American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)

American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) The AAVSO was founded in 1911 to coordinate variable star observations—made largely by amateur astronomers—for Harvard College Observatory.
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The AAVSO is a nonprofit worldwide scientific and educational organization of amateur and professional astronomers who are interested in stars that change in brightness—variable stars. The AAVSO was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1918 as a non-profit scientific and educational organization. Today, as an independent, private research organization headquartered in Cambridge, Ma

ssachusetts, with members and observers in 52 countries, and an archive of over 19 million variable star observations, it is the world’s largest association of variable star observers. Membership in the AAVSO is open to anyone—professionals, amateurs, and educators alike—interested in variable stars and in contributing to the support of valuable research. Professional astronomers have neither the time nor the telescopes needed to gather data on the brightness changes of thousands of variables, and amateurs make a real and useful contribution to science by observing variable stars and submitting their observations to the AAVSO International Database.

Don’t forget, there is still time to contribute to our annual campaign for the 2025 tax year. Donate now:https://www.aav...
12/30/2025

Don’t forget, there is still time to contribute to our annual campaign for the 2025 tax year. Donate now:

https://www.aavso.org/donate-now

Wishing you clear skies in 2026!

We are happy to announce that a new educator will be joining the AAVSO staff in 2026. This opportunity to expand our ser...
12/23/2025

We are happy to announce that a new educator will be joining the AAVSO staff in 2026. This opportunity to expand our services to members would not be possible without your support.

As we re-commit to providing more educational sessions and opportunities, we need your help. Make your gift today to provide invaluable support to future astronomical studies and fuel the education needed to grow variable star research.

https://linkly.link/2W6HP

We are grateful for your commitment to our mission and look forward to the discoveries that the clear skies of 2026 will bring.

Your support of the AAVSO’s annual campaign will help fund a new educator position and learning opportunities for all le...
11/20/2025

Your support of the AAVSO’s annual campaign will help fund a new educator position and learning opportunities for all levels of observers.

Donate today: https://www.aavso.org/donate-now

If you like the sound of collecting unlimited data with 24-inch remote telescopes, you won't want to miss the presentati...
11/05/2025

If you like the sound of collecting unlimited data with 24-inch remote telescopes, you won't want to miss the presentation by the AAVSOnet Section.

If recurrent novae make your heart beat fast, you’ll find a place among friends in the Cataclysmic Variables Section, one of the AAVSO's most popular.

And if the idea of splitting light from distance objects to divine their physical and chemical properties makes you starry-eyed, you’ll find the Spectroscopy SIG truly lit.

When: Saturday, November 15 at 2pm ET / 19:00 UTC
Where: Zoom
Register: https://linkly.link/2KQ1l

AAVSO Staff Astronomer Dr. Bert Pablo gave the final presentation of the Annual Meeting.Entitled “Waiting for T CrB,” Be...
11/03/2025

AAVSO Staff Astronomer Dr. Bert Pablo gave the final presentation of the Annual Meeting.

Entitled “Waiting for T CrB,” Bert highlighted some of the ways AAVSO data has been used by professional astronomers in the past year, and closed by encouraging our observers’ continued engagement and contributions.

See you next year!

The second keynote was presented by Dr. Melissa Graham, a research scientist at the Department of Astronomy, University ...
11/03/2025

The second keynote was presented by Dr. Melissa Graham, a research scientist at the Department of Astronomy, University of Washington.

Dr. Graham works with the and its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) as a Data Management Science Analyst.

An Annual Meeting would not be an Annual Meeting . . . without the group photo.A pictorial record of attendees, our grou...
11/02/2025

An Annual Meeting would not be an Annual Meeting . . . without the group photo.

A pictorial record of attendees, our group photo catalog goes back more than a century.

Compare the photos from 2025 and 1925! The century-old picture captures attendees of the Spring Meeting at the home of J. E. G. Yalden, Leonia, New Jersey, on May 23, 1925.

You can browse these images across the ages on the AAVSO website.

https://www.aavso.org/group-photographs

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185 Alewife Brook Pkwy Ste 410
Cambridge, MA
02138

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