Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars.VIII

Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the seventh set of ten close binary systems: V410 Aur, V523 Cas, QW Gem, V921 Her, V2357 Oph, V1130 Tau, HN UMa, HX UMa, HD 93917, NSV 223. All systems, but three (V523 Cas, HD 93917, NSV 223), were discovered photometrically by the Hipparcos mission. All systems are double-lined (SB2) binaries and all, but the detached, very close system V1130 Tau, are contact binaries. The broadening-function permitted improvement of the orbital elements for V523 Cas, which was the only system observed before for radial velocity variations. Spectroscopic/visual companions were detected for V410 Aur and HX UMa.Comment: AASTeX5, 4 figures, 3 tables, to appear AJ, June 200

Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. IX

Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the eighth set of ten close binary systems: AB And, V402 Aur, V445 Cep, V2082 Cyg, BX Dra, V918 Her, V502 Oph, V1363 Ori, KP Peg, V335 Peg. Half of the systems (V445 Cep, V2082 Cyg, V918 Her, V1363 Ori, V335 Peg) were discovered photometrically by the Hipparcos mission and all systems are double-lined (SB2) contact binaries. The broadening function method permitted improvement of the orbital elements for AB And and V502 Oph. The other systems have been observed for radial velocity variations for the first time; in this group are five bright (V<7.5) binaries: V445 Cep, V2082 Cyg, V918 Her, KP Peg and V335 Peg. Several of the studied systems are prime candidates for combined light and radial-velocity synthesis solutions.Comment: 17+ pages, 2 tables, 4 figure

Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars.VI

Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the sixth set of ten close binary systems: SV Cam, EE Cet, KR Com, V410 Cyg, GM Dra, V972 Her, ET Leo, FS Leo, V2388 Oph, II UMa. All systems except FS Leo are double-lined spectroscopic binaries. The type of FS Leo is unknown while SV Cam is a close, detached binary; all remaining systems are contact binaries. Eight binaries (all except SV Cam and V401 Cyg) are the recent photometric discoveries of the Hipparcos satellite project. Five systems, EE Cet, KR Com, V401 Cyg, V2388 Oph, II UMa, are members of visual/spectroscopic triple systems. We were able to observe the close binary system EE Cet separately of its companion, but in the remaining four systems we could separate the spectral components only through the use of the broadening-function approach. Several of the studied systems are prime candidates for combined light and radial-velocity synthesis solutions.Comment: AASTeX5, 5 figures, 2 tables, modified after the AJ revie

Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. XV

Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital radial velocity variations are presented for the last eight close binary systems analyzed the same way as in the previous papers of this series: QX And, DY Cet, MR Del, HI Dra, DD Mon, V868 Mon, ER Ori, and Y Sex. For another seven systems (TT Cet, AA Cet, CW Lyn, V563 Lyr, CW Sge, LV Vir and MW Vir) phase coverage is insufficient to provide reliable orbits but radial velocities of individual components were measured. Observations of a few complicated systems observed throughout the DDO close-binary program are also presented; among them an especially interesting is the multiple system V857 Her which - in addition to the contact binary - very probably contains one or more sub-dwarf components of much earlier spectral type. All suspected binaries which were found to be most probably pulsating stars are briefly discussed in terms of mean radial velocities and projected rotation velocities (v sin i) as well as spectral type estimates. In two of them, CU CVn and V752 Mon, the broadening functions show a clear presence of non-radial pulsations. The previously missing spectral types for the DDO I paper are given here in addition to such estimates for most of the program stars of this paper.Comment: submitted to A

The impact on education of Astronomical Olympiads and the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomical Olympiads and similar competitions for highschool students have been run in some countries for more than half a century, and last year marked the tenth anniversary of the largest such competition with global reach, the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The effect of these has been to reach out to a large number of school students who might not otherwise have considered astronomy as a subject; help maintain a high, guided standard of astronomy education even in countries where astronomy is not (or no longer) on the curriculum; and to encourage those students who participate to strive harder and pursue astronomy further by giving them goals to aim for, rewarding their efforts with medals, recognition and participation in the international events in interesting locations and, above all, showing them that there are many other students just like them both in their own country and around the world. Many of the students go on to careers in astronomy education or research. We believe that Astronomy Olympiads are a very valuable element in the astronomy education framework which can be used to further the common goal of sustaining and growing the astronomical community

The impact on education of Astronomical Olympiads and the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomical Olympiads and similar competitions for highschool students have been run in some countries for more than half a century, and last year marked the tenth anniversary of the largest such competition with global reach, the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The effect of these has been to reach out to a large number of school students who might not otherwise have considered astronomy as a subject; help maintain a high, guided standard of astronomy education even in countries where astronomy is not (or no longer) on the curriculum; and to encourage those students who participate to strive harder and pursue astronomy further by giving them goals to aim for, rewarding their efforts with medals, recognition and participation in the international events in interesting locations and, above all, showing them that there are many other students just like them both in their own country and around the world. Many of the students go on to careers in astronomy education or research. We believe that Astronomy Olympiads are a very valuable element in the astronomy education framework which can be used to further the common goal of sustaining and growing the astronomical community

The impact on education of Astronomical Olympiads and the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomical Olympiads and similar competitions for highschool students have been run in some countries for more than half a century, and last year marked the tenth anniversary of the largest such competition with global reach, the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The effect of these has been to reach out to a large number of school students who might not otherwise have considered astronomy as a subject; help maintain a high, guided standard of astronomy education even in countries where astronomy is not (or no longer) on the curriculum; and to encourage those students who participate to strive harder and pursue astronomy further by giving them goals to aim for, rewarding their efforts with medals, recognition and participation in the international events in interesting locations and, above all, showing them that there are many other students just like them both in their own country and around the world. Many of the students go on to careers in astronomy education or research. We believe that Astronomy Olympiads are a very valuable element in the astronomy education framework which can be used to further the common goal of sustaining and growing the astronomical community

Services for astronomical data management and sharing

As part of the AstroGrid-PL project, we have implemented a large scale data management system for the Polish astronomical community within the framework of the PLGrid Plus project, with built-in metadata services, replication and distributed storage based on the well-established iRODS middleware. In parallel, we have implemented the Polish Virtual Observatory, which provides access, search, retrieval and in situ processing for this data using the protocols and standards established by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). These standards are already in use at astronomical facilities across the globe, and implementing them within the framework of AstroGrid-PL and the PLGrid Plus project enables us not only to provide advanced data retrieval services to our users, but also to leverage a large body of existing astronomical data analysis software and give our users access to external data resources provided on the same principles