AAVSO Newsletter 70, October 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.
September 30, 2016: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 551, Dr. Mark Reynolds (University of Michigan) informs us that the cataclysmic variable GDS_J1701281-430612 will be observed by the HST/COS on
Discovered by: All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) (K. Stanek (Ohio State University) et al., ATel #9538; reported to CBAT via J. Strader (Michigan State University))
Discovery magnitude: 9.11 V +/- 0.01, using ASAS-SN robotic 14-cm telescopes
September 22, 2016: SN 2016gkg (announced as AT2016gkg) was discovered by Victor Buso (Rosario, Argentina) on 2016 September 20.2484 UT at CCD magnitude (clear filter) 17.6 +/-0.5, rising to 14.5 +/-0.2 on Sep. 21.1398. His discovery was reported to the Transient Name Server by Sebastian Otero (Buenos Aires, Argentina). It was confirmed by ASAS-SN on Sep. 21.29 UT (B. Nicholls (Mt.
September 20, 2016 : Dr. Kirill Sokolovsky (National Observatory of Athens and Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University), has requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring the ongoing microlensing event Gaia16aye beginning immediately to catch transient behavior occurring now and continuing through the end of October (or until further notice).
Note added September 27, 2016: Dr. Reynolds adds the following: "Visual observations would be useful in setting a baseline and understanding how variable the source is in a relative sense at the time of our HST observation."
September 20, 2016: Dr. Mark Reynolds (University of Michigan) and colleagues have requested AAVSO assistance in monitoring the cataclysmic variable GDS_J1701281-430612 in support of HST/COS observations scheduled for early October.
S. Zola (Jagiellonian University) et al. (ATel #9489) report that the BL Lac object OJ 287 has emerged from conjunction optically very bright and increasing in brightness, according to their observations made at Mt. Suhora Observatory in August and September 2016.
Their observations and recent observations of this blazar in the AAVSO International Database include:
Discovered by:
- Shigehisa Fujikawa (Kan'onji, Kagawa, Japan; reported to CBAT via M. Soma (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo))
- All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) (K. Z. Stanek et al., ATel #9469, published September 7; reported to CBAT via L. Chomiuk (Michigan State University))
September 1, 2016: Dr. Christian Knigge (University of Southampton) and colleagues have requested AAVSO coverage of the Z Cam dwarf nova RX And in support of Chandra X-ray observations to be carried out via a Target of Opportunity (TOO) triggering when the system is in a suitable outburst.
