(cba:news) T Pyx, AM CVn, and VX For

[Joe Patterson]

Hi CBAers,

A few comments re 2 old favorites, and one mystery star.

Runs by Josch and Gordon in the last few days suggest that T Pyx MAY 
have sprouted a new low-frequency signal.  I wouldn't call it likely... 
but it's curious - and anyway, we're not supposed to miss anything about 
THIS star!  Very well-placed now; let's get some more runs and investigate.

AM CVn is back in the morning sky.  Our paper is ~ready to fly, but some 
early-season runs of >3 hours would help it.

VX For. In ~1990 I was on a long run in Chile, when this star first 
erupted.  I obtained long runs on 9 (I think) consecutive nights.  To my 
chagrin, the light curve was always ~flat.  I wouldn't have stayed with 
it, except that it sits next to a beautiful galaxy, and I loved staring 
at that galaxy every 40 seconds.  The spectrum clearly said "dwarf 
nova", but I had never seen - and still haven't - seen a dwarf nova with 
so little variability.  And which didn't reveal at least a HINT about 
its period.

Alas, nothing happened in the galaxy either.

It looks like I wrote about this star, when it  erupted again in 2009... 
and it's on Rod Stubbings' website.  Anyway, we still know very little 
about this fascinating star.  A worthy target.


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