November stars

From: Joe Patterson <*jop_at_astro.columbia.edu*> Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 22:37:00 -0500 (EST) · jop_at_astro.columbia.edu

Dear CBAers,

Sorry I've been so quiet lately.  Still in mourning after that Game 7 Red
Sox loss, you know.

Some news about campaigns.  The response on FO Aqr has been really good,
especially from Bob Rea.  We've got enough, and can shuffle it off stage
for the rest of the year.

Likewise, FS Aur can be demoted.  It still shows its usual (and baffling)
3.4 hour variation... and we can just track it over the years.  Off until
further notice.

V1101 Aql has been superb - well observed by Dave Messier and Tom Krajci.
It has powerful negative superhumps, which maintain a constant strength
(in energy units, not magnitudes) as the star ramps up and down from
maximum to minimum light.  It will be lovely to carry out an extensive
campaign on this next year, when the star is better positioned.  But even
this abbreviated campaign is plenty informative.  Still, the seasons grind
onward, and it's time to leave the star.

Here's a good menu for the next month.

Lotta stuff in the north.  Two evening stars, LD 317 ("And" in the CV
catalogut) and "Peg" (at 23 09 49.2 +21:35:18).  Then some far-northern
guys: HS0455+83 ("Cep") and RX0625+73 ("Cam").

A quieter time in the south.  I most strongly recommend three stars: AH
Men, our old friend; EF Tuc, which might become a new one; and possibly
the SDSS star at 0407-06 ("Eri" in CV Catalogue) which Berto has written
about.  I don't really know anything about the latter - but it's
definitely of great interest when it erupts (possibly too faint at
quiescence).

I promise to reform and write more!  By the way, Jonathan and I are still
excluded from receiving notifications of dwarf-nova eruptions through
vsnet, and this seems unlikely to change.  I would greatly appreciate it
if any of you receiving those notices would help keep us informed.
Thanks!

joe