[vsnet-chat 3475] Re: False positive obs. of V592 Her/ vsnet-obs 28772] Correction (II)

["Mike Simonsen" <mikesimonsen@mindspring.com>]

Apologies to all,

I'm afraid this is another example of what bias can do to the visual
observer. My false positive observation of V592 Her may have influenced my
friend Maciej into "expecting" to see it in outburst. I believe this is one
of the reasons the AAVSO has resisted posting notices of outbursts,
historically. They have strived, since the beginning, to have their
database, which until now has been based on visual observations primarily,
remain pure and untainted by visual observations based on preconceived
notions.

Gene Hanson has written some very enlightening articles regarding working at
the visual limit of your instrument and the evils of "bias" in visual
observations. We have posted these as articles on our astronomy club's VSO
website at-

http://home.earthlink.net/~joevp/docs/rules.html

and

http://home.earthlink.net/~joevp/docs/glimpse.html

In defense of my observations, (which my friends have let me know is now on
shaky ground at best), I have realized that my false positives seem to
happen most often on nights of exceptional clarity. I am suddenly seeing
stars in familiar fields that I have not seen before, and sometimes these
are mistaken for the variable. What can I say, after hundreds of negative
observations of EG Cnc, if I think I see it, I get all excited!

My final apologies go to those of you who have unsubscribed to the
proliferation of vsnet-lists only to have three versions of this message
reach your mailbox. Frankly, I just wasn't sure where to post this.

Humbly yours,
Mike Simonsen

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