Observation files are not being uploaded

Sat, 06/24/2023 - 08:37

The much talked about error is appearing when i am trying to upload the txt file.

"The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later."

 

I have tried other browsers, logging out and logging in.. Even different PCs.. with the same results.. please some help me! I have piles of txt files on my computer doing nothing.

Hi, the same is happening…

Hi, the same is happening here. I tried to upload it several times and always the same message appears.

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
If you have a data file that will not upload

Hello Observers,

If you have a data file that will not upload, please send an email to <aavso@aavso.org>, explaining what happened, what error message you received, and attaching the file to your email. That way we can look at the file here at AAVSO HQ and help determine what is wrong.

Thank you, and good observing,

Elizabeth Waagen, AAVSO HQ

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Data upload problem fixed

Dear Observers,

Please accept our apologies for the recent trouble with uploading observations to the AAVSO International Database (AID).

The AID allows 6 decimal places of the JD, so if you submit an observation with more than 6 JD decimal digits, WebObs rounds it off. After the upgrade last week, this rounding function wasn’t working correctly.

It has been fixed. If you still have a problem submitting a file, please send an email to <aavso@aavso.org> along with a copy of the file.

If you are not able to upload a single observation, please fill out the form again, take a screenshot of the observation before you try to submit it, and if it fails again, send that screenshot with an email to <aavso@aavso.org>. The screenshot will allow us to see how you are filling out the fields.

Again, our apologies, and our thanks for your patience.

Good observing!

Elizabeth O. Waagen, AAVSO HQ

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Actual accuracy?

Six decimal JD digits encodes time down to less than 0.09 seconds.  Are our clocks really reliable enough to justify that precision?  I'm curious what kinds of analysis can realistically make use of such a fine slicing of time.

Tom

 

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
time precision

Some interesting points about time precision came out of the Data Quality Task Force.

You can set up a Meinberg ntp monitor on your pc ( https://www.meinbergglobal.com/english/sw/ntp.htm )
and keep you pc clock to within a few ms of the correct time. If you don't do something your PC can easily be many seconds off.

Maxim reports time accurate to the second. Yes, it will put a JD into the fits header with 10 decimal places, but that number converts back to an even second.

Maxim does offer a way to calibrate your shutter delay and will then record time to a hundredth of a second.

Certainly there is some astronomical science that wants this precision/accuracy. But you need to work to achieve it!

George