From jop at astro.columbia.edu Wed Feb 11 11:37:52 1998 From: jop at astro.columbia.edu (Joe Patterson) Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 11:37:52 -0500 (EST) Subject: (cba:news) CU Vel erupts Message-ID: <199802111637.LAA00881@tristram.phys.columbia.edu> Dear CBAers, In particular, southern gentlefolks. We've been waiting for a long time for CU Vel to erupt. No superoutburst photometry has ever been properly published, and the timing now is perfect. It has been at mag 10.9 for 2 days now - that's *almost* enough to certify a superoutburst, and if it's bright (say brighter than 11.5) for a third night, tonight, then it's definite (unless this star is quite different from the usual pattern). The timing's great now, with the star crossing the meridian near local midnight. So have a go at it! Coords and chart in the original Downes and Shara (Feb 1993 PASP). Exact 2000 coords are 8 58 35.8, -41 47 51. The field right around the variable is clear, but the region is crowded so try to identify your comp star with precision. 'Nuther CBA message coming later today. By the way, I lost email for about 8 hours last night, in case you sent anything critical. joe From jop at astro.columbia.edu Mon Feb 23 17:25:34 1998 From: jop at astro.columbia.edu (Joe Patterson) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 17:25:34 -0500 (EST) Subject: (cba:news) stars du jour Message-ID: <199802232225.RAA06533@tristram.phys.columbia.edu> Dear CBAers, Feb. 23, 1998. Stars. We still love DI UMa and RZ LMi. These stars are ever erupting and we'd like to keep following those superhumps for as long as the stars are around. They dive to 18.3 and 17.5 in quiescence, though - only for the bigscopers. DI just finished a superoutburst, but RZ is just starting one (I think). Not getting much action on PQ Gem. Try it, it's a good one, with a healthy 14 minute signal. AM CVn and EC1533-1403 = HP Lib have crept back into the morning sky, and as usual we crave timings of their ~18 min pulses. Pretty easy to do! - but check that clock for accuracy! Then there's RZ Leo (the real Leo not the minor one). Very very good target, with wonderful rewards in store for the observer who can endure its faintness (17.5). Amplitude's pretty big, without much flickering. So in summary: PQ Gem in the evening DI UMa/RZ LMi when they rise, if bright enough; if not, PQ AM CVn/HP Lib in the morning Except for the south. Main story there is: AH Men or RR Pic in the evening RZ Leo or T Pyx around midnight HP Lib in morning Goin' off to Vermont in a few hours. Some e-mail access but not extensive. Back in 5 days. Check the new website (https://cbastro.org), gotta lotta improvements including satellite weather maps. joe