R Aqr

Alert Notice 689: R Aqr monitoring needed in support of HST and Chandra observations

Note:  Continued observations in all bands (particularly B and V) and spectroscopy are extremely important. Please continue nightly observations until further notice.  -  Elizabeth O. Waagen, 31 January 2020

Note: The exact schedules for the Chandra and HST observations of R Aqr (Alert Notice 689) are as follow:

Chandra (UT)  Note that this date is EARLIER than given in Alert Notice 689.
12 Jan 2020 00:13:21.409 - 12 Jan 2020 14:06:41

Alert Notice 665: R Aqr observations needed urgently

Note: Dr. Margarita Karovska (Center for Astrophysics|Harvard & Smithsonian) is also urgently requesting BVRI photometry, visual observations, and spectroscopy of R Aqr through (at least) the end of the observing season. - Elizabeth O. Waagen, August 5, 2019

Note: R Aqr is out of its seasonal gap and is increasingly observable. Continued coverage is requested as described below until further notice. - Elizabeth O. Waagen, May 3, 2019

Alert Notice 589: R Aqr coverage needed for HST and Chandra observations

Note: This campaign has been extended through the 2018 observing season.

August 4, 2017: Dr. Margarita Karovska (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) has requested "visual, photometric, and spectroscopic observations of the symbiotic variable R Aqr in preparation for and in support of Chandra and HST observations currently scheduled for October 2017."

Alert Notice 535: R Aqr observing campaign

Ongoing visual, photometric, and spectroscopic observations of R Aqr about once every 10 days are requested, both to detect and observe the next eclipse and to continue the light curve of this star that has been in the AAVSO observing program for over a century.   Elizabeth O. Waagen, August 2017, March 2019

R Aqr

December 1, 2015

The long period variable R Aquarii is an extremely interesting system. Its type is both Mira (M) and symbiotic (ZAND) - R Aqr is a close binary system consisting of a hot star and a late-type star, both enveloped in nebulosity. In the case of R Aqr, the late-type star is a Mira. As a result, the very interesting light curve shows not only the Mira pulsation but also eclipses as the two stars interact.