Has anyone else been having difficulty submitting data sets via WebObs 2.0? I have tried with 2 other AAVSO members as well, and are repeatedly getting error code 405, which is a client side HTTP error of some sort. Does anyone have experience with or solutions for this bug? Thanks!
Joshua:
- Have you successfully submitted AAVSO Reports before?
- Could you reply and attach one of your failed reports for evaluation?
One of mine attached.
AAVSOReport_T-CrB_BVRI_20260509.txt (3.2 KB)
- Yes, several times.
- Yes, although it is not atypical, it is the usual format automatically constructed by the âCreate AAVSO Reportâ button under the Analysis log tab on VPhot. This leads me to believe the issue lies primarily in WebObs.
AAVSOReport_V1166-Her_B_20260725.txt (14.1 KB)
Your file includes a âbackslantâ in the first line. Is it really there or is it just a forum upload error? Remove it and see what happens?
Iâve also been unable to use the new portal. This was the first time I tested the new portal and was using reports formatted for exoplanet transits by NASAâs EXOTIC application. I subsequently was able to easily upload the same report via the current âupload filesâ portal.
I reported this problem and Aru replied that he has reported the issues to the âdevelopersâ. I urged leadership not to decommission the current fully-functioning portal until there has been a substantial period of trouble-free use reported for any new âreporting portalâ
Gary
Hello Gary,
The reason you were unable to submit to my understanding was that there were too many decimals in the magnitude column. The number of decimal places we limited to 4 because you canât do better than that from the ground. We talked to the EXOTIC folks and they have agreed to fix this. In the meantime you can just remove that last decimal place.
Hi Joshua, Iâve sent you an email to collect some more information so I can look into this. This issue could happen if one there is a field that is required but is being marked as n/a.
Hi Bert,
I only had the problem with the new AID portal which I am not planning to use until it becomes fully compatible with the applications I use to produce AAVSO reports, ie EXOTIC, VPHOT, Phoranso and AIJ. Manually changing hundreds of magnitude results after a typical exoplanet âtransitâ observation or an âout of transitâ observation of just a host star, is not in the cards for me.
I hope the AAVSO isnât thinking of discarding the old functional reporting portals until well after full compatibility with all applications that produce AAVSO reports has been proven over multiple months of testing and validationâŚ
Regards,
Gary
Gary,
SED and Awk or similar unix tools could clean those files up quickly once you wrote a small script or batch file. SED and awk apps can be found for windows terminal use even.
No need to destroy your original files either.
Why is truncating or rounding to 3-digits to the right of the decimal ânot in the cardsâ for you?
Just wondering⌠
Jim (DEY)
I agree with Gary, files that the existing portal accepts should also be accepted by the new one. If there is a script that can âclean upâ the file, it should be on the receiving side instead of putting a lot of extra work on all observers who have to modify their existing systems.
For example, I had problems with the star NSV 1161, which my system is named as NSV 01161. The old portal accepts the name but not the new one. It will be a lot of work to reprogram my system or extra work to check and edit the files before they can be sent to AAVSO.
Hi Jim,
Iâm primarily doing exoplanet âtransitâ and â out of transitâ observations on NASA Pandora Mission targets (20 total primary targets). These imaging runs result in 300-1300 images each. Manually deleting a decimal place on each AAVSO for report this number of images, 2-3times per week, is wholly unrealistic. According to Bert Pavlo, the NASA EXOTIC developers will modify their application to eliminate the 4th decimal place and eliminate the problem. Now the folks managing the other applications I listed in my response, will need to do that as well. One might expect that the AAVSO would have given the developers of all applications that produce AAVSO AID or Exo Reports, adequate notice of the decimal place âchangeâ so they could modify their applications accordingly in an appropriate timeframe - no idea if any advance notification was given. Bert says EXOTIC developers will modify their applications but what about AIJ, Phoranso and VPHOT? Have individuals responsible for maintaining these applications been given adequate advance notice? It would be wholly unreasonable for AAVSO to âclose the doorâ on the currently-functional reporting portals until every application being used to prepare AAVSO reports has had adequate time to be modified to comply with the ânewâ report requirements. There should then be at least several months of testing and validation that all reports being submitted via the new portal, are being accepted. In the interim and pending validation, the existing AID and Exo Portals should remain open. Regards, Gary
WebObs 2.0 was released to public beta in March 2025. In May of 2025 all issues that had been reported in the public beta were resolved. An email was sent out to the organization announcing WebObs 2.0 again and asking people to use and test since it would be replacing the previous version. Is this the first time in more than a year that someone has submitted a report generated with EXOTIC using WebObs 2.0?
-Walt
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So it is the âother guysâ problem. I got it!
So you totally depend on someone elses software for the âfixâ. Got it #2!
Why in the universe would you hand edit 300 - 1300 records in a file? It is a 5 minute job to write a script. I guess SED and awk or similar unix type tools are no more. With those two unix commands one could take over the universe and even the AIâs IMO! 
I would love to know how the 100 micro-magnitude format got into the software. No donât answer⌠Thanks anyway! I can figure it out myself!
Heaven forbid that one should modify their system or have extra work to do, or edit a file before they can be uploaded. Ground-based photometry has always been limited to 1-milli-magnitude or greater. If your systems reach into the micro-magnitude realm then continue on.
Be nice to know your observing systems and what you think your precision really is.
Always have fun, just fun!
Jim (DEY)
Hello All,
I appreciate everyoneâs feedback and understand that changes to a long-standing workflow can be frustrating, especially when they interrupt your normal observing process. I also know that some of you have run into difficulties with the new WebObs, so Iâd like to provide a little background on what has changed and why.
First, the AAVSO standard observation file format has not changed in any meaningful way. The specification is available on the AAVSO website, and files that conform to that standard can be uploaded to both the old and new WebObs without issue. These are the specifications that have been provided to the various photometric reduction software developers, so in most cases no changes to those programs should be necessary.
What has changed is that the new WebObs performs several additional validation checks during submission that the original system did not. Data quality is something the AAVSO cares deeply about, and whenever we can identify formatting or data issues before they enter the AAVSO International Database, we improve the quality of the archive for everyone.
One of these checks, which Gary mentioned, is the number of decimal places reported for the magnitude. Ground-based photometry typically achieves precision at the level of a few thousandths of a magnitude. While some observations may perform slightly better, reporting values to five or six decimal places implies a level of precision that simply is not present in the measurements. For that reason, WebObs accepts magnitudes to four decimal places, which still provides a small margin beyond the expected precision. The original WebObs accepted additional decimal places, but that was an oversight rather than intentional behavior.
We discussed this issue with the Exoplanet Watch team several months ago when it was first reported, and they agreed that the output should be adjusted. We followed up with them again last month after Gary encountered this issue.
We certainly could round these values automatically during upload. However, we have intentionally chosen to report the issue instead because it encourages the problem to be corrected at its source. That helps ensure future submissions are formatted appropriately regardless of where they are uploaded and avoids silently altering submitted data.
Gary is also correct that there should be a substantial overlap period while people become familiar with the new system and remaining issues are identified. That is why the new WebObs was officially announced in June 2025 and has been available for regular use since then. It is now handling the majority of all submissions, and we have been reaching out to observers who are still using the original WebObs to better understand any remaining obstacles and help with the transition.
As we move closer to the launch of the new AAVSO website, we are also approaching the end of life for the original WebObs. Continuing to maintain both systems indefinitely requires considerable staff time and resources, so unfortunately we cannot guarantee that the original WebObs will remain available until changes are made in third-party software such as EXOTIC.
If you encounter issues submitting data through the new WebObs, please let us know. We genuinely want to hear about them so we can either fix the issue or explain what is happening. In the specific case of EXOTIC, if updating the output format is not practical, send me an email. I am happy to provide a small script that reformats the files or help work out another process that fits your workflow.
Our goal throughout this transition has been to make data submission more reliable while maintaining the quality of the AAVSO International Database. We appreciate everyoneâs patience and feedback as we continue to improve the system.
Thanks,
Bert Pablo
Staff Astronmer, AAVSO
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