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Best software (other then Excel) for making light curves?

Sun, 10/22/2017 - 16:48

Hi Everyone,

At some point this observing season I plan on observing Algol for the Astronomical League Variable Star pin. One of the tasks is creating a light curve of the eclipse/dimming of the star for several hours with observations every 15mins.

 

Short of plotting it by hand on graph paper anyone have any suggestions for a good program? I have a Mac and don’t have MS Office on it... so no Excel :(

spp
Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Sun, 10/22/2017 - 17:29
Numbers

... Mac "Numbers".  It's probably already on your computer.

Phil

Sun, 10/22/2017 - 17:50
I just looked at Numbers and

I just looked at Numbers and the Apple website has instructions. I will give that a go with a practice run of example observations tonight and see how it does.

SFS
Affiliation
None
Sun, 10/22/2017 - 18:24
Best plottting software

It's matplotlib, by far the most versatile and capable plotting software out there.  And... it's free!  I would recommend running it under Python 3.6, as 2.7 is getting long in the tooth.  https://matplotlib.org/

CS,

Stephen

jji
Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Sun, 10/22/2017 - 18:59
VStar

VStar would easily do what you want.  Excellent program that you can download from AAVSO.

MatPlot is great for really heavy duty plotting jobs.  Available through both Python and Octave.  And of course MatLab.

 

SSFord
Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Thu, 05/04/2023 - 22:40
Cannot install VStar on macOS Monterey (v12.6.3)

I'm trying to install VStar to enable me to plot some light curves and phase plots to assist with my MSc research project. Unfortunately, I'm prevented from doing so as Apple detects this version of the app is not notarised. Apple can not scan the app for known malicious software and simply blocks the installation. It happens from macOS Catalina (v10.15) onwards.

Can someone please advise if this app is compatible with macOS Catalina onwards or if there is a new version available to download from anywhere that has been notarised? Thanks.

btschumy
Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Fri, 05/05/2023 - 14:33
Yes, VStar is compatible…

Yes, VStar is compatible with the newer versions of macOS.  However, it is not signed so you will have to bypass the security mechanism for this app only.

  1. Try to run the app and have it fail to start.
  2. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security
  3. Scroll down to the Security section and you should see a message that VStar could be started and do you want to run it anyway
  4. Click Yes (or whatever it says) and click through a couple of confirmation screens asking if you really want to do this.

After you override to run it once, you shouldn't have a problem until you install a new version.

 

sophiaWindsor02
Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Mon, 07/17/2023 - 12:02
You can use Google Sheets,…

You can use Google Sheets, Numbers on Mac, or LibreOffice Calc for plotting the light curve. Plotly is a Python library for data visualization if you're comfortable with coding. These options will help you create the light curve without resorting to manual plotting. Good luck