AAS 201st Meeting, January, 2003
Session 117. Delta Scuti and Pulsating Friends
Poster, Thursday, January 9, 2003, 9:20am-4:00pm, Exhibit Hall AB

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[117.09U] Monitoring of Select Mira-Type Stars for Microvariability

J. A. Reiff (Otterbein College), G. D. Henson (East Tennessee State University)

We report here on continued efforts to detect and characterize the occurrence of microvariability in Mira-type stars. Broadband photometry in B, V, R, and I filters was performed on four stars suspected of exhibiting microvariability from an analysis of HIPPARCOS data by De Laverny et al. (1998, A & A). Light curves for these four stars (RR Boo, RX Mon, SV And, and X Crb) are provided for all observing nights between September 2001 and June 2002. Observations during summer 2001 of RR Boo detected one extremely large amplitude event near minimum light for the star (Guenther and Henson 2001, B.A.A.S.). However, observations of this star during 2002 detected no significant events with the star at brighter phases. The nature of detected variations for all stars in this sample and their relation to the phase of the stars' pulsation light curve is discussed as well as possible mechanisms for the cause of microvariability in Mira stars.

This work has been supported by NSF grant AST-0097616 for the Southeastern Association for Astronomical Research (SARA) Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.


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