(cba:news) hp lib, cr boo, am cvn, sdss0902+38 (Joe Patterson) [2014-03-15T06:03:11Z]

Dear CBAers,

It's March again, and practically all the AM CVn stars are up there, 
ripe for observation.  Most importatntly, sdss0902+38 has risen brighter 
than a few days, quite possibly signifying its first-ever superoutburst. 
 Wonderful target - who knows when the next chance will come?

We're getting good coverage on AM CVn, and in a few more weeks we'll be 
able to nail down the long-term Pdot (orbital, that is).  Good target 
for bright, moonlit skies.  And in fact, *so* good that it's time - or 
very soon will be the time - to do the same for HP Lib.  Like AM CVn, it 
will likely be found a source of gravity waves, and to reap that benefit 
we need to know the *precise* orbital period.  Over a long baseline. 
Easy target for all CBA scopes.

I agonize about CR Boo.  We really want to find it faint, or *extremely* 
bright.  It usually ramps up and down rapidly in an intermediate 
brightness state - and periodicity analysis is then quite hampered.  On 
the other hand, if we don't look frequently, we won't find out about its 
luminosity states *or* its periodicities.  So keep an eye on it.

And there are others too.  Major league baseball, Einstein's birthday, 
March madness, the AM CVns... they all come together near the equinox.

joe
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