Testing a New Method of Detecting RR Lyrae Variable Stars

Our group has submitted two papers for publication describing a new method of detecting RR Lyrae variable stars using only a single epoch of both photometry and spectroscopy taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The method takes advantage of clear departures from the template norm for stars that have photometry and spectroscopy taken out of phase. This paper describes observations taken at McDonald Observatory to test the method's accuracy. I will discuss how and why the method works, our McDonald observations, and some statistical methods for determining the variability of stars that lack complete light curves.