Astronomy & Observing News

Dusty Disk Discovered in the Twins’ Foot

A careful study of observations spanning decades has revealed that a star in Gemini is regularly eclipsed by a disk-shrouded companion.

Then and now

Celestial News & Events

The Fall and Rise of Betelgeuse

With its recent uptick in brightness, Betelgeuse appears to be slowly returning to normal. But will it? Astronomers urge us to keep watch.

Betelgeuse telescopic view

Explore the Night with Bob King

Is Betelgeuse Approaching a Crossroads?

Astronomers all over are waiting with bated breath to see what Betelgeuse will do next. Is it going to start brightening again on February 21st? Or will it continue to surprise?

People, Places, and Events

The 2020 Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award Goes To Dennis Conti

Each year, the American Astronomical Society confers the Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award for significant astronomical research carried out by an amateur astronomer. This year the award goes to Dennis Conti of the AAVSO.

V Sagittae Finder Chart

Stellar Science

Mark Your Calendar: Stellar Fireworks Predicted for 2083

According to Bradley Schaefer (Louisiana State University), the 11th-magnitude variable star, V Sagittae, will outshine Sirius and maybe even Venus — despite its distance of some 7,500 light-years.

Pro-Am Collaboration

Do You Take Spectra? Here's Where to Store Your Data — and Contribute to Science

A new database from the American Association of Variable Star Observers enables astronomers (amateur and professional alike) to store data from any variable object in the sky.

microlensing diagram

Exoplanets

Observations Confirm Lensing Planet Discovered by Amateur

Follow-up observations of an amateur-discovered exoplanet show that the planet orbits its star at the snow line, where ice giants may form.

U Cam mass loss

Stellar Science

Century of Amateur Observations Shed Light on Star's Evolution

The amateurs of the AAVSO monitored the star T Ursae Minoris for a century. Now, astronomers think they can explain the star's recent change in behavior.

Pro-Am Collaboration

From Lunar Flashes to Variable Stars: Pro-Am Astronomy Projects

Track satellites, spot flashes on the Moon, monitor violent stars — learn how amateur astronomers can become involved in professional science.

Deep Sky

Hunting Bright Variable Stars in M5 and M13

Globular clusters are packed with variable stars, some of which are easy to see and follow in amateur telescopes. We explore M5 and M13, two of the season's finest.

Illustration of planet transit

Exoplanets

Amateur Planet Hunters Have a New Online Resource

A database run by the American Association of Variable Star Observers will organize and archive data on transiting exoplanets collected by amateur astronomers.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Dwarf Nova V392 Persei Goes Big — It's Now Binocular Bright

In a rare move, a sleepy cataclysmic variable blows its top and suddenly becomes a nova.

Two For T

Variable Stars

Is T CrB About to Blow its Top?

The recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis last made a splash just after World War II. Does its current restive state hint at an imminent outburst?

Stella Kafka

People, Places, and Events

Stellar New Director for AAVSO

The appropriately named Stella Kafka has been named the newest in a series of esteemed directors of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.

Variable Stars

Meet My Variable Friend SS Cygni

Get acquainted with SS Cygni, the sky's brightest cataclysmic variable star. It's guaranteed to keep you on your toes.

People, Places, and Events

Past Meets Future at AAVSO's Centennial

Variable-star observers gathered to celebrate astronomy's most successful citizen-science organization. But old ways are ending, and a very different next century lies ahead for the AAVSO.

AAVSO

A New Foundation for the AAVSO

The American Association of Variable Star Observers is moving into Sky & Telescope's old headquarters at 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

AAVSO

AAVSO Names New Director

The American Association of Variable Star Observers announced that Arne A. Henden will be the new director.