V.S.O.P.:About

Our goals
Started as an ESO internal project, VSOP is now a mature and truly international, open collaboration. The team has a scientifically broad expertise, and is continuously welcoming new members. The VSOP team is focused on the following visionary goals:
 * VSOP will obtain the first spectroscopy of all unstudied variable stars in both hemispheres, using the worlds leading observatories.
 * VSOP will process incoming data, determine or revise spectral and variability type, and make the data available to the public - all automatic, all fast.
 * VSOP will cause a continuous influx of serendipitous discoveries, and will provide the framework for easy collaboration among researchers across all fields of stellar astrophysics.

The problems
VSOP is motivated by scientific challenges, as well as by the modus operandi of todays modern observatories:


 * On the order of 500 new variable stars are identified every year from light curves of broadband photometry. This feeds the whole of stellar research, however, there are numerous examples of complete misunderstandings of the physical processes responsible for the variability, caused by ambiguities in the light curves, or in the underlying assumptions governing the interpretation. These numerous "false tracks" can only be revealed and corrected by spectroscopy, which provide, in a single exposure, the necessary information to resolve the ambiguity.


 * Astronomical observatories allocate time by chunks of various sizes. Either night-scale chunks in case of visitor/classical observations, or hour-scale chunks in case of service/queue mode. In the latter case the PI will specify many additional observing constraints (timing, moon, transparency, seeing...), and the observatory will schedule observations to match the changing sky conditions. However, in practice, there are many short "holes" of observing time not filled in because of mismatch with some of the constraints. The cumulated observing time of these holes is large (e.g. ~100 hours for a 6-month period in La Silla), and is hard - if not impossible - to reduce with the current operational philosophy. By providing a dedicated and flexible any-weather "filler" programme with all-sky coverage, VSOP wants to turn these holes of lost time into productive science time.

The Team
The project is led by Thomas Dall, with the collaboration of many astronomers world-wide. The current team is as follows (with links to their VSOP personal page, when existing):

The whole team is reachable by [mailto:vsop@eso.org email], as is the [mailto:tdall@eso.org PI].
 * Thomas H. Dall -- P.I. -- ESO, Germany
 * Cédric Foellmi -- wiki-sysop -- LAOG, France
 * Eric Depagne -- wiki-sysop -- AIP, Germany
 * Alessandro Ederoclite -- Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Spain
 * Andreas Seifahrt -- Uni Goettingen, Germany
 * Atsuko Nitta -- Gemini Observatory, Hawai'i, USA
 * Carlos Allende Prieto -- Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Spain
 * Dennis Stello -- University of Sydney, Australia
 * Gerald Handler -- University of Vienna, Austria
 * Fernando Selman -- ESO, La Silla/Paranal, Chile
 * Francesco Di Mille -- Asiago Observatory, Italy
 * Gaspare Lo Curto -- ESO, Germany
 * Hans Bruntt -- Aarhus University, Denmark
 * Ivo Saviane -- ESO, La Silla, Chile
 * John Pritchard -- ESO, Germany
 * Julia Scharwaechter -- Mount Stromlo, Australia
 * Kathleen Labrie -- Gemini Observatory, Hawai'i, USA
 * Kerstin Geißler -- MPA, Heidelberg, Germany
 * Kieran O'Brien -- UC Santa Barbara, USA
 * Lars Koesterke -- University of Texas, USA
 * Laszlo Kiss -- University of Sydney, Australia
 * Linda Schmidtobreick -- ESO, La Silla/Paranal, Chile
 * Lorenzo Monaco -- ESO, La Silla, Chile
 * Luis Manuel Sarro Baro -- UNED, Spain
 * Maarten Baes -- University of Gent, Belgium
 * Matilde Fernandez -- Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Spain
 * Mauro Stefanon -- Universidad de Valencia, Spain
 * Michael Sterzik -- ESO, La Silla/Paranal, Chile
 * Tim Beers -- Michigan State University, USA
 * Oliver Schuetz -- ESO, La Silla, Chile
 * Pedro Amado -- Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Spain
 * Stefan Uttenthaler - University of Leuven
 * Stefano Ciroi -- Asiago Observatory, Italy
 * Torben Arentoft -- Aarhus University, Denmark
 * Valentin Ivanov -- ESO, La Silla/Paranal, Chile

What V.S.O.P. isn't
V.S.O.P. should not be confused with any other VSOP, of course.

Notice
This website uses XML Web Services created at the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg, France.