Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Wed, 04/06/2016 - 18:18
Is RW Aur brightening? I made it 12.5 last night, definitely brighter than it has been recently. Even if it is, who knows what it will do next? GM Aur also appears to be doing stuff, fainter than recently. A nice star to observe, with AB, SU, GZ and UY all close by.
I had it at 12.8/12.9 on 04/04. I thought it might be starting an uptick then, but the change was too close to visual uncertainty. I'll take a look from this side of the pond tonight if the weather holds...
Weirdly enough it ended up being clear last night but I didn't risk it (usually what happens is... you go out under a lovely clear sky and 20 minutes later the clouds return). I have been using 127 (I think, this is from memory, it's the star directly N of RW) and RW has been obviously fainter, to the extent that I had to go to SeqPlot for fainter comps. The other night it looked brighter than 127, anyway certainly not fainter. All this and T CrB too!
A truly long-time observer of RW Aur, I noted a certain degree of fluctuation taking place in recent weeks after a long spell of pretty much constant brightness. These recent changes spanned a range of around magnitude 12.8-13.2, but I couldn't really define any general trend among the numbers. My last observation - and likely the last for me this season - was on March 30.1 when I put the star at 12.9 .
J.Bortle (BRJ)
RW now seems to be
Hi John,
RW now seems to be around 12.3 from recent obs (vis). Looks like a clear 'un tonight so I shall definitely be taking a look!
For a recent light curve of RW Aur that shows it is indeed brightening, see the Observing Campaigns Update in the April 2016 AAVSO Newsletter. Members may see this issue of the newsletter now; non-members will have to wait until the July issue is published. Anyone may plot a light curve using the Light Curve Generator.
Good observing,
Elizabeth Waagen
Looks like I was right about RW Aur (there's a first time for everything) and if a hunch was good enough for Leslie Peltier it's good enough for me. However, now is the time for open minds - let's not assume that the recent activity is done with us yet! Tried to see it last night but just gone too far over to the West.