Web Publications

30 Yards of History: SS Cygni 1896 - 1984

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Alan L. Kiplinger

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Janet A. Mattei

Keith H. Danskin

James E. Morgan

AAVSO, 25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

Timothy Zack

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Abstract

AAVSO data files contain several hundred thousand observations on the cataclysmic variable star SS Cygni from its discovery in 1896 to present. One-day means of these observations from 1896 to 1984 have been computerized for statistical analysis. Computer-generated magnitude and intensity light curves extending 30 yards have been displayed. Initial results of auto-correlation and power spectrum analysis of the light curve reflect the behavior of a quasi-periodic oscillator with an approximate period of 50 days. Detailed analysis of the data is continuing.