Is there a website or application I can use do track the brightness of variable stars and notify of any unusual or particularly spectacular changes.
I am particularly interested in tracking the blaze star as it is predicted to outburst soon and it outbursts only rarely
-
$\begingroup$ This is basically the same question, unless you are interested in historical data. astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/57236/… $\endgroup$– James KCommented Mar 24 at 6:19
-
$\begingroup$ @james I am interested in other variable stars as well $\endgroup$– HarrychinkCommented Mar 24 at 7:18
-
$\begingroup$ I'll second the AAVSO, they have a lot of information for beginners, and advanced equipment isn't necessary. $\endgroup$– Greg MillerCommented Apr 1 at 16:06
1 Answer
The AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers) organises and tracks many variable stars. For example you can see the latest observations of T CrB (is this your "blaze star"?). At the time of posting, the most recent observation is within the past few hours and shows it at a nominal 10.3 in the visual "V" band.
They don't do "alerts", but it is simple enough to check their website, type in a star's name (eg "T CrB", or "Algol") and generate a light curve.
You can also subscribe to the Time sensitive alert forum, and get emails about stars that are rapidly changing brightness (as observed by AAVSO members)