News and Announcements
| 15 February | Special Notice #337: Bright transient near the galaxy NGC 5643 (Lupus) |
February 15, 2013: As noted by Alexandre Amorim in the AAVSO Forums, a bright transient has appeared in the fringes of the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 5643, and has been published on the Transient Objects Confirmation Page at Harvard. |
| 12 February | Special Notice #336: Next three HST/COS CV campaign targets |
February 12, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #330 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-330), HST/COS is scheduled to observe BB Dor on: |
| 12 February | Special Notice #335: Revised Coordinates for GR Ori (Nova Ori 1916) |
February 12, 2013: The coordinates issued with AAVSO Special Notice #334 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-334) were incorrect; they were taken from an article by Robertson et al. (2000AJ....119.1365R). |
| 11 February | Special Notice #334: Outburst of the possible old nova GR Ori |
February 11, 2013: Observer Rod Stubbings (Tetoora Road, Vic., Australia) reports an outburst of the suspected old nova GR Ori (== Nova Ori 1916), observing the star at a visual magnitude of 13.0 on 2013 February 11.476 UT (JD 2456334.976). This observation was confirmed by observer Stephen Hovell (Kaitaia, New Zealand), who also reported the star at 13.0 on February 11.461. |
| 06 February | Special Notice #333: Eclipse underway in b Per and photometry needed urgently |
February 6, 2013: According to photometry provided by Don Collins (CDK, Swannanoa, NC), the eclipse in the b Per system (HD 26961), predicted for around 2013 January 25, is underway now and began February 4-5. Photometry - multicolor if possible - is urgently needed now to cover the rest of this eclipse, which may last for up to four days altogether, and see post-eclipse behavior of the system. |
| 05 February | Special Notice #332: Observations of IR Com crucial now through February 8 |
February 5, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice 330 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-330), HST/COS is scheduled to observe IR Com on: |
| 05 February | Star names containing the Greek letters µ and ν, and the case of “u” versus “U” |
When searching for a star in the International Variable Star Index (VSX) or reporting observations to the AAVSO International Database via WebObs, it is not possible to enter a Greek letter if the star has a Greek letter as part of its name – one cannot search for “µ Cep” or “ν Pav”. There has been ongoing confusion about how to spell out some of the Greek letters used in star names, and in particular about how to spell out µ and ν. |
| 03 February | Special Notice #331: Nova Cephei 2013 = PNV J23080471+6046521 |
February 2, 2013: A nova in Cepheus has been reported, confirmed, and confirmed as a nova spectroscopically. An AAVSO Alert Notice will follow after an official announcement from the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, but basic information is given here for immediate reference. |
| 02 February | Special Notice #330: Next HST/COS targets are IR Com and BB Dor |
February 2, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471), the next HST/COS target is the SU UMa-type dwarf nova IR Com. HST/COS observations are scheduled for: |
| 29 January | Special Notice #329: Critical time for CV Campaign HST/COS target SDSS J100515.38+191107.9 |
January 29, 2013: SDSS J100515.38+191107.9 is the upcoming target for the HST/COS CV Campaign (see AAVSO Alert Notice 471 and AAVSO Observing Campaigns page (http://www.aavso.org/observing-campaigns) for details and related Special Notices). Dr. Gaensicke writes: |
| 29 January | Special Notice #328: HST/COS observing U Gem 2013 January 30 |
January 29, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 475 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-475) and AAVSO Special Notice #327 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-327), HST/COS will be observing the dwarf nova U Gem on |
| 24 January | Special Notice #327: HST/COS observations scheduled for U Gem |
January 24, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 475 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-475), HST/COS observations of U Gem have been scheduled for 2013 January 30 21:31:12 - 23:36:16 UT. |
| 24 January | Special Notice #326: Next HST/COS target is SDSS J100515.38+191107.9 |
January 24, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471), the next HST COS target is the SU UMa-type dwarf nova SDSS J100515.38+191107.9. HST COS is scheduled to observe it: |
| 23 January | 2013 Eclipsing Binary Ephemeris online |
The Eclipsing Binary ephemeris for 2013, prepared by Gerry Samolyk, is on the AAVSO website at |
| 21 January | Special Notice #325: BB Dor monitoring requested for Swift and HST observations |
January 21, 2013: AAVSO observations are requested of the SW Sex-type novalike variable BB Dor in support of one and possibly two sets of multiwavelength observations: Dr. Tomohito Ohshima (Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University) and colleagues have triggered Target of Opportunity observations with NASA's Swift gamma-ray burst satellite, and Dr. Boris Gaensicke (Warwick University) is hoping to observe BB Dor in the ultraviolet with HST. |
| 21 January | Special Notice #324: LT Eri (SDSS J040714.78-064425.1) is next HST COS target |
January 21, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #309 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-309), the next HST COS target is the dwarf nova LT Eri (SDSS J040714.78-064425.1). HST COS is scheduled to observe it: |
| 17 January | The AAVSO Newsletter - January 2013 - is published |
AAVSO Newsletter 55 - January 2013 |
| 16 January | Alert Notice 478: Transformed photometry of young stars in Cha requested |
January 16, 2013: Dr. Péter Ábrahám (Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary) has requested the assistance of AAVSO observers in monitoring eight young stars in Chamaeleon in support of photometry he and his colleagues will be obtaining with the VLT/ISAAC (infrared) and Herschel Space Observatory (far-infrared) during January-February 2013. |
| 15 January | Solar Bulletin - Volume 68, Number 12 |
The December 2012 Solar Bulletin is now available! |
| 14 January | Special Notice #323: Observations of BB Dor requested |
January 14, 2013: Dr. Boris Gaensicke (Warwick University), who is the coordinating PI on the large observing campaign underway to observe cataclysmic variables with the HST Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (see AAVSO Alert Notice 471 and follow-up AAVSO Special Notices as listed on the AAVSO Observing Campaigns page), is requesting observations tonight and over the next few nights of the novalike variable BB Dor. |
| 14 January | Special Notice #322: CU Vel is next HST COS target |
January 14, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #309 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-309), the next HST COS target is the classic SU UMa-type dwarf nova CU Vel. HST COS is scheduled to observe it: |
| 10 January | Special Notice #321: Observations critical tonight for SDSS J093249.57+472523.0 |
January 10, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 471 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-471) and AAVSO Special Notice #319 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-319), tonight's observations of SDSS J093249.57+472523.0 will be critical, as sometime tomorrow (January 11) the scheduling team will make the final decison about going ahead with the HST COS observations planned for |
| 09 January | Alert Notice 477: Supernova 2013E in IC 2532 = PSN J10000552-3414013 |
January 9, 2013 |
| 09 January | Special Notice #320: CH Cygni monitoring campaign continues |
January 9, 2013: Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 454 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-454) and AAVSO Special Notices #267, #268, and #294 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-267, -268, -294), Dr. |
| 04 January | Alert Notice 476: Multicolor photometry of triple system b Per requested |
January 4, 2013: Dr. Bob Zavala (U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff) has requested AAVSO assistance in obtaining multicolor photometry of the bright triple system b Per in order to prepare for and detect a possible eclipse of the AB components by the C component predicted for 2013 January 23. At 4.5V, b Per, which is also a radio source, is an excellent target for photoelectric photometrists and DSLR observers. |
