How to Really Describe the Variable Sky

Abstract

Whilst the classification of variable sources is one of the big challenges in the new era of time domain astronomy, it needs to be based on an effective characterization of the temporal behaviour of astronomical objects. Such attempts to date have been rather limited in scale and in scope. In this talk, we report on a systematic approach to describe the variability of 1.5 million CRTS sources in terms of the different kinds of phenomenology that they might exhibit. In particular, we are interested in ways in which characteristic timescales might reveal themselves and will address how this can aid object classification.