1. John Rachlin, Ph.D. and Mark McGettrick (co-founders) Diatom Software LLC www.DiatomSoftware.com The International Variable Star Index (VSX) on the iPhone 1

2. Motivation 2 GOAL: Create a generic framework for converting modest data sets (< 1 million records) into an app for the iOS platform (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad) that would enable searching, sorting, and viewing of data (with data analysis capability to follow). The Post-Genomic Era: Bioinformatics is a major scientific endeavor driving research in biomedical science and drug discovery. The rise of survey astronomy: current and future wide- field surveys across the spectrum creating massive astronomical catalogues (and exciting opportunities for in silico discovery through data-mining).

3. The Conversion Process 3 ReParse Data to regularize SQLite DataBase Meta-Data (Column Descriptors) [data addObject:[[MDTMetaData alloc] initWithIdentifier:4 colname:@"ra" displayname:@"Right Ascension" coltype:NUMERIC description:@"Right Ascension (Epoch 2000)" values:nil precision:6 delimiter:' ' multivalued:NO filterable:YES sortable:YES displayable:YES layoutorder:4]]; API Core DB GUI Astronomy Extensions The App

4. Filtering 4 Meta-data defines whether you can filter on a particular column, and how (Multi-Select, Numeric, Boolean) Number of hits is automatically updated

5. Sorting Sortable fields are defined in meta- data Ascending/Descending/Off Drag to reorder 5

6. Viewing matches The summary table provides a sorted list of all matching variables Key information displayed: name, type, range, period, position 6

7. Favorites Establish an observing program by selecting favorites Future: A gateway to recording observations 7

8. Visibility: Astronomical Extensions 8 Where to find me on a clear night!

9. Future directions Record observations with certain fields pre-populated for greater accuracy: Julian date, chart number, AAVSO initials Data analysis reports, cross-correlation chart generation. E.g., plot period v. amplitude for all RRab type stars. Store finder charts (iPad recommended) Plot light curves or other features that leverage AAVSO APIs and web-services Alert notifications when a star is due to be observed. (User would indicate target observation frequency.) Red-light / night mode. Educational content to encourage the involvement of the next generation of variable star observers! 9

10. Expected Release: November 2010 Expected Price: $2 - $4 10 When and How Much?