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[75.17] Classification of the Enigmatic Variable XX Sct

J. Bonjorni (Smith College & Maria Mitchell Observatory), N.N. Samus (Inst. of Astron., Russian Ac. Sci.)

The irregular variable XX Sct has been ascribed five different variability types since its discovery in 1924, from a Cepheid to a rapid irregular variable. Surprisingly, this 13^m star has virtually no mention in recent literature, though its classification is still a mystery. We sought to resolve this puzzle by a careful reexamination of nearly 1200 blue photographic plates of this star at the Maria Mitchell Observatory. These revealed strong irregular variability of up to 2 magnitudes on different time scales, including Algol-like minima with a timescale of 10 days or less. Several possible periods have been found, none of which are particularly convincing. UBV photometry and a low-resolution optical spectrum are consistent with a reddened A star. We tentatively suggest that XX Sct is one of the class of young, intermediate mass Herbig Ae/Be stars known as UXors. Further examination of these data is needed to confirm this classification. This project was supported by the NSF/REU grant AST-9820555.