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=Give an account of how you would go about observing a variable star.=

These are the basic steps for a beginner observer of variable stars.

First, you need to find targets/variable stars that interest you. You can find some off of the AAVSO website.

Second, you need to gather information about the variable star(s). Such as, what type of variable it is, its coordinates, its spectral class, and other information.

Third, you need to obtain a sky chart, also known as finding charts. A star atlas may also be used.
 * 1) The purpose of a finding chart is to get you to the approximate vicinity of the variable star that you want to observe. Many organizations have sky charts that you can obtain, such as the AAVSO, BAA VSS, VSNET and ASSA.
 * 2) Sky charts include with them the field of the variable along with other information. They contain stars of known constant magnitude (comparison stars), that are used to make brightness estimates of the variable
 * 3) There are different types of charts that can be used.
 * Constellation finder charts present wide-field plots that encompass an entire constellation with the location of bright star and selected variables charted.
 * Standard charts are for variable stars that have been in the AAVSO visual observing program for decades, and have comparison star sequences that rare established and not subject to change. **Always use this type of chart whenever possible.**
 * Preliminary charts are for variable stars that have comparison star sequences that may not be well established and are subject to change.
 * Reversed charts are provided in both standard and preliminary format and have been reversed north to south for use with telescopes. Do not exist for all variable stars yet.
 * Special-purpose charts such as those used for observing eclipsing binaries or RR Lyrae stars of for observing with photoelectric photometers or CCD cameras.
 * (All information for the third step can be found in __Observing Variable Stars__)

Fourth, go out and observe your variable star. (Look at the different types of observing.)

Fifth, determine magnitude estimates of your variable star. (Look at section on Magnitudes)

Sixth, record your observations. Record the date and time using local time and convert it to Julian Date and Universal Time later. Also, record the variable star you looked at, the magnitude you estimated, the sky chart you used, and the comparison stars you used. Also, record any weather conditions or interferences you had while observing, i.e. cloudy skies.

Seventh, prepare to make a report that you might want to send into the AAVSO website. The easiest way would be to send it in to the system called [|WebObs]. It will automatically format them to AAVSO specifications then automatically submits them to the AAVSO for you.

References: http://www.aavso.org/publications/manual/chapter2.shtml Observing Variable Stars by Gerry A. Good