact Pauline Loader through RASNZ she has CDs with useful resources that you can get for cost.

[DaveO (David)]

Hi

Why get involved in either? Well the chance to do "real science" is a big factor. I know that some people get their buzz from taking images (and hey, it is fun), but I decided some time ago that my main interest was in doing something that contributed to the greater whole.

Both fields (and occulations too) allow amateurs to make observations that the professionals don't have the time or coverage to attempt. The data gets collated, and can be used for publishable research, and in turn used by professionals to focus their limited resources.

The AAVSO is definitely the place to go for starters if you are interested in variables. One thing I can say is that there is a lot of excitement from realising that with a humble set of binoculars you can make a reasonably accurate measurement of a star's magnitude to +/- 0.2 mags (yes, maybe I need to get out more!!). Never thought I could do it until I was shown.

These days I am getting interested in eclipsing binaries, thereby reconciling my diverse interests in binaries and variables! I'm doing that with remote robotic scopes, which shows you don't even need to own a scope to be able to get involved.

Good luck finding out what interests you most.

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Thanks guys for all your help greatly appreciated.