TASS Nears Completion of Northren Sky Coverage

["Thomas Droege" <tdroege2@earthlink.net>]

The Amateur Sky Survey (TASS) is nearing completion of one pass photometric
coverage of the Northern sky.  1x.coverage.png attached shows the coverage
to date.  TASS expects to complete the Northern sky from -6 degrees to the
pole in November.  All measurements are made simultaneously through a V and
an Ic filter.  Most stars between 7 and 14 in V are measured.  There is
some coverage between mag 6 and 16.  

To date, 16 October 2003, TASS Batavia IL has made 125 million single
photometric measurements of 16 million stars in the Northern hemisphere to
-6 degrees.  TASS Batavia collects 15 millions measurements in an average
month through six automated telescopes.  

Of more interest for the purposes of the survey is the area TASS has
covered with at least 20 V and 20 Ic measurements.  This is shown in
20x.coverage.png attached.  At this level of coverage it is possible to
detect most variable stars.  TASS expects to cover nearly all of the
Northern sky at the 20x level by Spring, 2004.  

TASS has detected thousands of variable stars that are not in the current
literature.  There is an active effort centered on the TASS mail list
devoted to identifying and classifying these new variables stars.  This
effort is coordinated at the TASS Wiki at:  

http://wiki.tass-survey.org/tass/view.do?nodeId=Tass

This "do it yourself" web site contains many light curves for new variable
stars that have been found in the TASS data.

The main TASS web site is at:

http://www.tass-survey.org/tass/tass.shtml

There is a public tass data base that is updated monthly with the latest
TASS measurements at:

http://sallman.tass-survey.org/servlet/markiv/

TASS is organized as a not for profit corporation.  It is funded by Tom
Droege as his "fun in retirement" project.  

Tom Droege Batavia, IL TASS site  tdroege2@earthlink.net  Phone 630 879 7609

1x.coverage.png

20x.coverage.png