Alert Notice 727: Chandra observations taking place for RW Aur

Please continue observing RW Aur until further notice.  -  Elizabeth O. Waagen, 28 October, 2021

December 6, 2020

AAVSO Forum threads (scroll to the bottom of a thread for latest posts):
- Campaigns & Observation Reports: https://www.aavso.org/rw-aur-monitoring

Please subscribe to this thread if you are participating in the campaign so you can be updated by the astronomer and by HQ. Join in the discussion or ask questions there!

Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 514, Dr. Hans Moritz Guenther (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) informs us that X-ray observations have been scheduled with Chandra for the classical T Tauri star RW Aur (component A).

Chandra is scheduled to observe RW Aur as follows (the start time is given; each observation is a few hours long):

2020 December 07  09:46:50 UT
2020 December 07  21:19:40
2020 December 13  00:58:05
2020 December 15  00:00:00

Dr. Guenther requests nightly observations in as many filters as possible; time series are not necessary. Visual observations are welcome. Once the Chandra observations are over, ongoing multi-filter monitoring is requested - the campaign on RW Aur, which began in 2015, is continuing at least through 2022.

RW Aur normally varies between about 10.0 and 11.0 visually (9.6-11.2V), although it can be as bright as 9.7 and faint as 13.6. Since 2015 it has shown very interesting behavior; see the light curve from the AAVSO International Database (AID) below. As of 2020 Dec. 3.1040 UT it was 11.546 V +/- 0.014 (C. Cynamon, Mount Airy, MD) and Dec. 6.1380 UT it was visual magnitude 11.6 (E. Sawyer, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada).

Note that a light curve of RW Aur observations in the AID may be plotted using the AAVSO Light Curve Generator (https://www.aavso.org/LCGv2).

AAVSO light curve of RW Aur, June 2009 - December 2020; 8,051 multicolor observations contributed by 127 observers worldwide.

Coordinates (2000):  R.A. 05 07 49.57  Dec. +30 24 05.2 (VSX page for RW Aur)

Charts with comparison stars for RW Aur may be created using the AAVSO Variable Star Plotter (VSP).

Submit observations: Please submit observations to the AAVSO International Database using the name RW AUR.

This AAVSO Alert Notice was compiled by Elizabeth O. Waagen.
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