Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- PART I PIONEERS IN VARIABLE STAR ASTRONOMY PRIOR TO 1909
- PART II THE FOUNDING OF THE AAVSO – THE WILLIAM TYLER OLCOTT ERA
- 3 The amateur's amateur
- 4 Amateurs in the service of science
- PART III RECORDING AND CLASSIFICATION – THE LEON CAMPBELL ERA
- PART IV THE SERVICE BUREAU – THE MARGARET MAYALL ERA
- PART V ANALYSIS AND SCIENCE – THE JANET MATTEI ERA
- PART VI ACCELERATING OBSERVATIONAL SCIENCE – THE ARNE HENDEN ERA
- Appendix A AAVSO historiographic notes
- Appendix B Top AAVSO observer totals
- Appendix C Variable star observing groups represented in the AAVSO International Database
- Appendix D AAVSO Awards
- Appendix E Officers of the AAVSO
- Appendix F AAVSO Council members
- Appendix G AAVSO Scientific committee, section, division, and program chairs
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - Amateurs in the service of science
from PART II - THE FOUNDING OF THE AAVSO – THE WILLIAM TYLER OLCOTT ERA
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- PART I PIONEERS IN VARIABLE STAR ASTRONOMY PRIOR TO 1909
- PART II THE FOUNDING OF THE AAVSO – THE WILLIAM TYLER OLCOTT ERA
- 3 The amateur's amateur
- 4 Amateurs in the service of science
- PART III RECORDING AND CLASSIFICATION – THE LEON CAMPBELL ERA
- PART IV THE SERVICE BUREAU – THE MARGARET MAYALL ERA
- PART V ANALYSIS AND SCIENCE – THE JANET MATTEI ERA
- PART VI ACCELERATING OBSERVATIONAL SCIENCE – THE ARNE HENDEN ERA
- Appendix A AAVSO historiographic notes
- Appendix B Top AAVSO observer totals
- Appendix C Variable star observing groups represented in the AAVSO International Database
- Appendix D AAVSO Awards
- Appendix E Officers of the AAVSO
- Appendix F AAVSO Council members
- Appendix G AAVSO Scientific committee, section, division, and program chairs
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
I will be glad to act on any suggestions you may offer that will in your judgment render our observations of greater service to you.
– William Tyler Olcott to Edward C. Pickering, 1912William Tyler Olcott, who began married life as an attorney in Norwich, Connecticut, was drawn into viewing the sky one summer from Block Island, Rhode Island. His growing interest and success in publishing his notes about the sky and stars drew him into a more active involvement in variable star observing and the organization of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.
After his discovery of the skies, he was delighted to find that a small telescope could contribute to the science of variable star astronomy. Acting on this knowledge, Olcott established an organization to collect and publish the variable star observations made by himself and others, which he announced as the American Association of Variable Star Observers, or AAVSO.
The AAVSO grew under the influence of monthly appearances of AAVSO observing statistics and other news in Popular Astronomy. That growth and the advent of World War I had consequences for both Olcott's health and the AAVSO, which led to the incorporation of the AAVSO in 1918. All of these events are the subject of this chapter.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Advancing Variable Star AstronomyThe Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, pp. 36 - 48Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011