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Special Notice #226: Request for observations of FS Aurigae
December 4, 2010: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 428, the star FS Aurigae appears to be entering outburst. The star was in quiescence on 2010 December 3.22 (JD 2455533.72; V = 16.3, G. Lubcke) but had risen to V=14.9 on 2010 December 4.23 (JD 2455534.73; R. Campbell). Subsequent observations by H. McGee and A. Novichonok have confirmed that FS Aur is rising. Time series observations of FS Aurigae are encouraged at this time; any and all filters may be used including clear, but V filter is preferred.
Special Notice #225: A new UGWZ candidate in Pisces
December 1, 2010: A bright transient in Pisces was discovered by K. Itagaki at an unfiltered magnitude of 12.3 on 2010 November 30.50663 UT (JD 2455531.00663; reported by H. Yamaoka in vsnet-outburst 11854). The object was confirmed at V=12.1 by A. Oksanen (Muurame, Finland) shortly afterward (vsnet-outburst 11855), and I. Miller (Swansea, Wales, UK) reported the presence of superhumps with period 0.0571 day (reported by T. Kato, vsnet-outburst 11859). As noted by Yamaoka and by R.
Alert Notice 428: Monitoring requested of the peculiar cataclysmic variable FS Aurigae
November 30, 2010: Dr. Vitaly Neustroev (U.
Alert Notice 427: Observing campaign on BM Ori and the Trapezium region
November 23, 2010: The AAVSO requests ground-based observations of the Trapezium region of the Orion Nebula (M42), along with surrounding regions in Orion, in conjunction with upcoming observations with the MOST Satellite. All AAVSO observers are encouraged to participate in this project, and we are requesting observations for a number of different targets from both instrumental and visual observers.
Special Notice #224: Possible outburst of SDSS_J160501.35+203056.9
November 21, 2010: Hitoshki Yamaoka reports in VSNET-ALERT 12411 of the observation by Itagaki of SDSS J160501.35+203056.9, a suspected cataclysmic variable. In quiescence, it is about mag20. Itagaki-san's observation on 2010-11-21 was 12.0 unfiltered. If confirmed, this would yield an outburst magnitude of 8 magnitudes, and would place it in the realm of the WZ Sge class, rare stars in the cataclysmic category that have superoutburst cycles of decades. The spectra in Szkody, et al.
Special Notice #223: BL Lac object 3C 454.3 undergoing bright flare
November 18, 2010: As was noted by AAVSO observer E. Erdelyi (Carlsbad, CA, USA) in a post to cvnet-discussion, the BL Lac object 3C 454.3 (AUID 000-BDC-612) appears to be undergoing a bright flare; the object was recorded by Erdelyi at V=13.659(0.013) on 2010 November 10.2708 (JD 2455510.7708). The last flare of comparable brightness was observed in 2007, when the object reached V ~ 13.4 around JD 2454335 (late August 2007).
Web Chat with our New Web Developer
Join us in the AAVSO Chat Room on Wednesday, November 17 from 2-3pm eastern (7-8pm UT) for a special chat with Will McMain, the newest AAVSO staff member. Will was hired in September as our new Web Developer and has been busy updating and adding items to the new web site. Many of you met him at the fall meeting where he ran the AV for the Saturday session and also hung out with us in the evenings. A staff bio is here: