From jop at astro.columbia.edu Wed May 3 05:58:47 2006 From: jop at astro.columbia.edu (Joe Patterson) Date: Wed, 3 May 2006 05:58:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: (cba:news) dates for big bear conference Message-ID: <200605030958.k439wli23040@fidelio.phys.columbia.edu> Hi CBAers, Here's a summary of plans/dates for the upcoming conference in Big Bear Lake (CA). Monday May 22: Some of us arrive. I expect to be arriving that night, driving from Tucson. Tuesday May 23: Others arrive. I believe that Tonny and Jerry are scheduled to give workshops on that day. Others too - I dunno this schedule exactly. Wednesday and Thursday May 23-24: The conference. You can find the program details at the "socastrosci" website, where you can also register, obtain info on lodging, etc. Friday May 25: Some of us leave. Others may wish to stay for some part of the Riverside Telescope Makers' Conference, which starts today just a few miles away. It's probably the biggest gathering of amateur astronomers in the world, and I recommend it. I'm not sure whether I will stay for this extra day; I think not, since I have an observing run ongoing on Kitt Peak. Commentary on STARS tomorrow. However, I'm still warmly commending SDSS1238-03. Despite its faintness, this star is still very worthwhile for study - mainly for the very strange 7.7 hr period in its light curve. Hold until relieved! joe From jop at astro.columbia.edu Wed May 17 08:55:17 2006 From: jop at astro.columbia.edu (Joe Patterson) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 08:55:17 -0400 (EDT) Subject: (cba:news) may cba targets Message-ID: Hi CBAers, Graduation day comes at last. Time for desk cleaning, mid-term exam tossing, and general refocus of the mind. And tomorrow I leave for a long observing run. The marches of Sun (mostly) and Moon (somewhat) force a changing of targets. Time to abandon SDSS1238-03. The 2006 coverage is eminently ripe for publishing, and establishes both the existence of a 9 hr cycle (previously known) and its coherence timescale (not previously known). I'm really happy about it! But the runs are getting too short, and the Moon too bright. The best targets for the next ~10 days are pretty bright. In the south, it's still EX Hya and HP Lib, with the latter probably of somewhat higher priority. And slightly later on in the night, it's V617 Sgr and V1223 Sgr. Long coverage is ideal for these stars, as is almost always true for our targets. At the end of the night, there's FO Aqr and AO Psc; much too early to permit long runs on these guys, but 1-2 hour runs to establish early-season pulse timings would be great. In the north, it's a simpler menu: HP Lib and RX1643+34 ("Her"). The latter should be good for all-nighters this time of year! About a dozen of us will be attending the SAS convention in Big Bear. A few notes relevant to this: 1. Southern California is very sunny in May; in the lowlands (practically everything is the lowlands), dress for summer. However, Big Bear itself is at 7000 feet, PLUS has a large diurnal temperature range. So you'll need some clothing suitable for the very cold nights. It does warm up pretty fast when the sun comes up. 2. If you have some footwear for light hiking, that would be nice. Plenty of such opportunities in the area. 3. You can find a schedule of events at the "socastrosci" website. I expect to arrive late Monday night, staying till Friday. I'll be able to read email for 1 more day, then out of touch till very late Friday night. joe From jop at astro.columbia.edu Wed May 31 10:04:45 2006 From: jop at astro.columbia.edu (Joe Patterson) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 10:04:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: (cba:news) V337 Cyg Message-ID: Dear CBAers, I'm flying back to NYC in an hour, and will write re all the various SAS/CBA/Kitt Peak matters tomorrow or the next. But Tom's report of superhumps means that we ought to jump on this star now - until it fades from view. That's likely to be soon, since it has been in superoutburst for a while. But carpe diem... talk to you in a day! joe