Dave McDonald discovers new variable star!

OK - even more data added now but the third lot is a bit iffy. Sky conditions weren't great so the error bars are a bit large. But this is what its looking like:



The chart can be reversed by the way - large dip first, smaller dip second and vice-versa...

Going with the chart above then, we see a minima of about .25 mags at phase 0.2 followed by a minima of about 0.5 mag at phase 0.7. The period is about 11.7 hours (or 100% phase = 11.7 hours).

If anyone wants/can follow-up with further measurements, it would be appreciated.

Lastly, this data has not yet been reported to AAVSO - please treat it accordingly...

Thanks
Dave

p.s. full version of above chart at www.astroshack.net/images/UCAC3_198-004365-03.PNG

Dave

Do we know whether one of these stars is of any particular type?

You are more on form with this stuff than I. However, I am aware that sometimes researchers "fold" the data (superimpose one set of of periodic data over another) to see if there is anything that can be gleamed from that. For example if we have a red giant (I know didley squat about the objects that you observed are) we could have significant stellar-spots (c.f. sun spots) which will confuse the data. I see it as being necessary to to obtain multiple measurements before we know anything that we can have confidence on.

Dave, qudos on your discovery and please keep us updated.

Mark C.

Mark - I'm guessing, as you say, that we need more data to get to the detail of what the binary system consists of. I'm considering purhcasing Binarymaker software which can model a system based on photometry data.

I'm also guessing that spectrometry would also be helpful in further identifying the types of stars in the system - beyond my expertise anyhow Star-spots can certainly affect the data but I suspect it was more the sky conditions here in Celbridge.

But I understand that high quality photmetry can tell a lot about a system. So I'll keep at it and hope for a slew of crisp clear nights over the coming weeks.

And of course, ye'll all be the first to know!

Dave

Congratulations an excellent achievement, another proud moment for you.

Deirdre Kelleghan
Vice Chair IFAS