[vsnet-chat 874] Re: Magnitudes, sequences, etc

[bas@lowell.Lowell.Edu (Brian Skiff)]

     Well, if Kiyota-san is getting results but not distributing them, then
how will we know about them, use them, or even know what objects still need
work?  If he and others are hesitant about publishing possibly erroneous
results, then I'm sure there are enough experienced photometrists associated
with VSNET in various countries who would be willing to check things.  Before
long the amateur observers will become experts themselvesand will know from
their reductions which of their results are reliable and to what level.
     It seems to me that just _one_ observer of sequences in each hemisphere
(north/south) would greatly reduce the problems.  I would like to be able to
do more of them, but my present observing schedule (the stuff I'm paid to do)
is such that they will be slow in coming.
     As an aside to any students or professionals who might be reading this
that are involved with supernova (or other) photometry:  even just one or two
nights of calibrated photometry on even a couple of stars in a field of
interest is sufficient for most purposes.  The Ouda group (for instance) can
use those few stars to set zero-points for the rest of the field working
differnetially from your data.  The main thing is to get those few data out
soonest so that others can make use of them.  Accuracy at the 0.05 mag. level
is adequate.
     Besides distribution over VSNET, there's a perfect vehicle for publishing
the sequences done by amateurs, which is the IBVS.  These are published
rapidly, are free of page charges, and are indexed by SIMBAD, so the 
information in them receives wide circulation.  Importantly also, they are
available via the Web, so one does not even need to subscribe in order to read
them.  Many amateurs already publish regularly in IBVS.

\Brian

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