Variable Stars in the Trapezium Region: the View from Ground and Space (Abstract)

Volume 41 number 1 (2013)

Matthew R. Templeton

AAVSO, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, MA 02138; matthewt@aavso.org

Abstract

(Abstract only) We present the results of our project to study variability among stars of the Trapezium Region of the Orion Nebula using both ground- and space-based observations. Continuous, broad-band optical photometry were collected over twenty-seven days using the orbiting MOST satellite in late 2010 and early 2011, while ground-based data were collected by AAVSO observers and the AAVSO’s Bright Star Monitor telescope. Fifteen of thirty-seven stars showed clear evidence of variability of various types. The sample includes a dozen stars showing variability typical of YSOs, including T Tauri type and rotational variability; additionally, we found evidence of b Cephei pulsation in two stars, and we also obtained four full cycles of the primary target—the 6.5-day eclipsing binary BM Orionis. We show examples of the MOST and AAVSO light curves for these stars, what the results tell us about these stars, and what remains to be learned from these stars.