AAS Meeting #193 - Austin, Texas, January 1999
Session 46. Photometric Observations of Variable Stars
Display, Thursday, January 7, 1999, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibits Hall 1

[Previous] | [Session 46] | [Next]


[46.01] V3798 Sgr: A New UXor?

C. Springob (U. Minnesota \& Maria Mitchell Obs.), T. Mazeh (U. Tel-Aviv), N. Samus (Institute of Astronomy, Russia Ac. Sci. \& Maria Mitchell Obs.), V. Strelnitski (Maria Mitchell Obs.)

While V3798 Sgr has been classified as a possible RV Tauri star, this classification has remained uncertain for over two decades. Using blue photographic plates from the Maria Mitchell Observatory archives, we offer evidence that this star may instead be a young star with non-periodic Algol-like minima. Such a star is now commonly referred to as a UXor (after the prototype star, UX Ori). V3798 Sgr was positively identified on 660 plates, covering the period August 9, 1956 to August 6, 1991. The light curve of the star was restored by comparison with several reference stars. Both short-timescale (2-10 days) and long-timescale minima are clearly seen in the light curve. A correlation analysis confirms these timescales, typical for some UXors. Fourier analysis showed no periodicity on any timescales. Possible mechanisms of non-periodic minima are briefly discussed.


The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: spri0029@tc.umn.edu

[Previous] | [Session 46] | [Next]