The Magellanic Cloud Luminous Blue Variables

Presenter(s): Alan Plummer

Affiliation(s): WSAAG

Session details: Sunday, 2018-04-01 06:00:00, MCON

Abstract

NACAA 2016 saw a presentation on the visual observation of stars in the Magellanic Clouds. This talk follows on from that, focusing on the Luminous Blue Variables, also called the S Doradus stars, and the suspected, or 'candidate’ population. Discussion of their evolutionary status, lightcurves, and fields is continued and updated. Feedback from the American Association of Variable Star Observers show these objects to be among the most important targets to observe. Certainly, they are the most challenging and rewarding.

Biography

Alan is a visual observer, monitoring variable stars from Linden Observatory in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. He is a contributing editor to Australian Sky & Telescope, has published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Astrophysical Journal, Journal of the AAVSO, various newsletters and blogs, and starting soon, the Sky & Telescope website. And his favourite, a VSOing piece in in Analog Science Fiction and Fact.