December stars

From: Joe Patterson <*jop_at_astro.columbia.edu*> Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 09:46:44 -0500 (EST) · jop_at_astro.columbia.edu

Dear CBAers,

Well I am trying hard to finish off the WZ Sagittae paper this week.  I
doubt I'll make it but it'll be a valiant effort... and a release from WZ
Sge jail.  (Apparently I didn't learn my lesson the first time around.)
Final exams this week, then a respite for a few weeks.  In theory.

John Thorstensen is writing up the quite spectacular results from
RX2329+06, and in a few weeks I'll write a short photometry paper to
accompany.  What a precious little gem that star is... we definitely want
to continue the coverage on it another month, to sharpen our knowledge of
the period (around 64 minutes) and allow us to extend it into the next
observing season.  Thanks to the photometry team on this guy (krajci,
skillman, fried, starkey, beshore, foote, vanmunster, oksanen, rea).

We're about to wrap up BW Scl.  Recently only Bob Rea has managed to get
good data - but it looks pretty good despite the faintness (~17).  Bob,
could you keep it up until around Jan 1?  Then we'll give it up.

The new target is BK Lyn.  This is a decently bright star, at about 14.5,
and has flashed some very potent superhumps in past years (well... the 2
years of decent coverage anyway).  Plus, Cindy Taylor started a
spectroscopic run on it last night at Kitt Peak, to look for the
line-profile variations that should accompany superhumps.  At 0917+34,
it's not an early-evening object... but nail it as soon as it pops over
those eastern trees.

Before BK Lyn, FS Aur and TT Ari are the northern stars du jour.  I
recommend continued harassment of FS Aur until it yields its secrets.  Tom
Krajci found a quite remarkable outburst of it 2 weeks ago, in which it
flashed some new rapid oscillations.  It's definitely Auriga season - and
hey, we could use some big-time help from Europe and Asia on this!

Down south, I still hunger to know about EC05114-7955 (or EC23593-6724 if
that's obstructed).  You Kiwis must be having a lot of fun this summer...
and you can atone for it with some really beautiful light curves.

    joe