Tools and Workflow for Best Practice Photometry

MikeWiles · September 18, 2024, 4:25pm

When making observations of a target we’re taught that we ideally want to do four things as best practices.

Take three to five images of the target.
Measure each image using an ensemble of multiple comp stars and a check star.
Average those results into a single measurement, using the standard deviation as a better indicator of the error/uncertainty.
Transform the measurements to the standard system.

So my short question is…what is your workflow to accomplish this? I feel like I’m doing something wrong because I don’t see that it’s possible to accomplish all four of those steps easily with existing software tools.

1. Take 3-5 images
This is easily done with any camera control software.

2. Measure with ensemble of comp stars
This is also easily done in nearly any available software. For AAVSO purposes, I’ll use VPhot. It does a wonderful job of making the measurements and producing the output that I can then export to an Excel/CSV format, or an AAVSO file format.

3. Average the measurements
The trouble here is that there’s no software package that makes the averaging of the measurements into a simple step.

If I use Excel to average the measurements and get the standard deviation, then I also need to reformat the result into a format acceptable to a transformation tool.

If I use the Boxster application to import an AAVSO file and bin the observations…the output loses all of the comp and check star information that’s embedded in a pipe delimited string in the Notes column.

Boxster also doesn’t do a good job of handling the averaging if I’ve done a BBVVVVBB imagine sequence so that the exposure mid-points more closely line up - averaging measuremens in this sort of cadence is back to a manual process.

4. Transform to the standard system
Here again there are multiple paths of divergence. Most commercial photometry software is incapable of doing transformations on ensemble photometry. Lesve Photometry will do the transformations, but it requires successive images to be a different filter (BVIBVI) while doing the photometry, and it doesn’t provide a facility to do the transformation on data that has already been measured.

VPhot’s Transform Applier will do the ensemble photometry from an AAVSO formatted file. So, this is a pathway to accomplishing all four steps if the output from step three is in the AAVSO file format - but calculating the average of the target, comps, standard deviation and then formatting it into an AAVSO format would be an entirely manual process.

Conclusion
So either I’m missing something in the process here (which is entirely possible) or I’m interested in hearing how other observers manage to accomplish all of these best practices in their own observing programs.

Thanks,

Mike Wiles
WMEB

TRE · September 19, 2024, 2:48am

I do the pointing, focusing, imaging and image calibrations (BDF) with MaxIm DL. I keep my image files sizes small. I do all the averaging and transforms in VPHOT and TA. I figure that if AAVSO accepts the error bars from VPHOT (1/SNR i think) then AAVSO must be happy. I do submit 3 to-many stacked measurements so that a scientist can play with the RMS. Maxim becomes very inexpensive over millions of images. Sort of 100 calibrated images per penny.

Images are inspected by looking at them during Maxim calibrations and with VPHOT using the statistics presented for SNR, FWHM, etc, and, infrequently, looking directly at the stacked images.

I did several checks years ago to see if it all added up reasonably well.
I began doing it this way before NINA (I did the very first CCD image calibrations with AIP4WIN). A bit of early 1980s PEP data was gotten and averaged ( with the 6502 instruction set ) on a single board computer and my own digital circuits. Then it got plotted on a dot-matrix printer. Hot stuff in that era.

Ray
TRE

Timing is Dimension4

MikeWiles · September 19, 2024, 11:38pm

Thanks Ray,

I appreciate the comments. As I’ve thought and worked through this more, the catch to the whole process is in step 3…that there’s not a readily available tool that can be used to bin multiple observations into more accurate single measurements in a format that can then be easily used for transforming to the standard system.

Consider this data:

#SOFTWARE=VPhot 4.0.49
#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460562.91230,13.601,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.803,1.5377,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.646|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-7.989|KMAGSTD=12.803|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.192
AX Aur,2460562.91374,13.590,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.807,1.5246,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.642|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-7.982|KMAGSTD=12.807|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.199
AX Aur,2460562.91517,13.597,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.802,1.5118,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.665|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.010|KMAGSTD=12.802|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.215
AX Aur,2460562.91632,12.574,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.390,1.5050,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.300|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.549|KMAGSTD=12.390|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.365
AX Aur,2460562.91712,12.565,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.385,1.4980,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.298|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.552|KMAGSTD=12.385|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.371
AX Aur,2460562.91791,12.580,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.392,1.4912,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.306|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.553|KMAGSTD=12.392|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.364
AX Aur,2460562.91861,10.990,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.785,1.4860,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.367|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.460|KMAGSTD=11.785|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.255
AX Aur,2460562.91920,10.976,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.779,1.4811,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.372|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.471|KMAGSTD=11.779|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.274
AX Aur,2460562.91980,10.982,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.773,1.4761,0,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.382|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.488|KMAGSTD=11.773|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.279

There are no available sets of tools that I’m aware of that will find the mean of these 3 measurements in each filter and use the standard deviation of that mean to create a single magnitude estimate in each filter - 3 observations in total. As much as I can tell…this requires a manual effort in a text editor or Excel.

The old AAVSO Boxed Report Generator tool can be used to create the mean observations, but it strips away the embedded subfields (CMAGINS, CREFMAG, etc) in the Notes field and replaces them with Boxed x 3 Err = STOM(Mag).

#SOFTWARE=VPhot 4.0.49 & AAVSO Boxed Report Generator
#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460562.91374,13.596,0.003,B,No,std,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.804,1.52,0,240918,Boxed x 3  Err = STOM(Mag)
AX Aur,2460562.91712,12.573,0.004,V,No,std,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.389,1.50,0,240918,Boxed x 3  Err = STOM(Mag)
AX Aur,2460562.91920,10.983,0.004,I,No,std,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.779,1.48,0,240918,Boxed x 3  Err = STOM(Mag)

This loss of the subfields renders Transform Applier unable to transform the observations to the standard system: Cannot transform ENSEMBLE obs without an average CMAGINS and CREFMAG.

#SOFTWARE=VPhot 4.0.49 & Boxed Report Generator & TA
#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460562.91374,13.596,0.003,B,No,std,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.804,1.52,0,240918,Boxed x 3  Err = STOM(Mag)
# failed to identify the chart. Cannot transform ENSEMBLE obs without an average CMAGINS and CREFMAG.
AX Aur,2460562.91712,12.573,0.004,V,No,std,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.389,1.50,0,240918,Boxed x 3  Err = STOM(Mag)
# failed to identify the chart. Cannot transform ENSEMBLE obs without an average CMAGINS and CREFMAG.
AX Aur,2460562.91920,10.983,0.004,I,No,std,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.779,1.48,0,240918,Boxed x 3  Err = STOM(Mag)
# failed to identify the chart. Cannot transform ENSEMBLE obs without an average CMAGINS and CREFMAG.

If I want to use all of the recommended practices:

Multiple images per target/filter
Perform aperture photometry on those images
Combine the measurements and take the mean/standard deviation as the observation.
Transform those observations…

It appears that it becomes a manual process after step 2 or it involves some Javascript, VBA, or Python coding to accomplish those steps in a more automated fashion.

MZK · September 20, 2024, 12:05am

Mike:

If I follow what you want to do:

Your step 1;2 correspond to VPhot time series.
Save AAVSO Report and then open it in TA.
Your step 3;4 (actually (4;3) correspond to VPhot/TA with ‘aggregate’ box checked.

Try this and see if that is what you want?

Ken

MZK · September 21, 2024, 10:52pm

Mike:

Have you used the ‘aggregate’ box in VPhot/TA? Should give you the averaged, transformed magnitudes of the 3B,3V,3R,3I that you are looking for?

Ken

MikeWiles · September 21, 2024, 11:29pm

Hi Ken,

Sorry for the slow response, I did get a chance to put that to work yesterday afternoon and got sidetracked before coming back here to respond. It does indeed work - which you already knew. A little more experimentation showed that this is a situation where the Group field in the AAVSO file layout comes in handy to specify to transform applier how to connect the filtered transactions to do the transformations. The key for me is that in some situations it’s likely going to require manual editing of the AAVSO output file to specify the Group for each set of transactions. But even with that manual step, there is at least a direct and repeatable workflow to get to transformed observations that also incorporate those other best practices. Thanks for your response. I appreciate your knowledge and willingness to share.

I went a step further and tested that the transformation would work well (and easily) in a situation where images were captured so that the midpoint of the exposures would be nearly the same JD. In this case a filter sequence of BBBVVVIIIIIIVVVBBB

#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460557.92758,13.772,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.5228,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.665|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.005|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.040
AX Aur,2460557.92906,13.765,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.5098,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.680|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.020|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.061
AX Aur,2460557.93056,13.771,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.807,1.4969,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.673|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.013|KMAGSTD=12.807|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.050
AX Aur,2460557.93168,12.729,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.384,1.4902,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.303|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.559|KMAGSTD=12.384|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.214
AX Aur,2460557.93243,12.733,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.378,1.4840,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.313|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.574|KMAGSTD=12.378|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.219
AX Aur,2460557.93317,12.730,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.382,1.4778,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.300|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.557|KMAGSTD=12.382|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.210
AX Aur,2460557.93391,11.121,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.769,1.4723,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.325|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.435|KMAGSTD=11.769|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.083
AX Aur,2460557.93502,11.114,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.762,1.4632,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.452|KMAGSTD=11.762|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.101
AX Aur,2460557.93560,11.121,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.775,1.4586,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.337|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.440|KMAGSTD=11.775|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.094
AX Aur,2460557.93617,11.118,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.780,1.4542,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.340|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.439|KMAGSTD=11.780|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.101
AX Aur,2460557.93675,11.126,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.777,1.4496,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.344|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.446|KMAGSTD=11.777|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.097
AX Aur,2460557.93748,12.718,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.384,1.4433,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.330|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.585|KMAGSTD=12.384|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.251
AX Aur,2460557.93822,12.730,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.389,1.4376,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.369|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.619|KMAGSTD=12.389|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.278
AX Aur,2460557.93896,12.733,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.385,1.4320,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.328|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.582|KMAGSTD=12.385|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.234
AX Aur,2460557.94014,13.773,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.4205,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.688|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.029|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.062
AX Aur,2460557.94157,13.763,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.4100,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.704|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.045|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.088
AX Aur,2460557.94302,13.772,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.810,1.3996,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.690|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.027|KMAGSTD=12.810|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.065
AX Aur,2460557.95836,13.771,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.803,1.3023,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.695|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.038|KMAGSTD=12.803|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.071
AX Aur,2460557.95980,13.762,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.802,1.2943,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.703|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.048|KMAGSTD=12.802|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.088
AX Aur,2460557.96124,13.763,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.803,1.2864,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.713|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.057|KMAGSTD=12.803|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.097
AX Aur,2460557.96237,12.729,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.384,1.2821,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.320|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.575|KMAGSTD=12.384|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.231
AX Aur,2460557.96313,12.736,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.385,1.2781,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.332|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.587|KMAGSTD=12.385|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.236
AX Aur,2460557.96385,12.728,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.383,1.2742,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.355|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.612|KMAGSTD=12.383|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.266
AX Aur,2460557.96457,11.124,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.763,1.2709,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.331|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.446|KMAGSTD=11.763|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.085
AX Aur,2460557.96516,11.119,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.770,1.2678,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.322|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.430|KMAGSTD=11.770|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.081
AX Aur,2460557.96575,11.124,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.774,1.2648,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.352|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.457|KMAGSTD=11.774|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.106
AX Aur,2460557.96632,11.122,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.768,1.2618,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.333|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.444|KMAGSTD=11.768|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.090
AX Aur,2460557.96689,11.124,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.769,1.2590,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.344|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.453|KMAGSTD=11.769|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.098
AX Aur,2460557.96747,11.121,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.768,1.2561,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.446|KMAGSTD=11.768|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.094
AX Aur,2460557.96825,12.730,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.383,1.2518,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.325|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.582|KMAGSTD=12.383|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.234
AX Aur,2460557.96906,12.729,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.378,1.2478,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.355|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.616|KMAGSTD=12.378|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.265
AX Aur,2460557.96983,12.724,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.375,1.2441,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.331|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.595|KMAGSTD=12.375|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.245
AX Aur,2460557.97103,13.754,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.801,1.2368,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.728|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.074|KMAGSTD=12.801|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.121
AX Aur,2460557.97251,13.759,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.805,1.2298,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.738|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.080|KMAGSTD=12.805|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.126
AX Aur,2460557.97394,13.763,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.807,1.2233,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.739|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.079|KMAGSTD=12.807|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.123

These 36 observations aggregated and transformed to 2 observations in each filter with the same (more or less) JD and transformed mean magnitudes.

#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460557.93532,13.860,0.007,B,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.783,1.4564,1101,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.683|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|CX=1.3332|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.024|KMAGSTD=12.807|KMAGTRAN=12.783|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|KX=1.3437|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tb_bv=0.1780|Tb_bvErr=0.0310|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-7.061|VMAGSTD=13.769|VX=1.4564|k1=0.3000|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.93532,12.636,0.006,V,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.390,1.4545,1101,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.324|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|CX=1.3424|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.579|KMAGSTD=12.384|KMAGTRAN=12.390|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|KX=1.3720|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tv_bv=-0.1010|Tv_bvErr=0.0290|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-8.234|VMAGSTD=12.729|VX=1.4545|k1=0.1800|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.93549,11.092,0.010,I,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.766,1.4527,1101,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|CX=1.2622|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.443|KMAGSTD=11.773|KMAGTRAN=11.766|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|KX=1.3422|NOBS=5|TAver=2.70|Ti_vi=-0.0120|Ti_viErr=0.0420|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-9.095|VMAGSTD=11.120|VX=1.4527|k1=0.1000|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.96615,13.891,0.002,B,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.782,1.2600,2102,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.719|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|CX=1.2587|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.063|KMAGSTD=12.804|KMAGTRAN=12.782|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|KX=1.2603|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tb_bv=0.1780|Tb_bvErr=0.0310|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-7.104|VMAGSTD=13.762|VX=1.2600|k1=0.3000|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.96608,12.656,0.002,V,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.393,1.2591,2102,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|CX=1.2579|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.594|KMAGSTD=12.381|KMAGTRAN=12.393|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|KX=1.2595|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tv_bv=-0.1010|Tv_bvErr=0.0290|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-8.246|VMAGSTD=12.729|VX=1.2591|k1=0.1800|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.96603,11.113,0.001,I,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.770,1.2591,2102,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|CX=1.2578|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.447|KMAGSTD=11.769|KMAGTRAN=11.770|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|KX=1.2595|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Ti_vi=-0.0120|Ti_viErr=0.0420|VERR=0.001|VMAGINS=-9.093|VMAGSTD=11.122|VX=1.2591|k1=0.1000|k1err=0.0500

Thanks again,

Mike Wiles
WMEB

MZK · September 21, 2024, 11:54pm

Mike:

Yes, George Silvis wrestled with the various different filter image schemes that might be used but did not pursue your specific use of 36 images (2x18). So you needed to manually edit ‘groups’ to get the result you ideally wanted.

However, if you had chosen to run the two sets of 18 filter images separately, you would have got two separate reports with the same result, without any manual editing.

Nothing’s perfect! I find running two separate groups/reports (2x18) much easier than editing the groups value to get the same result in one report (1x36).

With respect to this Topic’s Goal, the bottom line is that VPhot/TA does provide a simple process for generating an AAVSO Report that meets all the Best Practices. AFAIK, no other software does it?

Ken

MikeWiles · September 22, 2024, 3:15pm

Totally agree Ken. Between stacking (if needing to increase SNR) in VPHOT and aggregating observations in Transform Applier, VPhot does provide all of the tools necessary to accomplish all of those tasks. Manually editing the groups is a small task where it’s necessary for the situation…and George has done a great job. There are so many possible scenarios with grouping that i don’t know that there’s an automated way to correctly identify how to group observations.

For now, there’s an excellent and workable plan to accomplish good photometry. Thanks for your input and guidance. At some point I’ll devise some sort of tool to graphically make the groupings an easier task…but for now, simple edits to the file will suffice.

Thanks again,

Mike
WMEB

sric · September 25, 2024, 8:13pm

[quote=“MikeWiles, post:6, topic:682”]

#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460557.92758,13.772,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.5228,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.665|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.005|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.040
AX Aur,2460557.92906,13.765,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.5098,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.680|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.020|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.061
AX Aur,2460557.93056,13.771,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.807,1.4969,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.673|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.013|KMAGSTD=12.807|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.050
AX Aur,2460557.93168,12.729,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.384,1.4902,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.303|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.559|KMAGSTD=12.384|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.214
AX Aur,2460557.93243,12.733,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.378,1.4840,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.313|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.574|KMAGSTD=12.378|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.219
AX Aur,2460557.93317,12.730,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.382,1.4778,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.300|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.557|KMAGSTD=12.382|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.210
AX Aur,2460557.93391,11.121,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.769,1.4723,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.325|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.435|KMAGSTD=11.769|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.083
AX Aur,2460557.93502,11.114,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.762,1.4632,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.452|KMAGSTD=11.762|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.101
AX Aur,2460557.93560,11.121,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.775,1.4586,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.337|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.440|KMAGSTD=11.775|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.094
AX Aur,2460557.93617,11.118,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.780,1.4542,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.340|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.439|KMAGSTD=11.780|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.101
AX Aur,2460557.93675,11.126,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.777,1.4496,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.344|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.446|KMAGSTD=11.777|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.097
AX Aur,2460557.93748,12.718,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.384,1.4433,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.330|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.585|KMAGSTD=12.384|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.251
AX Aur,2460557.93822,12.730,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.389,1.4376,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.369|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.619|KMAGSTD=12.389|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.278
AX Aur,2460557.93896,12.733,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.385,1.4320,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.328|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.582|KMAGSTD=12.385|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.234
AX Aur,2460557.94014,13.773,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.4205,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.688|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.029|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.062
AX Aur,2460557.94157,13.763,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.806,1.4100,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.704|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.045|KMAGSTD=12.806|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.088
AX Aur,2460557.94302,13.772,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.810,1.3996,1,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.690|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.027|KMAGSTD=12.810|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.065
AX Aur,2460557.95836,13.771,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.803,1.3023,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.695|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.038|KMAGSTD=12.803|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.071
AX Aur,2460557.95980,13.762,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.802,1.2943,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.703|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.048|KMAGSTD=12.802|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.088
AX Aur,2460557.96124,13.763,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.803,1.2864,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.713|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.057|KMAGSTD=12.803|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.097
AX Aur,2460557.96237,12.729,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.384,1.2821,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.320|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.575|KMAGSTD=12.384|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.231
AX Aur,2460557.96313,12.736,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.385,1.2781,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.332|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.587|KMAGSTD=12.385|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.236
AX Aur,2460557.96385,12.728,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.383,1.2742,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.355|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.612|KMAGSTD=12.383|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.266
AX Aur,2460557.96457,11.124,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.763,1.2709,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.331|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.446|KMAGSTD=11.763|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.085
AX Aur,2460557.96516,11.119,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.770,1.2678,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.322|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.430|KMAGSTD=11.770|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.081
AX Aur,2460557.96575,11.124,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.774,1.2648,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.352|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.457|KMAGSTD=11.774|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.106
AX Aur,2460557.96632,11.122,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.768,1.2618,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.333|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.444|KMAGSTD=11.768|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.090
AX Aur,2460557.96689,11.124,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.769,1.2590,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.344|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.453|KMAGSTD=11.769|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.098
AX Aur,2460557.96747,11.121,0.002,I,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.768,1.2561,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.446|KMAGSTD=11.768|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|VMAGINS=-9.094
AX Aur,2460557.96825,12.730,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.383,1.2518,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.325|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.582|KMAGSTD=12.383|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.234
AX Aur,2460557.96906,12.729,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.378,1.2478,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.355|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.616|KMAGSTD=12.378|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.265
AX Aur,2460557.96983,12.724,0.003,V,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.375,1.2441,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.331|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.595|KMAGSTD=12.375|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|VMAGINS=-8.245
AX Aur,2460557.97103,13.754,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.801,1.2368,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.728|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.074|KMAGSTD=12.801|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.121
AX Aur,2460557.97251,13.759,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.805,1.2298,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.738|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.080|KMAGSTD=12.805|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.126
AX Aur,2460557.97394,13.763,0.004,B,NO,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.807,1.2233,2,240918,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.739|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.079|KMAGSTD=12.807|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|VMAGINS=-7.123

These 36 observations aggregated and transformed to 2 observations in each filter with the same (more or less) JD and transformed mean magnitudes.

#NAME,DATE,MAG,MERR,FILT,TRANS,MTYPE,CNAME,CMAG,KNAME,KMAG,AMASS,GROUP,CHART,NOTES
AX Aur,2460557.93532,13.860,0.007,B,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.783,1.4564,1101,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.683|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|CX=1.3332|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.024|KMAGSTD=12.807|KMAGTRAN=12.783|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|KX=1.3437|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tb_bv=0.1780|Tb_bvErr=0.0310|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-7.061|VMAGSTD=13.769|VX=1.4564|k1=0.3000|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.93532,12.636,0.006,V,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.390,1.4545,1101,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.324|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|CX=1.3424|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.579|KMAGSTD=12.384|KMAGTRAN=12.390|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|KX=1.3720|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tv_bv=-0.1010|Tv_bvErr=0.0290|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-8.234|VMAGSTD=12.729|VX=1.4545|k1=0.1800|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.93549,11.092,0.010,I,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.766,1.4527,1101,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=11.879|CX=1.2622|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.443|KMAGSTD=11.773|KMAGTRAN=11.766|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.100|KREFMAG=11.793|KX=1.3422|NOBS=5|TAver=2.70|Ti_vi=-0.0120|Ti_viErr=0.0420|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-9.095|VMAGSTD=11.120|VX=1.4527|k1=0.1000|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.96615,13.891,0.002,B,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.782,1.2600,2102,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-7.719|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=13.147|CX=1.2587|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.063|KMAGSTD=12.804|KMAGTRAN=12.782|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.021|KREFMAG=12.772|KX=1.2603|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tb_bv=0.1780|Tb_bvErr=0.0310|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-7.104|VMAGSTD=13.762|VX=1.2600|k1=0.3000|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.96608,12.656,0.002,V,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,12.393,1.2591,2102,,|CDEC=31.64387|CMAGINS=-8.336|CRA=86.63517|CREFMAG=12.639|CX=1.2579|ENSTYPE=1|KDEC=31.58217|KMAGINS=-8.594|KMAGSTD=12.381|KMAGTRAN=12.393|KRA=86.73542|KREFERR=0.057|KREFMAG=12.394|KX=1.2595|NOBS=6|TAver=2.70|Tv_bv=-0.1010|Tv_bvErr=0.0290|VERR=0.002|VMAGINS=-8.246|VMAGSTD=12.729|VX=1.2591|k1=0.1800|k1err=0.0500
AX Aur,2460557.96603,11.113,0.001,I,YES,STD,ENSEMBLE,na,124A_1,11.770,1.2591,2102,



If you want to use LesvePhotometry to process all 18 image files and transform the results into a AAVSO format text file, you can combine the results into a summary  file using the program "AAVSO_Util.appplication".  It is in the same zip file as Boxster but will calculate the mean magnitude of any number of images that have the same target  name and filter name. It's calculates the error as Standard Error if there are more than two images or average error in there are only two.  
Boxster was intended to use on single filter time series only.
Richard Sabo