[vsnet-obs 38677] Re: [vsnet-chat 5127] Curious observations

[Taichi Kato <tkato@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp>]

Re: [vsnet-chat 5127] Curious observations

   As an observer (at least in the past) I understand these circumstances
can happen any time, and most of them are easy to distinguish (other than
typos in observed times etc.).

> 1- Typos-

   I can see "V383 Mon should read V838 Mon" etc. and silently corrected
these apparent errors, and deleted at least some observations of
"magnitude 0.0" or something like that.

> 2-Mis-identifications-

   These cases are also well known.  In these cases, the observer often can
tell which observation is wrong or which asterism confused the
identification.  As Mike has shown, this kind of erraneous observation
is mostly frequently met when the observer is yet unfamiliar with the
field.  Y. Watanabe's case in V838 Mon (rapid fading) perfectly matches
this condition.  But this kind of errors would not explain errors made
by well-experienced observers in nightly observed fields.

> Most amateurs do this because it is fun, but deep down I think many of us do
> it because it is also challenging and sometimes difficult. If it were too
> easy it would be boring. So mistakes will happen.

   I can fully understand unavoidable mistakes under such challenging
conditions.  They are of more "random" in nature (than what I wrote
yesterday), and often appear as false alarms or uncertain outburst
detections.  We deliberately handle these observations, and often try
to check the validity of these possible detections.  These circumstances
would not adequately explain delayed fading of outbursts, though...

> Observers can check their own observations against what other observers are
> reporting, and others may note your mistakes and report them to you to
> correct. As long as it is done in a courteous and professional manner I
> don't think anyone minds. We're all friends here.

   Prefectly correct!  This is the key process of "quality control" in
VSNET!

Regards,
Taichi Kato

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