They asked questions about the AAVSO, variable stars and my own personal story. They were also interested in how much I knew about their science and astronomy culture and history. I hope I passed the 'Ugly American Test'!
It also dawned on me that this is probably why I've had a sudden surge in Facebook friend requests from the Middle East. It's good to know that in spite of our governments' differences, people can still communicate in the universal language of curiosity and the pursuit of scientific answers.
Assuming that most or all of the questions and answers exchanged in the interview made it into print, here is the text of the interview I returned to them.
Please tell us about yourself and
AAVSO.
Founded
in 1911, the AAVSO is the world’s largest variable star organization, and is
the world leader in information and data on variable stars. The AAVSO
coordinates, evaluates, compiles, processes, publishes, and disseminates
variable star observations to the astronomical community throughout the world.
We have approximately 1200 members and 2500 observers from countries all over
the world. In 2011, we celebrated our 100th year of collecting and
archiving variable star data.
I
am one of the world’s most active variable star observers. I observe
cataclysmic variables and long period variables, like Mira, using my own
telescopes and robotic telescopes that are part of the AAVSO’s robotic
telescope network, AAVSOnet.
I
work for the AAVSO as Membership Director and Development Officer. My primary
responsibilities are to serve our current members and to grow the membership,
as well as to obtain funding to support the organization's mission and
programs.
However,
like most people who work for a non-profit science organization, I wear many
hats. I am also in charge of variable star chart production for the AAVSO, a
contributing author of the AAVSO Newsletter, coordinator of the AAVSO Mentor
Program, and administrator of the Cataclysmic Variable Section, LPV Section,
Speakers Bureau, Writers Bureau and Facebook page.
What is the main goal of the
association and who are the key member of the scientific committee in AAVSO?
The
AAVSO is an international non-profit organization of variable star observers
whose mission is:
- to observe and analyze variable stars
- to collect and archive observations for worldwide access
- to forge strong collaborations between amateur and professional astronomers
- to promote scientific research and education using variable star data.
The
AAVSO Director, Dr. Arne Henden, is the chief operating officer and
astronomical representative of the organization. Dr. Matthew Templeton is the
Science Director. The other acting science committee chairs are actually the
observing section leaders, who are divided among the major different types of
variable stars.
Were you interested in astronomy from
childhood or by chance you got into this field?
My
interest was inspired by a science teacher in grade school who told us we could
calculate the approximate height of mountains on the Moon using the angle of
the Sun to our point of view and the shadows they cast. I thought, “Mountains
on the Moon? What do those look like?” From that moment on I was completely
fascinated by astronomy. I bought a small telescope with money from my
newspaper route and read every book in our public library by the time I was a
teenager.
Like
many of us, my interest in astronomy waned as a young adult. I was busy going
to university, building a career, getting married and raising a family. I did
not become a professional astronomer, I was a musician, and then later a
landscape designer/contractor. There was little time for hobbies or obsessions
like astronomy. The desire to own a big telescope and contribute to science was
buried deep in my heart; I just didn’t have the time or money to follow up on
it until I got older.
In
1998, my father-in-law bought a small telescope and had astronomy magazines
strewn on his coffee table when we went to visit him. Seeing them and
discussing astronomy with him rekindled the fire in me. This time it could not
be contained. I bought the telescope of my dreams, learned how to navigate the
stars, and began observing variable stars like a man obsessed.
At the time when you joined astronomy,
at what level was the science of Astronomy of the world compared to today?
Since
I returned to astronomy our basic understanding of the Universe has not changed
that much. But there are some things that have been discovered in the last
decade that are pretty remarkable, like the acceleration of the expansion of
the universe, the number and variety of planets around other stars, the nature
of gamma ray bursts, and the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
Which one of Iranian scientist do you
know? How much you know about “Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi” , “Khaje Nasir al-Din
al-Tusi” and “Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni”and... ? how about amateur astronomers?
The
most famous Iranian scientists I know of is the brilliant Professor Mahmoud
Hesabi, who is of course the father of physics and space science in Iran. I am
not very familiar with any contemporary scientists.
I
know of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi because of his historical brightness estimates of
stars, particularly, Polaris, the North Star. A colleague of mine has used them
in a study of the long-term changes in Polaris’ brightness. Polaris is a
Cepheid variable, but its overall brightness appears to have changed over the
last several hundred years. This could not be known without accurate historical
records like those of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi.
Khaje
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi was a pre-Copernican scientists and philosopher, but I do
not know very much about his specific achievements or his life and career. Abu
al-Rayhan al-Biruni is not a name I know. I hope I have not flunked the exam!
I
do not know any Iranian amateur astronomers personally, but I am beginning to
have contact with more and more Iranian students and scientists through
Facebook and other social media these days. The AAVSO and I are very willing to
make friends with people all over the world who are interested in variable
stars, stellar evolution and research.
Recently the study of Astronomy has
been increasing from universities to schools and even public places like parks,
can you give me a reason for this?
I
think everyone has a curiosity about the heavens and the stars and where we
came from and what is the ultimate fate of the Universe. Religion and
philosophy attempt to provide many of those answers, but mankind is a curious
beast and his inquiries have led him to investigate the Universe with the tools
and methods of science.
This
is undoubtedly why so many of the famous Iranian scientists were also
mathematicians, philosophers, poets, geologists, and anthropologists. All those
things are woven together in our search to understand ourselves, the Earth and
the Universe we live in.
Tell us briefly about variable stars.
Variable
stars are stars that change brightness on timescales of minutes to hours to
days to centuries. Some of them change because they are actually pulsating,
swelling and shrinking in a rhythm determined by their mass and the age of the
star. Some vary because they have giant star spots, like sunspots but much
bigger, and as these rotate into our field of view they appear to make the star
dim. Some variable stars are actually close pairs of stars, so close we can’t
see them as a double star. They may be lined up in such a manner that as they
rotate around each other one eclipses the other from our point of view, and
this eclipse causes a dimming in the total output of light from the pair. Yet
other close pairs are entangled in a death spiral, where one star is constantly
stealing material from its neighbor until it becomes unstable and a nuclear
eruption takes place, making the system appear hundreds of times brighter to us
on earth in a matter of hours. And finally, some variable stars are the final
flash signaling the destruction of a massive star or pair of stars at the end
of their evolutionary path.
These
variations in brightness can help us to unlock the secrets to the stars
themselves. What are they made of, how far away are they, what makes them
shine, how large are they, how massive, how are they born and how will they
end- all these things we can better understand by learning about variable
stars.
Which variable stars interest you most
and why?
First
of all, I like variable stars that are bright enough I can study them with the
tools I have at my disposal. I don’t want to read about them. I want to observe
them with my own eyes or instruments.
As
far as types of variable stars, I am fascinated by cataclysmic variables, close
binaries, usually consisting of a white dwarf and a red dwarf orbiting so close
to each other that the white dwarf robs the red star of its outer atmosphere,
causing periodic eruptions. I also like RCB type stars. These are stars that
can shine steadily for months or years and then suddenly fade by up to 8 or 9
magnitudes! This is believed to be caused by the star belching a load of carbon
soot into its outer atmosphere, which dims it from our point of view until the
cloud of dust dissipates and we can see the underlying star again. There are
not that many of these special stars and there is much we do not know about
them, like-how they are formed?
Are variable stars so important that
they have dedicated research center to study them?
There
are not really any research institutes in the USA devoted to pure astronomical
research on specific topics related to variable stars. There are not a lot of
institutes for any specific astronomical pursuit. Most research institutes
cover a broad range of scientific astronomical activities, like solar or
planetary sciences. The AAVSO could be considered the next nearest thing to
that, but it is not currently a research institute. We are more engaged in
acquiring and archiving data for dissemination than performing research on or
with the data.
I
believe that is something we should strive to become in the 21st
century, but that is venturing into a political discussion I won’t be
elaborating on here.
As of now, how much do we know about
variable stars?
What
we know about variable stars today will mostly stand up to testing and theories
a hundred years from now, but there is a LOT we don’t know. So I would say we
have just opened the door and stepped inside, but we have not even turned on
the lights and walked around this house yet.
Why in Hertzsprung-Russell diagram,
variable stars are in the top of diagram?
This
is factually incorrect. You are referring to AGB stars, but variable stars
reside in places all over the H-R diagram outside of the main sequence.
Essentially, anywhere stars leave the main sequence they are evolving and most
likely also varying in brightness. Even stars on the main sequence vary. Our
Sun is a variable star. Variable stars are everywhere, including all over the
H-R diagram.
How much the destiny of mankind depends
on Astronomy and variable stars?
I
don’t think astronomy or variable star research will cure cancer, stop wars or
make governments smarter or more benevolent. But our destiny is out there
amongst the stars, eventually, if we last long enough to make that journey.
When we go, it will be good to know as much as we can about what is out there,
how to get where we are going and what we are likely to find when we arrive.
Like every great migration of human beings, it will be an adventure full of
discovery and danger, wonder and peril. We will want to be armed with knowledge
as well as courage.
Where do you think our country (Iran)
stand in the field of astronomy in 21 century?
As
I confessed earlier, I do not know very much at all about the current state of
research or education in astronomy and physics in Iran. Hopefully, political
tensions between our countries and in the Middle East in general will ease to
the point I can feel comfortable enough to come visit and find out for myself
one day. I would like that very much.
Name some of the variable stars that
are visible with naked eyes?
Mira,
when it is at maximum. Betelgeuse, eta Geminorum, Algol, eta Aquilae, delta
Cephei (the prototype of Cepheid variables), mu Cephei (Herschel’s Garnet
Star), gamma Cassiopeia and of course, once every 30 years or so, epsilon
Aurigae, another great mystery.
How can a person join the AAVSO?
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. You
can apply online at our website http://www.aavso.org/aavso-membership
Annual
dues are $60.00 US and $30.00 US for students, which is one of the best
bargains in astronomy if you consider the benefits of membership in this
prestigious organization.
I
must remind you that you do not need to be a member of the AAVSO to become an
AAVSO observer. We have many observers from other countries who are not paying
members of the AAVSO, but their valuable observations are included in the AAVSO
International Database.
A sentence about astronomy and yourself...
You
mean you’re not tired of my opinions and me talking about myself yet? I don’t
know what else to say!
I
suppose I should warn you that you could become addicted to variable stars like
me. I am a hopeless variable star junkie who must get his photon fix regularly
or go mad. If you think you have any weakness in this regard, I caution you to
approach observing variable stars with the utmost caution. It can be highly
addicting, and the longer you do it the harder it becomes to go back to a normal
life.
You
have been warned…
Your last aphorism to us.
One
of my favorites is from Harlow Shapley-
“Theories
crumble, but good observations never fade.”
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