Z Tau is an interesting Mira that has been observed by AAVSO observers and members since 1904. Nearly 6,000 observations are in the AID from over 400 different observers as can be seen in the light curve shown below which displays all observations in the AID. It is not one of the Legacy LPV Program stars, however there is a good reason why it deserves some special attention!
January 26, 2018: AAVSO member/observer Adolfo Darriba (Madrid, Spain) informs us that Dr. Dave Thompson, Multiwavelength Coordinator for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) of NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope, on behalf of the Fermi LAT Collaboration has called for observations of the blazar 3C 279, which is undergoing a major gamma-ray flare.
Event: Nova in Musca - Nova Muscae 2018 = PNV J11261220-6531086
Discovered by: Rob Kaufman (Bright, Victoria, Australia)
Discovery magnitude: 7.0 V (on four frames, using Canon 650D and 55mm lens)
Discovery date: 2018 January 14.4861 UT
Coordinates (2000.0): R.A. 11 26 15.16 Decl. -65 31 23.3
Position from VSX; measured by Daniel Bamberger (Marburg, Germany) on frames taken by Robert Fidrich (Bakonycsernye, Hungary).
Due to another outstanding volunteer effort by Bernard Candela, we are now able to offer a French language translation of the Photoelectric Photometry Observer's Guide.
The German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovered its variability in 1686, when in July of that year he observed that the star had disappeared from the sky, not being visible again until the month of October.
AAVSO Newsletter Number 75 (January 2018) has been published and is online. AAVSO members may download a high- or low-resolution version from here. This issue will be available to non-members when the next issue (Number 76, April 2018) is published.
