The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) runs 'campaigns' regularly to gather data on variable stars, or stars whose brightness changes. The purpose of these campaigns is to get visual observations and documentation that can be run to determine if the variance of light is the result of a transiting exoplanet.
The AAVSO's current campaign in monitoring HD 189733, also catalogued as V452 Vulpeculae, a binary star system approximately 64.5 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula. The primary star is suspected to be an orange dwarf star, while the secondary star is a red dwarf star. HD 189733 b has been observed transiting across the primary star, which is bright enough to see from Earth with a pair of binoculars.
I'm currently using Starry Night Pro Plus 8 software to graph HD 189733 altitude in the night sky, which will give me approximate ideal times for viewing. My goal is to be able to get the telescopes out the week of the new moon (July 28th) to get the least amount of light interference. Stay tuned!
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