One of the most rewarding aspects of the RFO Research Program is seeing students do genuine science — not simulations or textbook exercises, but original research that contributes to the broader astronomical community. This week, that became especially real: a group of students and their teacher at Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy in Vacaville submitted a …
Tag: JAAVSO
Citizen Scientists Confirm the Infrared Signature of Rare R Coronae Borealis Stars
R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars are among the rarest objects in the sky. These hydrogen-deficient supergiant stars — fewer than 150 have been confirmed in our entire galaxy — experience dramatic and unpredictable brightness drops, sometimes fading by seven or eight magnitudes over just a few weeks. The cause is striking: clouds of carbon dust …