Today's AAVSO Acronym is VSP – Variable Star Plotter.
Variable star charts and sequences are the most essential tools for acquiring accurate variable star measurements. The Variable Star Plotter (VSP) is the AAVSO's online chart plotting program that dynamically plots star charts for any location on the sky, or for any named object currently in the Variable Star Index (VSX). By creating charts this way, every chart utilizes the most current photometric data available. Customizable field of view, print resolution, magnitude limit, and orientation can be set for any chart plotted, or these values can be auto-assigned by selecting from one of the legacy chart scales familiar to many of our long-time observers. The charts produced by this tool include comparison star labels for visual magnitude estimations. You can also call up the photometric data used for the comparison sequence as another option.
This is just one example of the tools and programs the AAVSO provides to its members, observers and the astronomical community. Please help support these services by contributing to this year's Annual Campaign.
You can mail a check to AAVSO headquarters, or you can make a donation online. Just click the Donate Now button on our home page and select Annual Campaign in the drop down menu.
Maybe today or this week isn't the best time for you to make a donation. That's okay, make a pledge. We'll take you at your word if you promise to make a donation to the Annual Campaign before June 30, 2014. To make a pledge click here.