May 9, 2014: The HST/COS observations of the cataclysmic variable SBS 1108+574 described in AAVSO Alert Notice 501 have been pushed back a few days. The new exact time of the observations is:
SBS 1108+574 2014 May 16 06:19:04 - 15:16:56 UT
March 27, 2014: Koichi Nishiyama (Kurume, Japan) and Fujio Kabashima (Miyaki, Japan) report (via the IAU CBAT TOCP page, http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/unconf/tocp.html) their discovery of a transient in Scorpius [V1534 Sco]:
R.A. 17 15 46.83 Dec. -31 28 30.3 (2000.0)
2014 Mar. 26.84867 UT, magnitude 10.1 unfiltered CCD
March 17, 2014: HST/COS is scheduled to observe the the U Gem-type dwarf nova
SDSS J100658.40+233724.4 this Thursday. Observations are scheduled for:
SDSS J100658.40+233724.4 2014 March 20 05:35:00 through 14:17:27 UT
The scheduling team will likely make their final decision early WEDNESDAY (March 19), so your observations are essential tonight and tomorrow night.
March 5, 2014: HST/COS are being scheduled for the U Gem-type dwarf nova SDSS J100658.40+233724.4, the 40th and final target of the major CV observing campaign organized in 2012 by Drs. Boris Gaensicke, Joseph Patterson, Arne Henden, and 13 other astronomers (see AAVSO Alert Notice 471 and note below). A precise time will be announced later, but the scheduled HST observing window is:
SDSS J100658.40+233724.4 2014 Mar. 20 or 21 UT (to be determined)
February 6, 2014: Rod Stubbings (observer code SRX; Tetoora Road, Victoria, Australia) reports an outburst of the recurrent nova V0745 Sco (aka Nova Sco 1937). Stubbings reports the nova at a visual magnitude of 9.0 on 2014 February 6.694 UT (JD 2456695.194). He previously observed the field on 2014 February 5.696 and found the star fainter than 13.0, indicating that this outburst began within the past 24 hours.
December 19, 2013: IAU CBET 3762 (Daniel W. E. Green, Ed.) announces the discovery of Supernova 2013hn in IC 4329 by Ella Sanders Kot and R. Kot (Truth or Consequences, NM) and D. Coffin (University of Iowa) at unfiltered magnitude 15.2 on 2013 December 13.544 UT using the 0.37-m f/14 Rigel telescope at the Iowa Robotic Observatory near Sonoita, AZ. E. S. Kot adds that a follow-up image taken on December 16.53 shows SN 2013hn at mag 14.8 U (position end figures 59.19s, 26.9").
December 18, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 493, Dr. Hans Moritz Guenther (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) has been given the precise times of the Chandra X-ray observations to be made of the T Tauri star BP Tau:
year:day:hour:min (in UT):
2013:356:22:52-2013:357:10:00 = 2013 Dec 22 22:52 through Dec 23 10:00 UT
2013:359:14:46-2013:360:06:06 = 2013 Dec 25 14:46 through Dec 26 06:06 UT
December 2, 2013: Further to AAVSO Special Notice #318 (M. Templeton) and AAVSO Alert Notice 475 (E. Waagen), Dr. Michael Shara (American Museum of Natural History) informs us that HST/COS observations of the dwarf nova U Gem have been scheduled for 2013 December 6 UT (one day earlier than originally indicated in the December 2 posting to the AAVSO forums). The observations will take place:
November 13, 2013: The symbiotic star AS 270 is in outburst, according to observations reported to vsnet-alert by Berto Monard (MLF; Calitzdorp, South Africa) and to the AAVSO International Database (AID) by Steve O'Connor (OCN; St. George's, Bermuda). O'Connor reports the star at V=11.72 +/-0.03 on 2013 November 13.405 UT (JD 2456609.905), well above its normal minimum magnitude of 14.2V.
