Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Instruction by Dr. Barbara Harris, who encourages you to use your DSLR to contribute to science by measuring the brightness of variable stars, and walk you through how.
Explore AAVSO and find out how YOU can make a meaningful contribution to science at aavso.org
Instruction by Dr. Barbara Harris, who encourages you to use your DSLR to contribute to science by measuring the brightness of variable stars, and walk you through how.
Explore AAVSO and find out how YOU can make a meaningful contribution to science at aavso.org
![AAVSO How to [Observe Variable Stars with Binoculars]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9fyFoeMIEX8/mqdefault.jpg "AAVSO How to [Observe Variable Stars with Binoculars]
AAVSO webinar originally broadcast Jan. 13, 2023
Instructor: Dr. Sherrill Shaffer
Webinar description: Visual observing is an easy way to make a valuable contribution to science, even if you dont have much time or cant afford a telescope. There are hundreds of variable stars visible to the naked eye, and tens of thousands visible with binoculars, meaning that youll never run out of fascinating targets to keep an eye on.
A few of the topics covered:
- Why should you make visual observations of variable stars?
- Which variable stars should you observe?
- How to get and use charts
- How to make an estimate of your target’s brightness
- How to record and report your observations
- Whats the best observing cadence?
- Equipment for observing
- Tips & tricks for better observing
Meet your instructor: Sherrill Shaffer has contributed more than 24,000 visual observations to the AAVSO’s database, most of them using binoculars. He also plays an important role in AAVSO’s data validation process and is an AAVSO Mentor to other visual observers. Shaffers Ph.D. is from Stanford University, and he has held affiliations with the Federal Reserve, the University of Wyoming, and the Australian National University. He is a retired economist who has been an amateur astronomer for more than 30 years, and an active variable star observer since 2009.
Useful links:
- Dr. Shaffers further reading document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12NFLk15lSZD6 b6kmCfDXzw5hH2N2ItXZ8R3ofDB_4/edit?usp=sharing
- 11-star tutorial for southern hemisphere observers and 10-star tutorial for northern hemisphere observers: https://www.aavso.org/10-star-training
- https://www.aavso.org/programs-events")
