Astronomy

The southern W UMa cataclysmic variable SV Indii

Posted on 2006 August 24 @ 13:20 - filed under Astronomy & Podcast update.

In Southern Sky Talk podcast episode 10 (read the 2006 August 18 update), it was mentioned that Bruce Dickson of Johannesburg has been monitoring the interesting variable SV Indii.

Now he writes: "Here's the last word on that W UMa star SV Indii. I left it a few days to see whether anything changed - it didn't!" Dickson supplemented his earlier observations with some 1 700 new data points, and has compiled a new light curve (Figure 1).

Figure 1 shows 5 355 differential photometric measurements (in 12 data sets over 25 days) plotted as a function of the period, which is assumed to be 0.44957 days. Figure 2 below shows the smoothed data.

Dickson writes: "Note that the fine ripple previously reported on the top of the curve is still present. There is also some clear asymmetry in the light curve. This suggests one side of the star is hotter than the other, or that there may be a third, unseen component. Fine structure is also apparent in the primary minimum, including a narrow intensity spike of approximately 0.15 magnitudes. (i.e.14% increase in brightness is noted.) The period and phase were estimated by using symmetry of the primary minimum as a metric. Based on this the period is known to within 1 second. Other metrics may yield a slightly different result.

Keywords: Astronomy, photometry, SV Indii, Bruce Dickson

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