Opportunity for “Citizen Science”

Third-magnitude Epsilon Aurigae is an eclipsing binary star with the longest orbital period known (27.1 years). The next eclipse of this unique object begins in Summer 2009. Eps Aur’s eclipses last 714 days (nearly 2 years). This indicates that the eclips-ing body is of gigantic proportions, on the order of 2,000 solar radii. During the last eclipse, in 1982–84, amateur and professional astronomers around the world acquired photometry, polarimetry, and spectroscopy. Despite the strong effort, many questions remain. The 2009–11 eclipse will be the first to occur during the Digital Age. It of-fers ideal opportunities to showcase the value of pro-am collaborations and the rela-tionship between advancing technology and advancing science. Partial eclipse begins Aug. 6; totality begins Dec. 21; totality ends Mar. 12, 2011; partial eclipse ends May 15, 2011; see this site.