Last week I wrote about Tom Krajci and how he is supporting the work of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) and other organizations by hosting a telescope farm on his property near Cloudcroft, New Mexico. The subject of this blog post is Jim Fox who lives near the town of Mayhill, New Mexico (only a few miles from Tom Krajci). Jim also supports the work of the AAVSO but in an entirely different way. Jim is a variable star observer and the Committee Chair of the AAVSO Photoelectric Photometry (PEP) Observing Program.
Variable star observations can be done in a variety of ways but the three most common are: visual observations, photometry with a CCD camera and photoelectric photometry. Photoelectric photometry, which is Jim's specialty, requires a telescope and a photoelectric photometer. The photometer provides a precise measurement that can be converted (reduced) into a magnitude. (One company that makes photometers is Optec, Inc. You can learn more about photometers on their web site.)
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NEAF 2011 won't be held until April 16th and 17th, 2011 but if you're an amateur astronomer it's never too early to start thinking about NEAF! For those of you who have never heard of the Northeast Astronomy Forum, it is the largest amateur astronomy event in the world. It is held yearly at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY. And, yes, it is definitely worth the trip if you don't live near Suffern. (You can find a link to the NEAF web site at the bottom of this interview.)
