Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Sun, 09/13/2020 - 23:48
AAVSO Alert Notice 720 announces an observing campaign on the cataclysmic variable SS Cyg. Please see the notice for details and observing instructions.
To stay informed about this campaign, particularly about the date of its ending, subscribe to this forum thread (option 1 under Subscribe below) - see feedback from the PI, comments and questions from observers, and notes from AAVSO HQ. Add a post yourself - join in the discussion about this interesting target!
Many thanks, and Good observing,
Elizabeth O. Waagen, AAVSO HQ
Sorry for a tech question. I'm imaging SS Cyg an Vphot does not like my R for Red or B for blue. Are we supposed to use something different? I'm getting my transformations before I submit my data.
Hi Henry,
Thanks for observing SS Cyg! The VPhot team needs to answer this question - someone from the team may see it here but you could be sure of an answer by posting it in the VPhot forum.
Good observing,
Elizabeth
Henry:
What kind of filter are you using? R for Red and B for Blue indicates that you are not using a photometric filter like Johnson B or Cousins R. Are you using your pretty picture filters (RGB) or a DSLR?
In AAVSO and VPhot terminology, these should be called TB or TR. Make Sense?
However, IF you do transform the magnitudes, you can report them as photometric B and R.
For details, you should switch to the VPhot forum.
HTH, Ken
I've been doing photometry (V,Rc) in support of Alert 720 since last Sept using BSM/NM2, monitoring SS Cyg through several cycles. The current cycle appears to have a unique characteristic with an initial outburst mag of 9.0 starting 12/28/2020 then on 1/3/2021 increasing to mag 8.5 where it is currently. Total duration to date is 10 days. As I look back at previous cycles and compare, this one seems very unique. Suggest getting a few more eyes on this.
Thanks
Brian Ramey
RBCA
SS CYG had quite a ride this outburst and magnitude is finally decreasing: currently at approx. mag 9.2. This outburst was unique in that the initial outburst magnitude reached mag 9.0 and hung there for several days, increased to mag 8.5 with a total duration of 16-17 days. I went back 10+ years and didn't see a cycle with that long of a duration or outburst ramp up characteristic. I'd be interested in any thoughts on what caused these unique characteristics on this cycle.
Brian
RBCA
Hi, I'm Mariko who triggered observations of SS Cyg. I agree with your opinion and this is rare and interesting behavior. The previous outburst may be a precursor outburst but I have no good idea as to why the plateau phase before the outburst maximum is so long. Also, this outburst might continue still now. The brightening was not back to the quiescence and SS Cyg enters the next brightening. The long outburst and bright quiescence would be evidence that the mass accretion is activated by some reasons these days.
I'm checking the curious behavior (the present standstill) of SS Cyg now.
I'd like to extract orbital light curve at this standstill if possible. I'm using Rc-band data to do this. Also, B-V color is helpful to investigate what region is bright in the disk. Moreover, the monitoring by many color filters (U, B, V, Rc, Ic, and near-infrared bands) will be helpful in considering the disk temperature distribution.
Therefore, I would like to request Rc-band time-resolved photometry and the daily monitoring by color filters in order to achieve my goal.
Thanks a lot for your cooperation.
- Mariko Kimura