Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Fri, 02/07/2020 - 19:24
AAVSO Alert Notice 698 announces an observing campaign on the complex WZ Sge-type cataclysmic variable V386 Ser. Please see the notice for details and observing instructions.
Many thanks, and Good observing,
Elizabeth O. Waagen, AAVSO HQ
AAVSO Alert Notice 699 reports on a revision of the HST observing schedule for V386 Ser and associated observing instructions. Please see the notice for details.
Many thanks, and Good observing,
Elizabeth O. Waagen, AAVSO HQ
Further to AAVSO Alert Notice 699, the HST observations of V386 Ser will take place Friday, 2020 February 28. Positive observations are CRITICAL for the nights of 2020 Feb 26-27 and 27-28. Please report observations immediately.
Many thanks, and Good observing,
Elizabeth
I wanted to thank all the observers who contributed to our campaigns on V386 Ser last Aug and Feb - those observations allowed us to proceed with the HST and provided good magntitudes to complement our UV data. Both observations were very successful and revealed that the temperature was about 5000K hotter than quiescence in Aug and then cooled by about 2500K by Feb. The pulsations changed from 609 sec at quiescence to 174 sec in Aug and then 104 sec in Feb, providing a clear example of theoretical pulsation predictions after a white dwarf is heated by a dwarf nova outburst. This is in contrast to the erratic pulsation periods of GW LIb witnessed 3-13 years after its outburst, but it remains to be seen if V386 Ser will smoothly transition to its quiescent pulsation periods or begin to exhibity the unusual behavior of GW Lib as it continues to cool. We very much appreciate your help allowing us to test pulsation theory!
Paula Szkody, Boris Gaensicke, Odette Toloza, Ed Sion. Patrick Godon, Keaton Bell, Stella Kafka