AAVSO observer

Thanks to the efforts of Cheng Simiao, a young and very enthusiastic observer from Beijing, we now have a new, more up-to-date Chinese version of the "Manual for Visual Observing of Variable Stars" available for download. He wishes that this edition be thought of as a 100th birthday present to the AAVSO as well as an 18th birthday gift to himself.

Congratulations and many thanks to Mr. Cheng!

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing away of longtime AAVSO member and observer Thomas A. Cragg. According to his beloved wife, Mary, Tom passed peacefully on 6 May 2011 at 1 pm (New South Wales, Australia, time).