THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS 25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Tel. 617-354-0484 Fax 617-354-0665 http://www.aavso.org * * * AAVSO NEWS FLASH * * * Subject: 0749+22 U GEM No. 1085 December 23, 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0749+22 U GEM in OUTBURST. CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY TRIGGERED TO OBSERVE IT SINCEREST THANKS to our observers for keeping a very close eye on U Gem and notifying us immediately of its outburst. Your observations enabled our colleagues at Space Telescope Science Institute to trigger Target of Opportunity Observations (TOO) with Chandra X-Ray Observatory on Saturday morning. Chandra will be observing U Gem during maximum with both High Energy and Low Energy Transmission Gratings (HETG and LETG). The exact timing of Chandra x-ray observations are not yet determined. Please continue to observe U Gem throughout this outburst. Observers with CCD V filters are highly recommended to observe it closely. Below are observations of U Gem submitted to the AAVSO for its recent outburst: AAVSO Observer AAVSO Observer UT Mag. Initials UT Mag. Initials DEC 19.2951 14.0 CCDV RR DEC 21.9800 9.5 GRL DEC 19.4000 <13.3 CGF DEC 22.1910 9.0 STI DEC 19.4757 <13.8 LMK DEC 22.2333 9.1 STI DEC 19.5820 <11.9 SRX DEC 22.3194 9.1 HAB DEC 21.1600 9.8 KTO DEC 22.8042 8.7 VJA DEC 21.2300 9.4 KTO DEC 23.0400 9.1 DGP DEC 21.2778 9.5 CCDV DIL DEC 23.0931 8.8 STI DEC 21.3736 9.2 LMK DEC 23.1632 8.9 STI DEC 21.4410 8.9 CGF DEC 23.4444 9.3 CXA DEC 21.6470 9.2 SRX Again, thank you for your close monitoring of U Gem! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- We thank the following contributors for the data that they have provided for this News Flash: CGF - G. CHAPLE JR., USA KTO - T. KINNUNEN, FINLAND CXA - A. COOK, USA LMK - M. LINNOLT, USA DGP - G. DYCK, USA RR - R. ROYER, USA DIL - W. DILLON, USA SRX - R. STUBBINGS, AUSTRALIA GRL - B. GRANSLO, NORWAY STI - P. STEFFEY, USA HAB - R. HAYS JR., USA VJA - J. VIRTANEN, FINLAND Please monitor these and other variable stars closely and phone-in, fax, or e-mail your observations to the AAVSO. Good observing! Janet A. Mattei, Director Gamze Menali, Technical Assistant ____________________________________________________________________________ Symbols may include: < = fainter than magnitude given (variable not seen) : = uncertain CCDV = Charge-coupled device with (V) filter If you would like to contribute to AAVSO NEWS FLASH, please send observations of unusual variable star activity to: observations@aavso.org Those who wish to subscribe (free of charge) or unsubscribe to NEWS FLASH may do so by visiting the following web page: http://www.aavso.org If you would like data from the AAVSO International Database for research purposes, please send your request to: Janet Mattei, AAVSO Director, at aavso@aavso.org An archive of past issues of the News Flash is available at the following web page: http://www.aavso.org/newsflash/ We look forward to including your observations in future editions of AAVSO NEWS FLASH! ____________________________________________________________________________