Held on the picture perfect Big Island of Hawaii, the 91st Spring Meeting of the AAVSO and the 2nd High-Energy Astrophysics Workshop for Amateur Astronomers were both great successes. Many thanks to all who were involved in sponsoring and organizing this very unique weeklong event.
Scientific Papers
and Powerpoint Presentations (when available)
Monday, March 21
The AAVSO International High Energy Network came about as an evolution of the AAVSO International GRB Network. The GRB Network was established at the First High Energy Workshop for Amateur Astronomers in April, 2000. The GRB network was a great success, detecting many GRB afterglows and discovering a few on our own. The follow-up of GRB optical afterglows continues to be a major focus of the Network today.
A gamma-ray burst (GRB) is a brief flash of gamma rays coming from an astrophysical source at great distances from us, often from hundreds of millions of light years away. Gamma rays are a kind of light (like visible light, microwaves, or X-rays) that is very energetic, and whatever produces gamma rays must therefore contain (and unleash) a large amount of energy in a very short amount of time. Thus the study of gamma ray bursts is a study of some of the most violent events in the universe.
High Energy Network Observing Section
Section Leader: Dave Hinzel Contact
Co-leader: Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein
