THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS 25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA INTERNET: aavso@aavso.org Tel. 617-354-0484 FAX 617-354-0665 AAVSO ALERT NOTICE 235 (January 13, 1997) RARE OUTBURST OF 1950+32A EY CYGNI We have been informed independently by Gerald Dyck, Assonet, MA, and Jochen Pietz, Erftstadts, Germany (via vsnet-obs 4802), of the rare outburst of the dwarf nova type (SS Cyg subclass) cataclysmic variable EY Cyg [R.A.19h 52m 41s, Decl. +32o 13.7's (1950.0)] on January 11 UT. The outburst was confirmed by Gene Hanson, Cave Creek, AZ. The most recent outbursts of this star recorded in the AAVSO International Database occurred in March 1992 and August 1986. Recent observations of EY Cyg reported to the AAVSO include: Jan 10.0819 UT, <14.5, G. Hanson, Cave Creek, AZ; 11.71, 12.8:, J. Pietz, Erftstadts, Germany (via vsnet-obs 4802); 11.9653, 13.1, G. Dyck, Assonet, MA; 12.0972, 12.7, Hanson; 12.1042, 12.7, Hanson; 12.1181, 12.7, Hanson; 12.46, 12.0, Dyck; 12.715, 12.5:, P. Schmeer, Bischmisheim, Germany; 12.731, 12.4, Schmeer; 13.733, 12.1, Schmeer. Accompanying are AAVSO preliminary 'd', 'f', and 'g' charts for EY Cyg. Please use them to observe EY Cyg and report your observations to AAVSO Headquarters, making sure to indicate which comparison stars you have used. Congratulations to Gerry and to Jochen for their independent detections of this rare outburst! OUTBURST OF 0058+40 RX ANDROMEDAE The dwarf nova (Z Cam subclass) cataclysmic variable RX And [R.A. 01h 01m 46s, Decl. +41o 01.9'(1950)] has gone into outburst, after its long, unprecedentedly faint minimum (see AAVSO Alert Notice 232, AAVSO News Flash Nos. 64, 77, 96, 97), according to observations reported to the AAVSO. At present RX And is at approximate visual magnitude 11.0. RX And had been in standstill since May 1995 when, in April 1996, it declined gradually while in standstill into August, at which time it came out of standstill, declined to visual magnitude 13.9 and brightened briefly to 12.2 by the end of August, and then continued to decline, reaching approximately 15.6 by the end of October. It continued to be faint, oscillating between approximately 15.6 and 15.3, until January 6, 1997, when it began to brighten. The accompanying AAVSO light curve of RX And for the interval JD 2450270 - 2450470 (December 1994 - January 1997) shows RX And in standstill in April 1996, in its unprecedentedly faint minimum, and in its present outburst. This light curve of RX And was created from 1,241 visual and CCD observations submitted to the AAVSO International Database by 95 observers worldwide. We thank each observer for his or her valuable contribution. Please use the AAVSO charts which contain the sequence extended by R. Zissell and which were distributed with AAVSO Alert Notice 232 to observe RX And, and report your observations to AAVSO Headquarters by email, fax, or telephone, making sure to indicate which comparison stars you have used. SHORT OUTBURST OF 0846+58 BZ URSAE MAJORIS We were informed by Gene Hanson, Cave Creek, AZ, of the outburst of the dwarf nova type cataclysmic variable BZ UMa [R.A.08h 49m 53s, Dec.+58o 00.0'(1950.0)] on January 9 UT. After a short outburst during which it brightened to visual magnitude 11.4 by January 10, BZ UMa has returned to minimum. The last outburst of BZ UMa recorded in the AAVSO International Database occurred in May 1996, when the star reached visual magnitude 10.7 and was bright for 3 days. The following observations of the most recent outburst of BZ UMa, including a series of visual observations made by Hanson which clearly show much of the rise to maximum, have been reported to the AAVSO: Jan 3.050 UT, <15.4, G. Poyner, Birmingham, England; 3.9424,<13.7, S. Brincat, Malta; 8.2132,<14.1, G. Hanson, Cave Creek, AZ; 9.1938, 14.4:, Hanson; 9.1965, 14.3:, Hanson; 9.2021, 14.2, Hanson; 9.2063, 14.1, Hanson; 9.2111, 14.0, Hanson; 9.2139, 14.0, Hanson; 9.2174, 13.9, Hanson; 9.2208, 13.8, Hanson; 9.2243, 13.7, Hanson; 9.2292, 13.6, Hanson; 9.2319, 13.5, Hanson; 9.2354, 13.4, Hanson; 9.2410, 13.3, Hanson; 9.2444, 13.2, Hanson; 9.2472, 13.2, Hanson; 9.2500, 13.1, Hanson; 9.2535, 13.1, Hanson; 9.2563, 13.0, Hanson; 9.2618, 12.9, Hanson; 9.2660, 12.9, Hanson; 9.2722, 12.9, Hanson; 9.2771, 12.8, Hanson; 9.5313, 11.7, Hanson; 9.5465, 11.6, Hanson; 9.5597, 11.6, Hanson; 10.0833, 11.4, Hanson; 10.1181, 11.4, Hanson; 10.1736, 11.5, Hanson; 10.2104, 11.9, Hanson; 10.2618, 11.7, Hanson; 11.1646, 13.0, C. Scovil, Stamford, CT; 11.1819, 12.3, R. Stewart, Fairlawn, NJ; 11.1854, 12.6, J. Bortle, Stormville, NY; 12.1090, 13.8, Hanson; 12.2007, 14.3:, Hanson; 12.746, <13.3, P. Schmeer, Bischmisheim, Germany; 13.0465, 15.5, Bortle. Congratulations to Gene on his detecting this outburst so early! CHARTS AVAILABLE ON AAVSO FTP SITE Electronic copies of the AAVSO charts of EY Cyg and the light curve of RX And mentioned in this Alert Notice are available from our FTP site: ftp.aavso.org (198.116.78.2), in /pub/alert235 Electronic copies of the AAVSO charts of RX And that were distributed with AAVSO Alert Notice 232 are available from our FTP site: ftp.aavso.org (198.116.78.2), in /pub/alert232 The charts of EY Cyg and RX And, along with the light curve of RX And, may also be accessed through our Web site at the following address: http://www.aavso.org The answering machine at AAVSO Headquarters is on nights and weekends for your convenience. Please call our charge-free number (800-642-3883) to report your observations. If you are cut off when you telephone in your observations, please wait a few minutes and call back to complete your call. We have learned that if someone calls to leave observations on the answering machine and while they are speaking someone else calls, the first person may be cut off. We also encourage observers to send observations by fax to 617-354-0665 or by e-mail through the Internet to observations@aavso.org. We would appreciate it very much if you would report your observations in Universal Time. Many thanks for your valuable astronomical contributions and your efforts. Good observing! Elizabeth O. Waagen, Senior Technical Assistant for Janet A. Mattei, Director