Important Announcement for JDSO Contributors

From Richard Harshaw:

The history of science is a story of what are normally incremental advances in ideas and methods. The paper in this issue by Mr. Nugent (An Analysis of the Double Star Systems WDS 02109+1341 STF 224 and WDS 10013-2246 HDO 124AB in 3 Dimensions) is a classic example of this.

Often, a scientist will do research and discover trends in data that suggest a physical law may be behind the observations, but at that time may not have all the information needed to make a complete and strong model of the physics involved.

In a paper I published in the JDSO in 2016 (Volume 12, No. 4) titled “CCD Measurements of 141 Proper Motion Stars: The Autumn 2015 Observing Program at the Brilliant Sky Observatory, Part 3,” I put forth a proper motion analysis based on an empirical study of thousands of known binaries and suspected binaries. The model was close, but not exact and left me with nagging problems about how to resolve the discrepancies.

For that reason, I suggest that all future submissions to the JDSO that make mention of what has been called “the Harshaw Method for proper motions” or rPM (relative proper motions) herein use what we shall call “the Space Velocity Vectors approach.” Any papers submitted to the JDSO after this issue that cite proper motion data as part of a proof that a pair is physical without using the Space Velocity Vectors will be returned for correction and use of the new method.

This will make for better papers and advance the cause of binary star astronomy in a truly scientific manner.

Richard Harshaw