The AAVSO turns 100

July 2011: An astronomical family stays strong after a century's worth of observations.

Contributed by David H. Levy

Published: May 23, 2011

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (seen here at its seventh annual meeting in 1918) will celebrate its centennial in October, but its work is still vital and it still feels more like a family than anything else. American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)

Last month’s Astronomy carried an article I wrote about the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), which this fall celebrates the centenary of an idea. The plan, as it stood in 1911, was not to increase the number of scientists, but to organize an observing campaign that followed the changing brightness of variable stars. Ever since, amateur astronomers have contributed millions of such observations.

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