[vsnet-chat 4265] Re: vsnet chat topics

[Lew Cook <lcoo@yahoo.com>]

When trying to interpret a star's behavior based on visual data,
there is inevitably going to be uncertainty involved. There is
usually about a magnitude of scatter in visual observations, and I
find it not at all unusual to have a mix of "fainter than"
observations in the midst of the positive data. That is fine.

I want as much information as possible - if an observer thinks there
may have been a star visible at his or her limit of detection, I want
to know that someone looked at the field. If there was uncertainty, I
want to know there is uncertainty. What it may tell me is that the
star was no brighter than a tenth of a magnitude brighter than the
observer's limit. If that limit is 14 and I am wondering if the star
was brighter than 15, then I get no information from that piece of
data, but that is still better than not having the data reported at
all. 

Regards, Lew

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