March 1, 2016: Ms. Deanne Coppejans (PhD candidate, Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands) and University of Cape Town) and colleagues have requested AAVSO observer assistance in monitoring several northern dwarf novae in support of their campaign to observe them with the Very Large Array (VLA) in their ongoing radio jet research. Their research on radio jets in dwarf novae has been discussed in AAVSO Alert Notice 505.
February 26, 2016: Dr. Jeno Sokoloski (Columbia University) and Mx. Adrian Lucy (graduate student, Columbia University) have requested AAVSO observations of the jet-driving symbiotic star V694 Mon (MWC 560), which is in outburst, in support of upcoming Chandra observations to investigate the state of the inner accretion disk during this outburst.
The Chandra observations are scheduled (preliminary schedule) for 2016 March 8 (7:17-14:13 UTC) and March 9 (2:20-9:17 UTC).
February 26, 2016: Dr. Donald F. Collins (AAVSO member, Swannanoa, NC), Dr. Robert Zavala (US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station), and Jason Sanborn (Lowell Observatory) request high time-resolution observations of the bright eclipsing star b Persei (not beta) during an expected secondary eclipse of the third star of the system as it is expected to pass behind the close orbiting stars of the system in the two weeks centered on March 7, 2016. Dr. Collins provides the information below.
February 23, 2016: Deanne Coppejans (Department of Astrophysics, Radboud University Nijmegen) requests observations of the dwarf nova SU UMa now in order to determine its status. She and colleagues observed it on 20 February 2016 with the Very Large Array (VLA) and need to know whether it is (was) in outburst.
Observations of SU UMa in the AAVSO International Database from around the time of the VLA observations show it to be in quiescence:
February 8, 2016: Further to AAVSO Special Notice #412, Dr. James Miller-Jones (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia) and colleagues have requested AAVSO assistance in support of their multiwavelength (radio and optical) campaign on the dwarf nova SS Cyg. Close monitoring of SS Cyg and immediate reporting of observations to the AAVSO via WebObs is requested beginning now.
February 4, 2016: A multiwavelength (radio and optical) observing campaign on SS Cyg is underway, and AAVSO participation is urgently requested. An AAVSO Alert Notice will be issued February 5 with full details.
The purpose of this Special Notice is to alert observers right now to the need to monitor SS Cyg very closely and report your observations to the AAVSO via WebObs at once. It is likely to go into outburst very soon, and immediate reporting of outburst behavior is crucial to the success of the campaign.
AAVSO Newsletter 67, January 2016 is now available to members
The AAVSO Newsletter is a periodic, general forum that supports our various observing programs with lists of new targets, observing programming ideas, and general information that spans a wide area of interest. Guest writers contribute pieces that can range from current events to book reviews.
