Stars for October

From: Joe Patterson <*jop_at_astro.columbia.edu*> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 17:40:24 -0400 (EDT) · jop_at_astro.columbia.edu

Dear CBAers,

Time for some serious changes in the vault of heaven.

Mainly in the north.  There are a few stars still decently placed in the
evening sky, and in the 14-15 mag range, which are good superhump
candidates.  OR And performed very well with a signal at 0.135 d, deduced
(mainly) from the data sent by Major Tom, Cap'n Bob, and Civilians Jerry
and Lew.  Now we'll have to wait and see what the spectroscopy reveals -
which should be a certifiable Porb (whereas the photometric period could
be of orbital or superhump origin).  I think we have enough now on OR And.

In the last message I resurrected LS Peg.  Sorry to change my mind on this
one... but the first few nights looked pretty consistent with last year's
coverage (a pretty negative superhump), and since that coverage was so
good, I'm inclined to not try again.  Too many other goodies in the
evening sky.

In the early evening, there's V1101 Aql.  At 2013+15, I'm hoping that some
of the southerners can do it too.  It's 14-15 and seems to have a 3-4 hour
period.  Practically a virgin star, worth a special effort and likely to
resist the ravages of moonlight.

Then there's the star known as Cyg6 in the Downes catalog.  Also known as
KPD 2032+50, this is the only remaining star in the Downes UV-bright
survey with an unknown orbital period.  After we learn Porb, there is a
lot we can do with this survey.  Let's erase this blot on humanity's
knowledge. Coords 20 34 14.54  +50 48 6.2

Then there's DI Lac, which has now become a more interesting target...
basically not observed in 40 years.  In the sky practically all night.

Those are the northern big shots for early October.

In the south, I hear that V551 Sgr is getting a bit faint.  Worth covering
for a few more days, if you can get quality data.  RU Hor is a very fine
choice: still bright, still superhumping, and still very desirous of more
coverage.

And AO Psc and FO Aqr... very nice pulse-timers, invulnerable to moonlight
except when the Moon actually comes close (which it does for 2-3 days a
month).

joe