(cba:news) new stars for july/aug

[Joe Patterson]

Dear CBAers,

Olde Whiteface is ravaging the sky again... and things are quiet on the
dwarf-nova front... so let's make some adjustments!

Plenty of good mysteries up there among the novalikes - and with the
advantage that they can be studied closely in long campaigns, not subject
to the up-and-down whims of eruptions.

So strike 2qz 0219-30 from the menu (and likely your hearts), but keep a
close eye on MN Dra and IX Dra in case they erupt.  For the latter two, we
want long-term light curves (including snapshot mags), as well as the long
time series which are our primary calling card.  But the long time series
are likely to be of poor quality unless they erupt.

V1494 Aql is still a good target from both hemispheres.

In the south, I recommend RZ Gru and V345 Pav.  We've tried RZ Gru before
and not found much - but it's mighty bright and should give you excellent
data, so we might just succeed on another try.  V345 Pav is a little
fainter but still feasible - a 4.75 hr eclipsing novalike which has been
very little studied despite quite an intriguing orbital lightcurve.  It's
a good target, and might be a great one.

In the north, I recommend MV Lyr.  Another one we've tried before, with
mixed results.  We've found some periodic signals, but with questions
about their stability; we really need to firm up the data base!  In
addition, V1494 Aql - and the Draco boys in case they erupt - are good
menu items.


joe