Making the I.A.P.P.P. Work

Below is a reprint of a paper written by Co-Editor Douglas S. Hall that appeared in Communication No. 50, pages 16 and 17, in December 1992. The title was "How to Make I.A.P.P.P. Work for You". It is of sufficient value and interest today that we are repeating it on this web page.

Dr. Hall presented a similar paper at the 1988 Big Bear I.A.P.P.P. Symposium, that appeared in Communication No. 33, pages 3, 4, & 5, in September 1988. The title was "What I.A.P.P.P. Can Do for You". This older paper, however, is not reprinted on this web page.

The alert reader will notice much of the content of the 1992 paper merely echoes what is on the I.A.P.P.P. web site. Moreover, some of the content is now out of date. Nevertheless, the presentation is more detailed, more specific, and more forceful perhaps, and hence worth reading and digesting.

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A reprint of the paper published on pages 16 & 17 in Communication No. 50, December 1992:

HOW TO MAKE I.A.P.P.P. WORK FOR YOU

Douglas S. Hall
Dyer Observatory
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee 37235 USA

Internet: hallxxds@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu

Received: 5 December 1992

It might be time to review the many things I.A.P.P.P. can do for you. Judging from the many phone calls and letters I have received over the last few years and from reading recent letters to the editors which have appeared in the I.A.P.P.P. Communications, it is clear that many people might not be fully aware of the many aspects of what I.A.P.P.P. has to offer. What follows is an attempt on my part to explain how you can make I.A.P.P.P. work for you.

1. Obtain your own subscription to the Communications, read every article in each issue, and maintain a file for future reference. If your astronomy club gets just one subscription, your chances of getting a good look at the club copy before it disappears will be pretty slim. The same goes for your astronomical buddy across town who saved you $12.50 by splitting the cost of a subscription. Most likely the copy you want to look at, in the middle of a good night, will be in his desk drawer.

2. Obtain a complete set of back issues. The sum total of information contained in all issues which have appeared since June 1980 is an extremely valuable resource. Many times a new member has asked for articles on such-and-such a topic, not seeing what he wants in issues 47, 48, and 49. Almost every time, it turns out, such articles do exist and are still relevant to this day. The yellow inside front cover of each issue of the Communications explains how back copies can be obtained. A year's worth of back issues costs about the same as the year's subscription which mailed them in the first place.

3. To get your own personal question or questions answered, there are three mechanisms:

a) Call or write to an I.A.P.P.P. member, professional or amateur, who might know the answer. Usually one of the editors of the I.A.P.P.P. Communications (their phone numbers and addresses are on the back cover of every issue) can point you in the right direction. Just say "Hi. My name is John Smith. I'm an I.A.P.P.P. member, with a question about ..."

b) Attend one or more of the many I.A.P.P.P. Symposia, where someone among the two or three dozen there surely can answer any question, from anti-backlash gears to dead time to heliocentric correction algorithms.

c) Write a "letter to the editors" for inclusion in the next issue of the Communications, ask your question, and request a reply from whoever out there might know the answer.

4. A paper has been written already (Communication No. 24, page 1) specifically answering the often asked question "How Do I Choose a Photoelectric Observing Project?".

5. Another paper, aimed at the professional astronomer with a hot research project in mind, has been written (Communication No. 21, page 46) to outline how amateur and other small-telescope observers can be organized most effectively to carry out a joint project.

6. Another frequent request is for sample data to use in testing the computer program you have written for reducing photometric data. Again, a paper has already been written (Communication No. 15, page 37) to address that need. In the four years which have elapsed since that paper was written, the author has received only two responses.

7. To help you locate fellow I.A.P.P.P. members, both professional and amateur, in your area, the Membership Directories are very useful. The most recent one appeared as Communication No. 41, dated September 1990. The feature "New I.A.P.P.P. Members", which appears in almost every issue, is useful in bridging the gap between directories.

8. Take full advantage of the I.A.P.P.P. Computer Bulletin Board (Communication No. 29, page 14; Communication No. 35, page 3; Communication No. 42, page 68) maintained by Roger G. Deyoe. It is free to any I.A.P.P.P. member, except for the cost of your own phone call, and does more things than I can describe here. For virtually instant communication, this is the ultimate answer. In addition, many I.A.P.P.P. members enjoy being connected via Compu-Serve, as explained (Communication No. 17, page 11) by Jeffrey L. Hopkins, via MCI-MAIL, as explained (Communication No. 47, page 44) by Craig Young, or via INTERNET, as explained (Communication No. 47, page 45) by Robert C. Reisenweber.

9. Use your photoelectric equipment and your telescope (whatever its aperture) to collect photometric observations and publish your results in a scientific journal. Do not consider your work as "amateur photometry" and do not look for a "Journal of Amateur Photoelectric Photometry". Data is data; research is research; science is science. If it is good, it will be published; if it is not good, it won't be published. The good-versus-bad distinction is not a professional-versus-amateur or professional-versus-student distinction.

10. Read through all of the entries in the "Papers Published by Amateurs" feature, which appears in every issue of the Communications. As explained in an editorial (Communication No. 22, page 55), this serves as eloquent testimony that real science can be done by amateur astronomers. Note that, with only a few exceptions, these papers have appeared in regular astronomical journals, the same ones used by professional astronomers. In those journals there is no footnote or other indication (such as lower-case letters or small print) flagging an author as an amateur.

11. If you, as an amateur, author a scientific paper and have it accepted for publication in an astronomical journal which levies page charges (usually about $100 per printed page), then I.A.P.P.P. can pay these page charges for you. This has been explained in an editorial (Communication No. 24, page 29). The most recent example was a paper by the three amateurs Helen C. Lines, Richard D. Lines, and Thomas G. McFaul in the May 1988 issue of the Astronomical Journal.

12. To see when and where the next I.A.P.P.P. Symposium (or other meeting related to photoelectric photometry) will be held, pay attention to the "Announcements" feature which appears on the yellow inside back cover of each issue of the Communications. Similarly, if you yourself or your astronomy club plans to sponsor such a meeting, be sure and inform the editors of the Communications in advance of the next issue.

13. If you want to have an I.A.P.P.P. Symposium take place in your area (or country), do one yourself. After all, I.A.P.P.P. is nothing more than the sum total of all its members. In other words, you are the I.A.P.P.P.

14. The editors of the Communications can assist with the execution of an I.A.P.P.P. Symposium in the following ways:

(a) place an announcement in the next issue of the Communications,

(b) supply you, free of charge, with stick-on address labels for mailing flyers to current members of I.A.P.P.P., and

(c) reimburse you, up to about $200, for any out-of-pocket shortfall which you might experience as a result of sponsoring your Symposium.

15. Although I.A.P.P.P. is truly international in scope (members in all seven continents, including Antarctica), there are Wings, to facilitate communication at the local or regional or national level. The functioning of the Wings has been explained in an editorial (Communication No. 26, page 40) and an up-to-date listing of Wing Leaders is maintained as a regular feature of the Communications. Contact the Wing Leader closest to you, work with him or her, and volunteer to be a Wing Leader yourself if your country or geographical region does not have one yet (see Communication No. 48, page 54).


	I.A.P.P.P. Make The I.A.P.P.P. Work For You

	Below is a reprint of a paper written by Co-Editor Douglas S. Hall that appeared in Communication No. 50, pages 16 and 17, in December 1992. The title was "How to Make I.A.P.P.P. Work for You". It is of sufficient value and interest today that we are repeating it on this web page. Dr. Hall presented a similar paper at the 1988 Big Bear I.A.P.P.P. Symposium, that appeared in Communication No. 33, pages 3, 4, & 5, in September 1988. The title was "What I.A.P.P.P. Can Do for You". This older paper, however, is not reprinted on this web page. The alert reader will notice much of the content of the 1992 paper merely echoes what is on the I.A.P.P.P. web site. Moreover, some of the content is now out of date. Nevertheless, the presentation is more detailed, more specific, and more forceful perhaps, and hence worth reading and digesting. ------------------------------------------------------------------- A reprint of the paper published on pages 16 & 17 in Communication No. 50, December 1992: HOW TO MAKE I.A.P.P.P. WORK FOR YOU Douglas S. Hall Dyer Observatory Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee 37235 USA Internet: hallxxds@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu Received: 5 December 1992 It might be time to review the many things I.A.P.P.P. can do for you. Judging from the many phone calls and letters I have received over the last few years and from reading recent letters to the editors which have appeared in the I.A.P.P.P. Communications, it is clear that many people might not be fully aware of the many aspects of what I.A.P.P.P. has to offer. What follows is an attempt on my part to explain how you can make I.A.P.P.P. work for you. 1. Obtain your own subscription to the Communications, read every article in each issue, and maintain a file for future reference. If your astronomy club gets just one subscription, your chances of getting a good look at the club copy before it disappears will be pretty slim. The same goes for your astronomical buddy across town who saved you $12.50 by splitting the cost of a subscription. Most likely the copy you want to look at, in the middle of a good night, will be in his desk drawer. 2. Obtain a complete set of back issues. The sum total of information contained in all issues which have appeared since June 1980 is an extremely valuable resource. Many times a new member has asked for articles on such-and-such a topic, not seeing what he wants in issues 47, 48, and 49. Almost every time, it turns out, such articles do exist and are still relevant to this day. The yellow inside front cover of each issue of the Communications explains how back copies can be obtained. A year's worth of back issues costs about the same as the year's subscription which mailed them in the first place. 3. To get your own personal question or questions answered, there are three mechanisms: a) Call or write to an I.A.P.P.P. member, professional or amateur, who might know the answer. Usually one of the editors of the I.A.P.P.P. Communications (their phone numbers and addresses are on the back cover of every issue) can point you in the right direction. Just say "Hi. My name is John Smith. I'm an I.A.P.P.P. member, with a question about ..." b) Attend one or more of the many I.A.P.P.P. Symposia, where someone among the two or three dozen there surely can answer any question, from anti-backlash gears to dead time to heliocentric correction algorithms. c) Write a "letter to the editors" for inclusion in the next issue of the Communications, ask your question, and request a reply from whoever out there might know the answer. 4. A paper has been written already (Communication No. 24, page 1) specifically answering the often asked question "How Do I Choose a Photoelectric Observing Project?". 5. Another paper, aimed at the professional astronomer with a hot research project in mind, has been written (Communication No. 21, page 46) to outline how amateur and other small-telescope observers can be organized most effectively to carry out a joint project. 6. Another frequent request is for sample data to use in testing the computer program you have written for reducing photometric data. Again, a paper has already been written (Communication No. 15, page 37) to address that need. In the four years which have elapsed since that paper was written, the author has received only two responses. 7. To help you locate fellow I.A.P.P.P. members, both professional and amateur, in your area, the Membership Directories are very useful. The most recent one appeared as Communication No. 41, dated September 1990. The feature "New I.A.P.P.P. Members", which appears in almost every issue, is useful in bridging the gap between directories. 8. Take full advantage of the I.A.P.P.P. Computer Bulletin Board (Communication No. 29, page 14; Communication No. 35, page 3; Communication No. 42, page 68) maintained by Roger G. Deyoe. It is free to any I.A.P.P.P. member, except for the cost of your own phone call, and does more things than I can describe here. For virtually instant communication, this is the ultimate answer. In addition, many I.A.P.P.P. members enjoy being connected via Compu-Serve, as explained (Communication No. 17, page 11) by Jeffrey L. Hopkins, via MCI-MAIL, as explained (Communication No. 47, page 44) by Craig Young, or via INTERNET, as explained (Communication No. 47, page 45) by Robert C. Reisenweber. 9. Use your photoelectric equipment and your telescope (whatever its aperture) to collect photometric observations and publish your results in a scientific journal. Do not consider your work as "amateur photometry" and do not look for a "Journal of Amateur Photoelectric Photometry". Data is data; research is research; science is science. If it is good, it will be published; if it is not good, it won't be published. The good-versus-bad distinction is not a professional-versus-amateur or professional-versus-student distinction. 10. Read through all of the entries in the "Papers Published by Amateurs" feature, which appears in every issue of the Communications. As explained in an editorial (Communication No. 22, page 55), this serves as eloquent testimony that real science can be done by amateur astronomers. Note that, with only a few exceptions, these papers have appeared in regular astronomical journals, the same ones used by professional astronomers. In those journals there is no footnote or other indication (such as lower-case letters or small print) flagging an author as an amateur. 11. If you, as an amateur, author a scientific paper and have it accepted for publication in an astronomical journal which levies page charges (usually about $100 per printed page), then I.A.P.P.P. can pay these page charges for you. This has been explained in an editorial (Communication No. 24, page 29). The most recent example was a paper by the three amateurs Helen C. Lines, Richard D. Lines, and Thomas G. McFaul in the May 1988 issue of the Astronomical Journal. 12. To see when and where the next I.A.P.P.P. Symposium (or other meeting related to photoelectric photometry) will be held, pay attention to the "Announcements" feature which appears on the yellow inside back cover of each issue of the Communications. Similarly, if you yourself or your astronomy club plans to sponsor such a meeting, be sure and inform the editors of the Communications in advance of the next issue. 13. If you want to have an I.A.P.P.P. Symposium take place in your area (or country), do one yourself. After all, I.A.P.P.P. is nothing more than the sum total of all its members. In other words, you are the I.A.P.P.P. 14. The editors of the Communications can assist with the execution of an I.A.P.P.P. Symposium in the following ways: (a) place an announcement in the next issue of the Communications, (b) supply you, free of charge, with stick-on address labels for mailing flyers to current members of I.A.P.P.P., and (c) reimburse you, up to about $200, for any out-of-pocket shortfall which you might experience as a result of sponsoring your Symposium. 15. Although I.A.P.P.P. is truly international in scope (members in all seven continents, including Antarctica), there are Wings, to facilitate communication at the local or regional or national level. The functioning of the Wings has been explained in an editorial (Communication No. 26, page 40) and an up-to-date listing of Wing Leaders is maintained as a regular feature of the Communications. Contact the Wing Leader closest to you, work with him or her, and volunteer to be a Wing Leader yourself if your country or geographical region does not have one yet (see Communication No. 48, page 54). Created 24 June 2005 Modified 15 July 2005 RETURN