Real-time updates - Gaia16asp

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Tue, 07/05/2016 - 22:42

This is a nice example of how VSX works.

A couple of days ago Gaia started to release alerts again.
Yesterday, they published an RCB candidate based on a 2 mag. dip.
The colors did not match an RCB and the fadings were too rapid for the object to belong to such a variability class.
I first thought of an UXOR, but the infrared excess was minimal.
Taichi Kato suggested through VSNET that it might be a VY Sculptoris (NL/VY) object due to its (relatively) blue colors.

Today, using SSS, APASS and Gaia data, Patrick Wils revealed it was just an eclipsing binary (sometimes one forgets that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one).

So one day after the alert publication we now list the correct classification for this object in VSX.

Here's Gaia16asp phase plot and all the relevant information.

Cheers,
Sebastian