How to plot a variable star light curve

A rewarding project to chart stars that change brightness

- Gary Poyner

In these times of high-tech telescopes and astro cameras, you might think the days of scientific contributions from simple visual observing are over. Well, think again! The night sky is full of stars that vary in brightness, and many hundreds of these 'variable' stars can be observed and their light variations plotted with basic equipment. This data can then be sent to the British Astronomical Association (www.britastro.org) for study. All you need to get involved are a few basic tools, patience and, of course, a clear sky.

The stars to study

At some stage through their evolution, most stars will probably vary in brightness to some extent.