Uploaded July 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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Meredith Rawls Annual Meeting 2016
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![AAVSO How to [Python! Finding Frequency Solutions for Variable Star Light Curves]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZhtHBkbTuWY/mqdefault.jpg "AAVSO How to [Python! Finding Frequency Solutions for Variable Star Light Curves]
AAVSO webinar, originally broadcast Oct. 1, 2022.
This is the second session in a three-part series. Basic knowledge of Python is assumed. If youve never used Python before, we recommend installing it and watching AAVSOs recording of the first session (The Basics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eMTgQuKGHA) before watching this one.
Many stars vary in brightness at one or many frequencies. Measuring these frequencies reveals valuable information about the physical properties of the observed systems. This tutorial demonstrates how to measure the frequencies (or periods) of variation in light curve data with the interactive Python package Pyriod. The tutorial will introduce periodograms, significance testing, and the iterative prewhitening algorithm for fitting signals to the data. Attendees will benefit from previous experience with light curves and Python, but this is not required to follow the presentation.
Dr. Bell works with time series photometry from surveys like TESS, Kepler, and the Zwicky Transient Facility. Dr. Bell is the author of the Python package Pyriod for prewhitening frequency analysis of time series astronomical data.")
![AAVSO How to [image star guts with cosmic music]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aKtQcmRtYzI/mqdefault.jpg "AAVSO How to [image star guts with cosmic music]
Originally broadcast April 2, 2022
Jim Fuller (CalTech) instructs this AAVSO How-to session
What lies at the center of a star? A stellar core is surrounded by a million Earths worth of plasma, so we cannot see it directly. However, the immense power of a star’s radiation causes nearly all stars to pulsate, creating “star quakes” at their surfaces. These oscillations are a collection of musical notes that uniquely define each star and are determined by its internal structure, just as the sound of a musical instrument is determined by its size and shape. Join us for a cosmic symphony as we journey to the center of the Sun, Saturn, white dwarfs, red giants, and heartbeat stars.
Fuller is an assistant professor in theoretical astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology. He uses asteroseismology to study the structure and evolution of all types of stars, including Sun-like stars, red giants, massive stars, white dwarfs, and even the planet Saturn.
Interested in attending a live (on Zoom) 2022 How-to session? aavso.org/2022-how-to-hours
Explore all the opportunities to make a real contribution to science with AAVSO, an international scientific and educational nonprofit: aavso.org/welcome")
![AAVSO How to [Count Sunspot Activity]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeYM3WVCxc8/mqdefault.jpg "AAVSO How to [Count Sunspot Activity]
With instructor: Dr. Kristine Larsen (Central Connecticut State University)
Original broadcast date August 6, 2022. At the time of the broadcast, the closest variable star, our sun, has begun to awaken from solar minimum, presenting observers with an ever-changing constellation of sunspots and other features. Following up on her popular 2021 webinar on how to safely observe the sun*, Dr. Kristine Larsen returns to share the ins and outs of sunspot monitoring. Measuring sunspot activity takes more finesse than merely counting the total number of spots. Learn about the care and feeding of sunspot groups, and the important role they play in measuring solar activity.
Dr. Larsen is an astronomy professor at Central Connecticut State University. Her teaching and research focus on the intersections between science and society, including Gender and Science, science and popular culture (especially science in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien), and the history of science. She has received numerous awards, and has authored several books.
* 2021 webinar on how to safely observe the sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh3FakqfbPQ&list=PLnZ_rvnR35re3ZxnumCnIesanWvUyy9eB&index=3")
