Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Sun, 10/06/2019 - 13:57

Fellow LPV'ers, 

There is good evidence we're entering into the multi-year period where R Aqr is getting eclipsed and thus produces deep minimia. This happens every 44 years. 

This is a very unique and interesting system. Read more about it here. https://www.aavso.org/vsots_raqr

Also refer to Alert notices 665 and 535 for more information. 

The latest observations (10/5) put the star around 11.5 V, so near its normal minimum. Let's see if it gets lower! 

RRIA. 

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Something is going on

According to Frank Schorr, R Aqr's B-V has really been decreasing over the last 150 days. Looks like the star is entering its multi-year event. 

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Exciting indeed.

The Mira stars that I observe have very regular lightcurves. It's exciting to see one that really deviates and I enjoy trying to imagine how and why it happens. (The VSOTS article was very helpful in this regard.) From the LCG (as of 11/22) it looks like R AQR is down in the 12's.

Thank you for your post. I look forward to adding some visual points to the lightcurve in the coming months.

BADB