VeSPA: The SuperWASP Variable Star Photometry Archive

TL;DR

VeSPA is a publicly accessible archive of variable star light curves from the SuperWASP project, developed through citizen science efforts to classify and analyze stellar variability.

Contribution

This work introduces the VeSPA archive, a novel platform for visual classification and analysis of variable star light curves using citizen science.

Findings

First two years of citizen science classifications published online

Archive allows browsing, downloading, and interactive light curve analysis

Ongoing updates and feature development for the archive

Abstract

We present the first results from the SuperWASP Variable Stars (SVS) citizen science project. The photometry archive of the Wide Angle Search for Planets has previously been searched for periodic variations and the results of this search formed the basis of the SVS project on the Zooniverse. The SVS project asks volunteers to visually inspect light curve plots and categorize each one according to a broad classification scheme. Results from the first two years of SVS have now been published online as the SuperWASP Variable Star Photometry Archive (VeSPA). The archive can be browsed online, downloaded in full, or queried, filtered, and sorted to export a refined set of results. An interactive light curve viewer also allows any light curve to be folded at a user-defined period. Analysis of citizen science results and development of VeSPA features are both ongoing. Updated results will be published every six months.