Fri, 03/15/2019 - 03:04
While doing a deep dive into the AAVSO website I happened upon the page "Program stars in need of observation" (https://www.aavso.org/program-stars-need-observation). I found the .csv file linked to from this page to be a very convenient resource for planning observations that will be of high value to the organization. However, when I tried to locate this page some days later I couldn't remember how I came to find it in the first place! Luckily it popped up in my web browser history when I typed in 'program'. Might I suggest that a link to this page be put in some prominent locations-- such as an entry under the 'Observing' tab, and/or a link on the 'Observing Sections' page?
--Bill
Hello Bill
Have you looked at the Target Tool (available on pull down of Observation). It gives the latest info on what has been observed, and what needs to be observed, and can be sorted by Variable Type, and if you put in your observing location, it will determine what is up tonight. Might be a better option.
Gary
Hi Gary, thanks for the response. I have used the Target Tool a little bit-- it's not clear to me that you can filter for 'program stars' which the page I cited above defines as
'stars for which observations are strongly encouraged. These are primarily stars for which the AAVSO already has well-covered light curves spanning several decades or longer, and for which we deem there is value in continuing observations indefinitely.'
For those of you who want to find the CSV file from the homepage, you start there, pull down the menu under "Observing," and click on "Observing at a glance." That takes you to a page with a section labled "What Should I Observe?" where there is a link called "Program Stars in Need of Observation". That takes you to a page that has the link to download the file. (Yeah, I agree, it's a bit buried.)
Thanks Conan. As you say, the link is right there on https://www.aavso.org/observers; when clicking on the 'Observing Sections' pull-down item you are brought to that same page, but scrolled down below the 'What Should I Observe' box, causing me to overlook it.