The Whole Earth Telescope

The Whole Earth Telescope (WET) is a collaboration of astronomers who observe variable stars (white dwarfs and Delta Scuti stars) and cataclysmic variables Typically twice a year, we coordinate a global time-series photometry campaign at ~10 observatories worldwide such that our target objects are visible from the night side of the planet 24 hours a day. The objects have characteristic periods ranging from minutes to roughly an hour. The network is run interactively from HQ and we analyse our data in near-real-time. The temporal spectrum we obtain allows us to probe the interiors of our target objects using the technique of asteroseismology. For a more detailed overview, click here.

Ed Nather (pictured above), who served as WET Director for the first decade of its existence, recently retired from this position and has been named Director Emeritus.

Operations of the Whole Earth Telescope are currently coordinated by:
WET Director
Steven Kawaler	Iowa State University	USA
WET Scientific Director
Darragh O'Donoghue	South African Astronomical Observatory	South Africa
The governing committee of WET is called the Council of the Wise (CoW). It consists of the above directors along with several other members, including a King CoW who, in the case of deadlock, is given two votes at all meetings.
King CoW
Kepler	Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil
Other CoW Members
Don Winget	University of Texas, Austin	USA
R. Edward Nather	University of Texas, Austin	USA
Gerard Vauclair	Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees	France
Pawel Moskalik	Copernicus Astronomical Center	Poland
Gerald Handler	Institut fur Astronomie, Wien	Austria
Jan-Erik Solheim	Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, Univ. of Oslo	Norway
Scot Kleinman	Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico	USA

Previous Workshops

WET Image Gallery #1: People
WET Image Gallery #2: Observatories
WET Astronomers' Web Pages
Contacting WET Astronomers via email
Participating Sites
The WET page at IITAP - Iowa State University

An introduction to asteroseismology
Spherical Harmonics Visualizations
Back Newsletters (requires password)
A history of WET observations
A collection of "Edisms"
Other Asteroseismology Links

Please mail corrections and additions to Department of Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin

20 May 2003