Re: Things I should know -- but don't

[Tass Mailing List <tass@mail.alembic.net>]

Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 10:01:53 -0400
From: Michael Richmond <richmond@stupendous.cis.rit.edu>
To: newbinaries@yahoo.co.uk, tass@mail.alembic.net
Cc: mwrsps@rit.edu
Subject: Re: Things I should know -- but don't


> I know I can download data from :-
> http://sallman.tass-survey.org/servlet/markiv/template/DataDownload.vm
>
> Does all the data that is collected eventually make its way into this
> downloadable source?

  Yes.


> I downloaded the data for a few previously known variables in Cygnus but when
> I looked at it I could not match it up with the published periods in GCVS. It
> didn't matter if the data was for short or long period variables nothing even
> looked close. This was for 11-12 mag stars.
>
> Any thoughts?

  First, read TN 102:

    http://stupendous.rit.edu/tass/technotes/tn0102.html

Look especially at the section labelled "Internal precision of photometry."
You'll see that the uncertainty in a single measurement of a bright
star in the engineering database is something like 0.05 mag.
So, if the star of interest has an amplitude of <= 0.10 mag, you
probably won't see a clear pattern in the TASS data.

  Second, give us some specifics on the "few previously known variables
in Cygnus", please, so we can hold an informed discussion.

                                Michael